I seriously can not believe it. In less than a month, Kelsie will be THREE YEARS OLD. Where has the time gone? And then of course, what on earth am I going to do?
I love to plan the girls’ parties (or any party for that matter) but I have one issue. I can not STAND when individuals do not R.S.V.P. It ticks me off. It’s not cheap to plan, get food, and make sure everyone has something when party time rolls around. With any party I have thrown for the girls, I am seriously left guessing until someone is at my door. It stinks.
With Kelsie turning 3, she’s getting at that age where she can definitely tell you what she likes. Elmo. Dora. Reading. Coloring. Playing with her kitchen. She is moving quickly from that of a toddler to a preschooler. She loves to interact with individuals, and she loves to entertain. She’s officially become my “Diva Child”. That little girl knows her stuff.
So then the question becomes, what do I want to do for her party?
Several mentioned Chuck E. Cheese. Can I be honest? I don’t remember EVER going to Chuck E. Cheese when I was little. Looking at the prices to host a party, I don’t want to commit to that not knowing who will actually come to celebrate with us.
Does that make me a bad parent? Am I punishing her for other people’s actions? I’m sure it would be a blast but the whole dishing out money not knowing who will be there kind of annoys me. But then again, I don’t want to be the parent viewed as “doing too much” for a child’s birthday.
What’s your take?
7 Comments
We just did our daughters 3rd and it was a tinkerbell party, here at the house. I tried to keep it small, but it was a zoo. I say, save the money for later years that have more meaning. Three (for us) was just as cool with just a few kid friends and family members, with bright colours and an emphasis on our birthday girl. No matter what you do, it’ll be great! And make sure you have fun!!!
I never went to Chuck E Cheese either as a kid, unless it was someone else’s party.
Honestly, there were 5 kids in my family, and so we didn’t have big parties every year. We had a family party every year with a cake a gifts, but we only had a friend party certain years. (5,8,12,16,18) I don’t really remember any birthday parties from when I was younger anyways.
I say ask her what she wants to do, maybe play some fun party games (we used to do musical placemats- like musical chairs, only you had to walk in a circle on these animal placemats we had and when the music stopped you had to stand on one of the placemats)
Maybe have some cupcakes or something, but don’t worry about going too overboard.
OMGOSH! I cannot believe she is almost 3! We WILL be there. Just let me know when! I have to say that I made email and Facebook RSVP’s and NO ONE bothered to RSVP… not even the grandparents locally. I was pissed.. to say the least. My advice: Have FUN! Who cares who shows up. Don’t worry about who does and who does not show up. Focus on the birthday girl. It will be a blast!! XOXO
She is so cute! I think you should just do something that she enjoys doing. I think if you take her to Chuck E Cheese, you should just take her, and get some tokens and do the games/rides instead of doing a birthday party. Their parties seem overpriced. I’m sure she will be happy with whatever you do!
We’ve done Chuck E Cheese 2x for Owen’s party and he LOVES it, the second time was his idea. We did a bowling party for his 4th birthday and he had a blast (again that was what he picked), and we’ve done the parties at home as well (or my mother’s house since we didn’t have enough room). I loved having it at another place (example Chuck E Cheese) because I didn’t have to clean up the mess and I had a hostess there to help lol. Chuck E Cheese was good because I only paid for the kids and I didn’t have to pay for the adults. I told them if they wanted food they better bring money for themselves because I didn’t have the extra cash to pay for their food. Also, here I invited 11 to Owen’s party and only had to pay for minimum of 4 kids. So if Only 4 showed up I didn’t have to worry about paying for those that didn’t.
I agree to ask and see what she is interested in and see what you can afford. I am sure what ever you do she’ll be happy and excited. We’ve never had a lot of people come to Owen’s parties (and we both have pretty big families) and I was terrified this last birthday because he wasn’t in school this year and I was afraid he would have no one there, but in the end he had a blast. I can’t wait to read about what you’ve done and how it went!
Honestly, I think as long as Kelsie is happy, having a blast & has her family, who cares if others think you’re going ‘over the top’?
I personally wouldn’t put out the money, UNLESS you emphasize on the invites to ‘RSVP is essential!’ With or without a small explaination that in order to reserve a seat, you will need to know who can make it, and who can’t.
And I agree – there is nothing so annoying as a non-RSVPer! It’s like a splinter, oh so tiny, & oh such a pain!
Happy Birthday to Kelsie also!!
I HATE when people don’t RSVP! Or even worse–when they say they’re coming and then don’t show up. For my wedding, I invited some distant relative and his wife (because I had to, I didn’t even know these people), and his RSVP card came back as him PLUS 4 people! He invited his 4 kids who were all over age 20. I was so mad. To make matters worse, none of the 6 of them showed up. Anyway, I don’t think you should feel bad if you decide not to do Chuck-E-Cheese. She’s so young..she’ll probably enjoy it more when she’s older. My daughter’s 1st b-day is coming up in February and I’m kind of dreading the planning. I think we’re going to invite family only, to keep it small. Good luck! BTW..my daughter’s nickname is also “The Diva.” haha.