Birthday Party Update

Posted by Tina Musial Apr 5, 2006

See Discussion on my Birthday party dilemna to get the "background" scoop...

The seven year old Birthday party was this weekend. I gave up the swimming party idea - since I knew one mom per three kids wasn't going to work - and booked the bowling alley.

I discovered some things about birthday parties that I had not experienced before...and will plan for in the future....

1 - Make them RSVP by a certain date. If there isn't a deadline, you probably won't hear from them. Out of 10 children, I didn't hear back from four of them.

2 - If they RSVP, you might still need to make contact with them the day before for reminders. I had four children RSVP but didn't show! Thank goodness the place was good enough to only charge me for who showed up - they even gave me a refund since I had pre-paid for 13 children (invitees and siblings), when only eight came.

3 - Only invite a handful of kids. I'm glad the other five didn't show up or I would have had a three ring circus going on, especially since:

4 - Get there early to prod the workers to set up your area. We arrived 10 minutes early and found that nothing was set up for us - no balloons, no table ware, bowling lanes were dark, no popcorn.

5 - Have mom help. Grandma is a pro and always seems to have enough hands to take over when yours aren't quite enough!

A birthday party out of your house will save on the mess and cleaning, but it won't be cheap. From the places I surveyed, five in the area, the average rate is $15 per child invited - counting invitations, stamps, thank you's, cakes, small favors and the entertainment. Not a cheap undergoing - but a potentially lucrative business if you can get into it!