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Best hour for a 4 year old Birthday Party
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Anonymous
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I'm thinking 11-1, 1-3 pm or 3-5. At what time are kids the best? I have a non-napper so I'm not sure what time is nap time for the 4 yo set. I want do games, a craft, snack/lunch and cake with a 4-5 of my DD's friends.
Oh and any tips for making a small at home birthday fun would be appreciated! |
Anonymous
| My son just went to an 11:30 - 1:30 party and it was great. They served a real lunch, though. That's the first time he's been to a party with a real meal. Usually the parties he's attended have started at 2:30, which is a little difficult, because he generally does nap 1-3, but I just keep him up and deal with the aftermath that evening. |
Anonymous
| Mine naps from 12:30 to 2 (give or take 30 minutes on either end). We had ours from 10:30 to 12:30 and served a light lunch for the kids and parents. Our other option would have been 3:30-5:30 PM. |
Anonymous
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Our 4-YO still naps and we decline any party that is held during naptime. (That doesn't mean you shouldn't have the party whenever you want it, just be aware that nappers may choose not to attend.) For us, we much prefer morning parties.
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Anonymous
| Either the early or the late - 1-3 would be a disaster for us. If it's earlier or later people can tweak naptime or deal with a tired child, but 1-3 is pretty much smack dab in the middle of most naps for kids I know. And keep in mind that there are likely to be younger kids at a 4 y.o. party... my son is 3.5 and still napping, but is going to lots of 4 y.o. birthdays! It might not make as much of a difference if all the other kids were older and less likely to still nap. |
Anonymous
Ugh. |
Anonymous
| My 4 year old naps 1:30-3:30. Morning parties are great and we also just went to one 5-6:30 and that was great timing as well. |
Anonymous
Why ugh? That just seems unnecessary and nasty. Not the PP but we do the same thing (suppose we would make an exception for relatives or very close friends). My 4 yo still naps and needs it, and no b-day party in the middle of the afternoon, when he usually naps, is worth the night terrors he has had when he doesn't nap or is otherwise overtired. |
Anonymous
| Late morning seems to work best for us -- the most recent was 10:30 - 12:30 but 11-1 or so works, too. Had pizza and cake and all was good. |
Anonymous
| I prefer brunch parties--bagels and coffee, fresh fruit, milk boxes. Salmon and the fixings are nice, too. Start at 10:30, end by 12:30. |
Anonymous
| Been to tons of parties and prefer something that doesn't kill the whole day, like 1030 to noon. |
Anonymous
Agree with these PPs! Don't get the "ugh" comment--probably just someone jealous that other four-year-olds are still napping.  Both our kids napped until they were around four and a half or so, and needed the nap. Yes, we missed a few birthday parties over the years, but that was far preferable to having a tired child ruin the party for the rest of the attendees.
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Anonymous
| Basically anytime up until 1:30, then many kids at preschool are still scheduled to nap |
Anonymous
| Check out FamilyFun Parties. Lots of cute ideas for that age and will inspire you to come up with more ideas. Have fun! |
Anonymous
| We're having DD's 4th b-day party in a week from 11am-1pm. I figured that some kids nap, she sometimes doesn't on the weekends, but does at daycare. Plus with the holiday a lot of people might have evening holiday parties to attend. |