Venting about party conflict

[Anonymous]

OP I'm sorry for the stress you are under. A 3 year old's party should not add to it. If you can't or don't want to talk with the organizing parent, then just have her party the next weekend. It's not that big a deal to the kids (DS' 5th birthday party is a month passed his birthday--not something I'm proud of but that's just what happened).

Since I know this is a busy time of year with lots of birthday parties, we always send out invitations 3-4 weeks in advance. And as a parent of kids in pre-school, I can tell you it's hard to keep track of all the potentially conflicting dates. We had our school plan two school sponsored events on the same day. It happens and it is not personal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you are over reacting, and that's what you get for being later than the other parent.

Does our kindhearted PP here find herself eager to kick dogs when nobody is looking? Was she the type of kid to fry bugs under a magnifying glass, just for kicks?

Go away.

[Anonymous]

That just sucks OP. If you sent the invites earlier, people would slam you for sending them too early. And I find when I am stressed, it is these types of things that can knock me over the edge.

What on earth is a class get togethor anyway?

It kind of sucks the class mom didn't ask around for dates. But what is done is done. So here are my suggestions for making the best of it.

1. Keep your date and time, and invite non-preschool friends. Keep it small. I've found most younger kids don't like the larger invite the whole class type parties anyways.

2. Have the party on Sunday either pre or post nap. Kids parties can be pretty short.

3. Have the party the next weekend or the weekend before. Your kid will love having a b-day and a b-day party.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't fault the class parent. I wouldn't think to check the list of birthdays either. Why would she assume that each child is having a party ON his/her birthday? Some kids don't have parties at all, some are scheduled weeks before or after the actual birthday, etc.

I think you should just talk to the class parent and work something out, which I'm sure you can. If the whole class is invited to your party, I don't see why that can't take the place of the class get-together.

I agree here. Yes, it is nice if it can be the same day, but some kids - think of those born on December 25th - never get that chance. And not all three year-olds have birthday parties where they invite the class. I would focus on what you can manage and try to not stress about the rest. If you stay at the pre-school for the 4s, then maybe suggest some policy on get-togethers and birthdays.

FWIW, I sent out invitations for a BD party for one DC. A week or so later, a mom in the class sent out invitations for her DC's party, starting right when my DC's ended. Instead of reading her the riot act, I asked her if she wanted me to move mine by 30 minutes (my DC's was at home while she had booked a venue). I knew she had a lot on her mind at that time, so my goal was to be accommodating.