6 y old drop off party. How do I word this?

[Anonymous]

"Please feel free to drop off your child" sounds perfect. Parents who are uncomfortable can stay, and you don't have to do anything to entertain them.

I like free-play parties myself but it's good to have several activities/stations set up, just in case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an aside, please dint plan for just a big play date. It doesn't shake out that way. Plan at least a few organized activities.

Well, I posted a question regarding this here a few days ago and most people said the kids just want to play. That when they have organized activities they don't have fun at this age and up. What do you suggest pp? It will be a Lego theme party.

Initially I asked the question because I was planning on having a movie party and show the Lego movie.

Ugh. I hate birthday parties. I feel overwhelmed.

Suggestions are welcomed. I'm inviting 11 children, 4 of whom are my immediate neighbors, and only 4 are classmates. The other 3 are friends from somewhere else.

This sounds like a great party. Do you have enough Legos that you could put them out for the kids to play with? The Lego website also has all sorts of things you can print out for kids to color. Or, instead of putting out Legos, in lieu of a favor bag you could get each kid one of the small sets that comes in a plastic bag (they have them in the check out lanes at Target), and the kids could assemble them and then take them home.

As to your question about wording the invite, I agree with the PP who suggested saying "Drop off at 3pm, pick up at 5pm".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you think most people will drop off? I really would prefer not to have to entertain the parents. I'm aiming for a very low key party.

I started dropping my kids off as soon as they were toilet trained, so by the time they were 3. If it was someone whose house they'd been to before, I basically kicked them out at the curb but they'd never been there before we went in together and I would show them where the bathroom was and wait until they were comfortable for me to leave - usually 2-10 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Mom of 6yo in 1st grade. I would drop off my almost 7yo at a birthday party. Would love the break.

Last yr, when he was in kindergarten, we attended a handful of birthday parties and all the parents always stayed. Maybe it is because it was kindergarten and new parents also wanted to mingle.

[Anonymous]

At this age I would expect most parents to drop off by default but I might also expect some parents to want to stay, especially if their child has anxiety issues or special needs or something like that.
There are always a handful parents at our school who seem to stay at parties. From what I can tell they try to stand in the back or some obscure corner and disappear into the background and don't seem to expect absolutely anything. I know one mom who does this and I think she'd be mortified if she felt she caused you any inconvenience. Her child is wonderful but does not separate well even at this age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an aside, please dint plan for just a big play date. It doesn't shake out that way. Plan at least a few organized activities.

Well, I posted a question regarding this here a few days ago and most people said the kids just want to play. That when they have organized activities they don't have fun at this age and up. What do you suggest pp? It will be a Lego theme party.

Initially I asked the question because I was planning on having a movie party and show the Lego movie.

Ugh. I hate birthday parties. I feel overwhelmed.

Suggestions are welcomed. I'm inviting 11 children, 4 of whom are my immediate neighbors, and only 4 are classmates. The other 3 are friends from somewhere else.

I was the PP who advised to have activities. I am willing to bet the people who advised just letting the kids play have younger kids and have never hosted a group of 11 6 yr old kids alone for a few hours for bday party.

Do you have ample room for the kids to run around? If so, yes, plan to have them do that for a some of the time but that will eventually get out of control so you need to have plan for activities to move on to. Since it's a Lego themed party, plan some kind of lego games and consider getting one of those lego companies to bring a ton of legos over.

A movie is an option but understand that the majority of the kids will not sit and watch for the duration of the movie. In fact, you might get a handful who will watch for maybe 30 minutes. It's not like the kids watching a movie with just one friend. With a large group during a movie, they get distracted pretty easily.

Limit the party to 90 minutes. 2 hours is too long for a 6 yr old party at home.

Some parents will in fact stay for the duration of the party because they will want socialize with each other or because their own child won't feel comfortable yet with being dropped off so make sure to plan for some parents to stay. Just know that the parents who stay are not likely to assist you with the party and will socialize out of the way of the party with each other.

[Anonymous]

We just did a Lego party for our twins who turned 6 and while many people dropped off, several parents stayed. Some who stayed are my friends but some I was just meeting for the first time. We hired a company to do an activity and it worked out great. Parents who stayed were either socializing or helping their kid with the project. I didn't feel any need to entertain the parents and when it came time for pizza and cake it was helpful to have the extra hands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just did a Lego party for our twins who turned 6 and while many people dropped off, several parents stayed. Some who stayed are my friends but some I was just meeting for the first time. We hired a company to do an activity and it worked out great. Parents who stayed were either socializing or helping their kid with the project. I didn't feel any need to entertain the parents and when it came time for pizza and cake it was helpful to have the extra hands.

Who did you hire? How much was it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would say drop off and parents welcome. I would not be dropping off my child if I did not know you well. I would not say anything and just decline if I saw it was a drop-off party.

You sound insane.

You don't leave your kids with strangers.

Oh FFS. I can hear your rotors churning from here.

NP here. I can see your blinders from here. Not everyone is comfortable dropping off a 6 year old especially if that 6 year old is one that is not too savvy (kind of like yourself). OP, don't be that jerk parent that expects everyone to be comfortable because you are comfortable. Some will be and some won't be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you think most people will drop off? I really would prefer not to have to entertain the parents. I'm aiming for a very low key party.

I started dropping my kids off as soon as they were toilet trained, so by the time they were 3. If it was someone whose house they'd been to before, I basically kicked them out at the curb but they'd never been there before we went in together and I would show them where the bathroom was and wait until they were comfortable for me to leave - usually 2-10 minutes.

Yikes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would say drop off and parents welcome. I would not be dropping off my child if I did not know you well. I would not say anything and just decline if I saw it was a drop-off party.

You sound insane.

You don't leave your kids with strangers.

Oh FFS. I can hear your rotors churning from here.

NP here. I can see your blinders from here. Not everyone is comfortable dropping off a 6 year old especially if that 6 year old is one that is not too savvy (kind of like yourself). OP, don't be that jerk parent that expects everyone to be comfortable because you are comfortable. Some will be and some won't be.

Plus one. At that age, there are likely one or two parents who will stay for whatever reason. Be gracious and make them feel welcome. Maybe their kid has social anxiety or food allergies or doesn't have any friends there. It won't kill you if a few parents stay. Most won't.

[Anonymous]

FWIW- I just had a Bday party for my newly 6 year old at our house. All but one parent stayed. We did a little free play- but it quickly gets out of control. I would suggest having some activities- but don' worry to much if they are not interested.

[Anonymous]

We had a drop off bday party at home for my 5yo and 0 parents stayed. 9 kids were invited and everyone was a good friend who had played at our house before.

We had food and some themed activities set out for them to do if they wanted, but there wasn't a timeline and they mostly just played and ate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an aside, please dint plan for just a big play date. It doesn't shake out that way. Plan at least a few organized activities.

My kid's parties have always been just big play dates with more sugar.

[Anonymous]

A movie at a birthday party seems lame. Plan some activities!