Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sent out my first evite to a mix of classmates, neighbors and family friends. I made sure children's names were listed. Family friends RSVPd with entire family - 2 adults 2 kids. Now multiple classmates are RSVPing with 2-3 kids.

I am going to go over my headcount of 20. I can probably pay $30 per sibling for a few but I prefer not. This ia drop off optional. These parents are bringing older kids and younger kids.

What can I do? Just take it as a learning lesson?

In the past, I did paper invitations and parents would ask about siblings.

curious about this - if a parent offers to pay the cost of the extra sibling, is that fine?

I'm not OP, but I think that is insanely rude and puts the host at a disadvantage. The person offering to pay will most likely need to hand the check over to the host herself, which is weird and awkward and no way would I feel ok accepting that at my kids' party. On top of that, is the parent going to pay for the slice of pizza and cake? What about the goody bag? Does the one kid not get a goody bag or is that the host's job as well.

On top of all that, most places have strict limits on the number of people allowed, so even if you pay for your kid, that means one less spot for Larla's friend to attend.

If it's too much of a burden to drop your 7 year old off and pick them up later or find a carpool for them, then politely decline the invite. Your 4 year old should not attend.

Lesson learned for next time. Always be direct in the initial invite.

I think your likely culprit is mixing family friends and school friends. Family friends have always brought the whole gang. They start RSVPing for the whole family when they see no other instructions. Others see this and follow suit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sent out my first evite to a mix of classmates, neighbors and family friends. I made sure children's names were listed. Family friends RSVPd with entire family - 2 adults 2 kids. Now multiple classmates are RSVPing with 2-3 kids.

I am going to go over my headcount of 20. I can probably pay $30 per sibling for a few but I prefer not. This ia drop off optional. These parents are bringing older kids and younger kids.

What can I do? Just take it as a learning lesson?

In the past, I did paper invitations and parents would ask about siblings.

Just try to be understanding. For single parents, or those whose spouse can't watch the other kid, it's very nice when parents allow siblings. Parents should be reasonable and expect that some will ask about siblings. If you can acommodate, it's wonderful.

But it's a drop off party for older kids. The parent- single or not- doesn't need to stay. There's no burden here.

Anonymous wrote:Sent out my first evite to a mix of classmates, neighbors and family friends. I made sure children's names were listed. Family friends RSVPd with entire family - 2 adults 2 kids. Now multiple classmates are RSVPing with 2-3 kids.

I am going to go over my headcount of 20. I can probably pay $30 per sibling for a few but I prefer not. This ia drop off optional. These parents are bringing older kids and younger kids.

What can I do? Just take it as a learning lesson?

In the past, I did paper invitations and parents would ask about siblings.

curious about this - if a parent offers to pay the cost of the extra sibling, is that fine?

Anonymous wrote:Sent out my first evite to a mix of classmates, neighbors and family friends. I made sure children's names were listed. Family friends RSVPd with entire family - 2 adults 2 kids. Now multiple classmates are RSVPing with 2-3 kids.

I am going to go over my headcount of 20. I can probably pay $30 per sibling for a few but I prefer not. This ia drop off optional. These parents are bringing older kids and younger kids.

What can I do? Just take it as a learning lesson?

In the past, I did paper invitations and parents would ask about siblings.

Just try to be understanding. For single parents, or those whose spouse can't watch the other kid, it's very nice when parents allow siblings. Parents should be reasonable and expect that some will ask about siblings. If you can acommodate, it's wonderful.

Anonymous wrote:Just send out a note of clarification that the party is for classmates only and that siblings are not invited. You need to be blunt.

This. Be blunt. You can make it friendly by saying "Reminder that drop-off is an option. We wish we could host siblings, but space and resource constraints make it impossible. Thanks!"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What age group is this?

6-8. Siblings ages 3-10.

Then you have zero issues saying nicely, no siblings.

(I mean, if it were for a 2 year old, then I get it. But 6-8? Nope.)

Anonymous wrote:Assuming this is a drop off party, you simply email those parents and say, "due to a head count limit, we aren't able to accommodate siblings. So sorry!"

The end.

I had this happen last year, though I did tell those who asked siblings were welcome if we didn't hit our limit for the party room. There were some last minute cancellations, so it worked out - but that's totally up to you on whether you want to deal with that.

Anonymous wrote:What age group is this?

6-8. Siblings ages 3-10.

Assuming this is a drop off party, you simply email those parents and say, "due to a head count limit, we aren't able to accommodate siblings. So sorry!"

The end.

I think the issue is the family friends because they are used to socializing as a whole family and didn't realize that it would be any different for this event. I think you may need to contact them individually to say that you can't accommodate siblings at this time but will let them know if space allows or some such thing.

Just send out a note of clarification that the party is for classmates only and that siblings are not invited. You need to be blunt.

What age group is this?

Does the venue limit numbers?

Sent out my first evite to a mix of classmates, neighbors and family friends. I made sure children's names were listed. Family friends RSVPd with entire family - 2 adults 2 kids. Now multiple classmates are RSVPing with 2-3 kids.

I am going to go over my headcount of 20. I can probably pay $30 per sibling for a few but I prefer not. This ia drop off optional. These parents are bringing older kids and younger kids.

What can I do? Just take it as a learning lesson?

In the past, I did paper invitations and parents would ask about siblings.