Anonymous wrote:You are the adult. You don’t have to convince them to have one combined party. You tell them that they are having one combined party. The kids do not get to argue. If they are that upset, they can choose to invite their friends or not.
If this will ring true, you tell them that now that they’re older, we need to start saving more for college. Then you calculate the money you saved, divide it by three , and put that much extra in the college accounts. My kids shut up very quickly when I say, “The thing you are asking for costs x and I have y in my bank account right now.”
As an aside, I have a family member who has an ultra high net worth. All of the kids have struggled with debt in adulthood. I am convinced it’s because they never had the “ we can’t afford that” conversation growing up. Saying no is a gift you give to your child. Please tell your kids no, and mean it.
Anonymous wrote:Just spread out the parties.
Anonymous wrote:OP I went to a dual birthday party this weekend. The parents have had the same basic party every year and it's always fun.
They rent a picnic area in Rock Creek Park and grill and order pizza, and just bring a bunch of stuff to play with: hula hoops, frisbees, lawn games etc.
It's no problem to have siblings, multiple ages etc. There's something for everyone.
Anonymous wrote:how old are your kids?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I would not have 3 parties at home. I would have one party at home for everyone or individual parties at destinations (gymnastics, bounce house, arcade etc.). I would have a dinner for family for all the kids. Family doesn't need to come to the party for school friends.
OP here- like a combined family dinner for all the kids? Because our family plus grandparents, aunts and uncles is like 15 already. Hosting that in addition to 3 birthday parties also gets to be too much.
I do suck it up most years, but surely there has to be a better way? They really like at home birthday parties.