We did this for my son's BM. We invited many neighbors and not their kids. If we invited every neighbor's kid, it would have been an extra 30 kids. At $100 a pop, I wasn't going to spend an extra $3,000 on kids that my son wasn't friends with and had no interest in having there.
Anonymous wrote:Do you think that the neighbor just used the previous Bar Mitzvah invite list and forgot to change it to include your DD? I also think that neighbors fall into a different catagory then school friends and that the whole family should be invite. But I always tend to be overinclusive!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
The parents will care and not really understand. It's not like he is being asked to go away and spend days away from his daughter. It is a 2-3 hour service and a four hour party. Make a playdate/sleepover for the daughter. everyone will be happy. You are making a huge case out of nothing.
I'm not making a huge deal of it. The neighbors aren't worried about the daughter's feelings, the father isn't worried about whether the neighbors think he is paying enough attention to their son. Everyone is living their own lives, making the accommodations they feel are appropriate.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I agree that it's poor form to invite a whole family except one child. It's just.... unkind. However if you like these people, I would take my son and leave my husband home with my daughter as others suggested.
But if you get there and there are other 9 YO girls in attendance? I'd be pissed. Probably wouldn't get over that.
We did this for my son's BM. We invited many neighbors and not their kids. If we invited every neighbor's kid, it would have been an extra 30 kids. At $100 a pop, I wasn't going to spend an extra $3,000 on kids that my son wasn't friends with and had no interest in having there. It was his day and the friends that he wanted there were the only ones invited except for his cousin's. So even if there is another 9 year old that may be a close family friend or cousin. When our son's friends had their's, our younger DC wasn't invited either. We never took at as "poor form"or an insult" That's what the kid and the parents wanted.
Not every parent was invited either. Only the ones we were good friends with and knew my son well.
It is not just a birthday party but a very special celebration that each family decides how they want to celebrate. A backyard barbecue is one thing, a catered very expensive event is something else entirely.
Nobody is suggesting that every neighbor's kid be invited, and I think everyone appreciates that it's a special event. The question is whether one should exclude a single family member IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I agree that it's poor form to invite a whole family except one child. It's just.... unkind. However if you like these people, I would take my son and leave my husband home with my daughter as others suggested.
But if you get there and there are other 9 YO girls in attendance? I'd be pissed. Probably wouldn't get over that.
We did this for my son's BM. We invited many neighbors and not their kids. If we invited every neighbor's kid, it would have been an extra 30 kids. At $100 a pop, I wasn't going to spend an extra $3,000 on kids that my son wasn't friends with and had no interest in having there. It was his day and the friends that he wanted there were the only ones invited except for his cousin's. So even if there is another 9 year old that may be a close family friend or cousin. When our son's friends had their's, our younger DC wasn't invited either. We never took at as "poor form"or an insult" That's what the kid and the parents wanted.
Not every parent was invited either. Only the ones we were good friends with and knew my son well.
It is not just a birthday party but a very special celebration that each family decides how they want to celebrate. A backyard barbecue is one thing, a catered very expensive event is something else entirely.
Nobody is suggesting that every neighbor's kid be invited, and I think everyone appreciates that it's a special event. The question is whether one should exclude a single family member IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES.
Anonymous wrote:I agree that it's poor form to invite a whole family except one child. It's just.... unkind. However if you like these people, I would take my son and leave my husband home with my daughter as others suggested.
But if you get there and there are other 9 YO girls in attendance? I'd be pissed. Probably wouldn't get over that.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
Your husband is also being ridiculous. If the kid has been a part of your lives, your husband should go.
It sounds as though the OP's husband had helped keep the kid entertained and clothed. I don't see how that obligates him to spend time away from his daughter if he'd rather not. Do you really think the neighbor's son is going to care that his friend's father didn't come?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I agree that it's poor form to invite a whole family except one child. It's just.... unkind. However if you like these people, I would take my son and leave my husband home with my daughter as others suggested.
But if you get there and there are other 9 YO girls in attendance? I'd be pissed. Probably wouldn't get over that.
We did this for my son's BM. We invited many neighbors and not their kids. If we invited every neighbor's kid, it would have been an extra 30 kids. At $100 a pop, I wasn't going to spend an extra $3,000 on kids that my son wasn't friends with and had no interest in having there. It was his day and the friends that he wanted there were the only ones invited except for his cousin's. So even if there is another 9 year old that may be a close family friend or cousin. When our son's friends had their's, our younger DC wasn't invited either. We never took at as "poor form"or an insult" That's what the kid and the parents wanted.
Not every parent was invited either. Only the ones we were good friends with and knew my son well.
It is not just a birthday party but a very special celebration that each family decides how they want to celebrate. A backyard barbecue is one thing, a catered very expensive event is something else entirely.
Nobody is suggesting that every neighbor's kid be invited, and I think everyone appreciates that it's a special event. The question is whether one should exclude a single family member IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES.
Anonymous wrote:OP here, appreciate the advice. I was just surprised because we are more than "hey, how's it going?" neighbors. The boys are together most weekends, the kid practically lives at my house when the pool is open. He's smaller than DS so I give them all of DS nicer stuff, we house sit and pet sit for each other, we have keys to each other's houses, give each other rides, I supported both boy's Bar Mitzvah projects, support the kid's school fundraisers, etc. I just assumed that DD was part of the mix. I guess I'll leave her home with DH, he'll refuse to go without her anyway.[/quote]
What a wuss. Why on earth would he care?
Anonymous wrote:
Your husband is also being ridiculous. If the kid has been a part of your lives, your husband should go.
Anonymous wrote:OP here, appreciate the advice. I was just surprised because we are more than "hey, how's it going?" neighbors. The boys are together most weekends, the kid practically lives at my house when the pool is open. He's smaller than DS so I give them all of DS nicer stuff, we house sit and pet sit for each other, we have keys to each other's houses, give each other rides, I supported both boy's Bar Mitzvah projects, support the kid's school fundraisers, etc. I just assumed that DD was part of the mix. I guess I'll leave her home with DH, he'll refuse to go without her anyway.