Time of day for 3 y.o. birthday party?

[Mamma2004]

When DS turned 1, we held the party between naps and when he turned 2, I forced an early nap and invited our guests at 2:00. Now that DS naps at 1:30 or so, I cannot decide when to have his party. Yes, he could survive without a nap but would surely have more fun if somewhat rested. Once he is engaged, it's not hard to keep him up.

Some kids still nap (starting anywhere from 1:00 until 3:00) so I want to take into consideration both the birthday boy and his guests.

We attended a 10am party and it was great - play, lunch, cake, play for a bit and still leave by 1:45. We have another party in a few weeks that is scheduled for 1:00. That will be tough! Even the birthday girl usually naps at 2:30 so I'm not sure if she'll just go without her nap that day. No idea how we'll schedule DS that day, except that I'll *try* to give him "lunch" at 10:30 to attempt a nap around 11:30.

The downside to a 10am party is that we are planning to hold it in our (enormous) backyard on May 19. The weather here in Massachusetts is very unpredictable for that weekend (as we've learned) so is 10am too early and dewy? Would it be better to plan on 3:00, realizing that no time of day is ideal? If guests came in the morning, I would be happy to have them stay all afternoon. Most would leave but the few from an hour away would likely spend the day. If I invite everyone for that post nap time, how would I structure things in order to get kids home to bed on time?

Thanks for reading this far. I need to get these invitations out but am so conflicted about the timing of the party! TIA for any help.

Stephanie

[lilycat88]

We did a 4:00 party last year for 2yr and we're probably doing the same for this year. Or, we might do an even later party at like 5:30 or so. We're super causal about parties at this point and there are more adults than kids so it's likely to be a BBQ in the backyard and turning the sprinklers on for the kids to play in . It's the end of June in Indiana, though, so it's likely to be pretty darn hot already. We'll wrap it up in 2-3 hours so bedtime won't be blown by more than 30 min or so. Timing is really hard. I'm not a morning person and the thought of getting up early...before 7ish on a weekend...to get things ready for a morning party does not appeal to me at all.

[madelinesmom]

The big thing right now with all the parties we attend are the 4-6 or 5-7. All of these parties are for 2-6 year olds. Every party that I have attended over the past 4 weeks and there are these times. I like it, both of mine get a good nap and we get to eat.

We are leaving in 30 minutes for another one, this is a 4:30 start time.

HTH

Jane
Madeline 1/20/03
Emily 11/29/05
http://b4.lilypie.com/l3-em6/.png
http://b1.lilypie.com/-FG1m6/.png

[bubbaray]

We did DD#1's 3rd b-day from 2-4pm. I considered a morning party, but figured that none of the kids would nap after the party if they were all jacked up on sugar from the cake.

With a newborn around, I wasn't too keen on having the party at home at all, but left the planning too late to have it elsewhere. I also wasn't keen on having the kids stay longer than a couple of hours b/c of the (constant) demands on my time from DD#2 in terms of BFg. As it was, I spent most of the party nursing her. I didn't want to have to feed them lunch or dinner, either -- honestly, feeding myself is enough stress for me right now! For an afternoon party, all I did was cake and snacks (veggie and fruit trays and chips that only the parents ate).

We just put DD down for her morning nap early that day. I figured the other parents of napping kids would do the same.

HTH

Melissa

DD#1: 04/2004

DD#2: 01/2007

[SnuggleBuggles]

I would think outside at 10am in MA would be fine. But, I like the idea of the late afternoon party. Everyone will be well napped, you'll have all day to get loose ends tied up for it...I'd probably do 5-6:30 or 7 but you may want to find out when bedtime is. (I get spoiled with our late bedtime that I forget that some families have way, way earlier bedtimes!). You could aim to have everything party related done by 6 so people could leave when they needed to but keep the part going with music and snacks as long as the crowd seems up for it.

I wouldn't go as early as 4 b/c some families may have to rush if nap time isn't till 2.

Beth

[kristenk]

I think that all of the 3yo bdays I've attended have been in the morning. None of them included lunch.

DD's 3rd bday party was from 10am - 11:30am. Some people stayed a little longer, but everyone was gone by noon.

It worked really well. All of the kids got to play and eat cake (close to 11am, so lunch was still a possibility!), but weren't here too long, either. I know for DD, 1.5hours at a party is a good amount of time. Any more than that (even at the 2-hour mark) and she starts asking when we can go home. I'd rather have everyone play and be happy for a shorter period of time than worry about entertaining kiddos who'd rather be home.

Good luck with party planning! 3rd birthdays are so much fun to plan! :)

[KrisM]

DS's kid party was yesterday. It was 10:30-1 and included lunch for kids and moms. They played for a bit, played a game, played, ate lunch, played, decorated cupcakes and ate cupcakes. Pretty much used all the time and was fun.

DS and 2 of his friends don't nap anymore, so that wasn't a problem. The third does nap and he left a bit early. Mostly he left because his 9 month old sister really needed her nap.

Some of the pps are suggesting a late day party. I'd definitely talk to the other moms before doing this. Bedtime starts at 6:15 here. We would decline a party that was 5-7 and probably even 4-6 as DS would be super tired, cranky, and impossible to deal with.

The family party is tomorrow at 11am. This seems to work for all of us.

[Melanie]

10 am, definitely...maybe push it to 10:30/11 if you are worried about morning dew.

We generally do not attend afternoon or evening children's parties b/c it's just a recipe for disaster. Our kids are overly tired (Ds rests, but rarely actually naps) and having sweets pushed at them too late in the day. Many other kids as well so they just seem to overall be unhappy events. I'd rather risk messing up a nap time then a bed time.

[gordo]

The parties I have been too for that age range are either at 11 or 4ish. My DD's 2nd party next month is 4-6 with dinner included. We are going to a 3 year old birthday party next weekend from 4:30-6 dinner included.

[alexsmommy]

We preferred the 10am ones. Especially b/c many people with kiddos this age may have younger sibs who do a morning nap too, so this seemed to be the best compromise to get most with two nappers after their morning nap (or they just came a little late) and pre-afternoon nappers. Also, we had several friends who had kiddos that went to bed as early as 6:15pm, so the post afternoon napper times didn't work for that set as well since their kiddos napped a little earlier and were exhausted by 5:30pm. When I polled them they said they'd rather push the afternoon nap later and just deal with the consequences at home that evening.
At this age there really is no ideal time - and everyone with small kiddos will understand that all you can do is try to accomdate the largest number of people you can.
Our "supper club" is meeting today at the beach at 10am for a bbq b/c this is the only time that really works for everyone w/o having children melt down at various times.
Good luck - we know all about the unpredictable weather issues living here in Chicago.
Alaina
Alex Feb '03
and #2 in early summer '07

[TraciG]

we had Sydney's 3rd birthday at 5:00 because she napped usually 2- 4 then I had to get her ready & drive 20 minutes to my MIL's house where we had her party .

good luck

[Mamma2004]

Many thanks to all of you for your responses!

We will be at the mercy of the weather no matter what time we choose. Given everyone's schedules, we have decided on 10:00 as our starting time. Like PPs pointed out, guests are always welcome to come late if DC2 is napping at that time.

We'll plan to play and then eat lunch, enjoy cake, etc. Hopefully we'll luck out and the weather will cooperate, in which case everyone is welcome to stay and play all afternoon.

Given that the party is May 19, I'm going to upload my quickie invitation so I can pick it up later today and get it in the mail tomorrow.

Thanks again for your input - it always helps when other parents weigh in!

Stephanie

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