Opinions needed for birthday party invite with guest limit

[jacksmom0902]

We are having DS1's 5th birthday party at a local pumpkin patch. The package includes 12 guests with an additional charge for each additional guest. How do I politely indicate on the invitation or an insert with the invitation that the invite is for the birthday guest and that the parent will need to pay for any additional siblings who attend? Our previous parties have included neighbors and MOMS Club friends so I know how many siblings they have and can include them in the invite. This is our first time inviting friends from preschool and we don't know their siblings and I wouldn't expect them to attend but I don't want to get stuck with a huge bill at the end of the party for unexpected sibling guests. TIA for any help!

Karla

[Melanie]

That's a toughie. I've not BTDT since we've always included the whole family (and have not had any 'entire class' parties yet). I'm thinking some type of informative notation on the invitation like "additional child admissions can be purchased for $x.xx at the ticket both by the haystack." Or just be direct and say, "We welcome siblings to join in the fun with us, but you will need to purchase an additional admission for them at the cost of $x.xx." I'm assuming parents are free, right?

Or just pay for any surprise guests after the party and not worry about it.

Dd always went with Ds (& us) to any of his school friends' parties this year. I didn't give it a 2nd thought, she goes where we go (though none seemed to be a pay-per-child type venue), including drop-off and pick-up everyday. She's a kindergarten regular. :)

[egoldber]

This is hard. I had this problem this year with Sarah's party. I had to pay additonal for each child over the first 10 with a hard upper limit of 20 (including Sarah). I was hoping for some no's toward the end because I accidentally overinvited, LOL!!

There were a couple moms who on the day of the party asked if younger sibs could be included and I had to tell them no. :( It was awkward, but they (I think) understood.

I tried to make it clear on the party invite who was invited, but I learned the hard way that a lot of people throw away the envelope after opening the invite and/or don't read the enclosed sheet with specific instructions about the party.

[schums]

Why not just say something to the effect of "Due to space limitations, only (insert child's name here) can participate. You are welcome to drop off child, or stay with him/her."

I would put this directly on the invitation, so there's no additional sheet for parents to loose/ignore. Also, I'd definitely include the drop off thing, since parents with other uninvited children may have some issues with child care because they can't bring them.

If people call and ask you about bringing siblings, then you can tell them that they can buy an extra ticket for $x per sibling.

HTH,
Sarah
Mom to Alex (3/2002) and Catherine (8/2003)

[masha12]

Maybe I am the odd one here, but it would never occur to me that if my child was invited to a birthday party that other children not named on the invitation could attend.

I would just do an RSVP at the bottom with a phone number. That way, you can correct any confusion about who is invited then and do it simply by stating, "oh, the party is just for child and child's close friends, but if you want to bring <insert name of extra child here> and do stuff with him while the party is going on, that would be fine. The admission cost is $xxx."

I think this would be pretty tactful and there won't be any surprises on the day of the party.

[jacksmom0902]

Thanks so much for your suggestions. The invitations went out yesterday and I included the "We welcome siblings to join us..." with the admission price listed. My son is so excited!

Karla

[miki]

This was my thought, too. I wouldn't assume I could bring along a sibling. Especially since I know that birthday packages typically allow for a certain number of kids and the host is paying for the pre-arranged number. Perhaps you can address the invitation to the child guest plus one chaperone, kind of like a wedding invitation where you invite a person plus their guest.