Helping Your Child Decide Who to Invite to Birthday Party

Throwing a birthday party for your child can be a very exciting time.  However, before you can enjoy the day, you must decide who will be welcomed as a guest.  That can be tricky, especially when your child has a long list of friends.

Set a Limit This number could be the same as is stipulated by the party venue that you have.  You don’t want to exceed the occupancy of the venue.  But, even that number may be too large, depending on the type of birthday party you intend to throw.  You should also consider the cost per head, and what you can afford to spend.  Nearly every cost will increase with each additional invitee (i.e. catering, beverages, party favors, invitations, etc).

Make a List of Family and Family Friends If you intend to include family and family friends on the list of invitees, then you will want to make a list of these individuals and get a count.  You can then subtract this number from the total limit you had previously set, in order to determine how many of the child’s friends can be invited.

Setting an exact number will make it much easier on your child, as he or she tries to determine which friends should receive invitations.

Make it Clear Whether This Will be a Co-Ed Party When kids are young, it is common to throw girl-only or boy-only parties.  However, you should be careful about making this stipulation if family members or family friends will be bringing along children of the opposite sex.

Cut Out the Troublemakers While the child might be part of the same social group, if he or she is likely to cause trouble or to upset other children with unnecessary drama, then cut his or her name from the list.  Explain to your child what your concerns are and then be firm in the decision, reminding your son or daughter of how many other great friends will be there that day.