I’ve said it many times before, but I’m going to say it again: kids go to too many birthday parties! I’ve met parents who have spent their entire weekends carting their children from one affair to another. I ran into one parent who bemoaned the fact that in one day she had a 10:00 drop off for her youngest, an 11:00 drop off for her oldest, a 12:00 pick up for the youngest, followed by a 1:30 drop off for her middle twins, a 3:00 pick up for her oldest, and then finally a 3:30 pick up for her twins... I asked her if she would like me to lend her a chauffeur cap.
There’s a local school that has a pretty interesting solution: the combined monthly party. Each parent is given a schedule of birthdays for each month of the year that the kids are in school and then it’s up to the parents to make a choice: do a party with less than 3 kids or combine parties with the kids that share the same birthday month and invite the whole class.
I did this recently for two boys and a girl all sharing the month of February, and it was a huge success. It worked on a lot of levels: the parents were able to split the cost of the party three ways, making it very economical, the parents were able to hang out and connect because they all came (siblings as well as party kids attended, so the family didn’t need to be split up), and the party kids, although given their equal respect and due, were able to enjoy the party without being in the heat of the spotlight.
If you decide this situation might work for you, then here are a few things to consider.
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