Comments on: Do you invite the whole class to birthday parties?

By: Kaylin

Kaylin — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 15:20:35 +0000

no. I dont invite the whole class. I did that one year in preschool and the following when my daughter just wanted to invite a few people, the whole class found it and started a fit because they were not invited. Once you start doing the whole thing where you invite the whole class, people start to expect that they will be invited. Plus, usually even if you invite the whole class not many people are as nice and they just invite their friends. I suggest just to invite the people you actually want at your birthday.

By: DB

DB — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:02:09 +0000

“As I see it” — don’t be so quick to judge the child as a discipline problem. By spring of the 6th grade, I had been in four different schools, simply due to my dad’s job-related moves. It wasn’t optimal, but it did help me learn how to qickly get along with new folks. “Military brats” can also rack up quite a few schools as their parents are transferred here and there.

By: DB

DB — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 21:57:03 +0000

Aww, MJG, don’t take it personally. They are here today, gone tomorrow! It’s interesting to see what topics bring out the lurkers! Don’t feed the idiots, no matter how tempting . . .

By: motherjanegoose

motherjanegoose — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:45:27 +0000

DB…what is your MIL’s number….I need to take that woman to lunch!!!!

Thanks for reading AND replying to my posts. A poster in today’s column has told me that a lot of folks do not read my posts.

Here is a fact….there are some of us who are regulars and we may keep Theresa in a job. We get a kick out of each other even thought we may not agree. We also enjoy new posters who are innovative, fun and even challenging….anyone can certainly have an opinion and join right in.
I love to read funny excerpts from the lives of those who have something to actually share.
It is really fun to read a new poster with enthusiasm for a novel idea.

Those who never enhance the blog and simply make inane comments are also welcome but it cracks me up that they have no more depth to their knowledge and cannot even share a funny tidbit or thought provoking opinion. These posters will not be keeping Theresa in a job….LOL!

Savvy…thanks to for putting up with me….

By: nurse&mother

nurse&mother — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:06:56 +0000

DB that is hilarious! I bet that taught the girl a huge lesson. Maybe she never had anyone tell/show her what is expected (good manners, of course).

I DO like giving goodie bags, but I do not place a lot of money in them. My goodie bags typically have $5 or less. I think it looks nice. I certainly do not expect parents to give them out. I personally like giving them out. JMHO.

By: deidre_NC

deidre_NC — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:17:45 +0000

i have always thought that the moms should be celebrated on the kids birthday!!

really for my kids we have mostly done the invite a bunch of kids and cook hotdogs at a park so they can play…older ones do a dinner or whatever–they usually liked the camp-park-cookout thing better.

By: Active Duty Mom

Active Duty Mom — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:47:54 +0000

DB & New Mom–I agree with you! The rule in our household has been the kid’s age + 1 as well and it has worked just fine. Invitations are sent via mail and not handed out at school. We’ve also taught our kids that it is rude to invite someone to an event in front of someone you do not intend to invite. We also do not have goodie bags all party guests as well not only due to expense but also since we usually have an activity such as making pizzas at home, going to a local team’s baseball game, going canoeing with a picnic following, or some other activity plus a simple meal, cake and ice cream and that’s all. When our kids receive a gift for birthdays or Christmas/Hanukkah (we are inter-faith), they are not allowed to use it, play with it, wear it, spend it, or put it in the bank until the thank you notes are sent out. If that’s strict, so be it! It works for us!

By: DB

DB — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:25:08 +0000

MJG – you’d love my darling mother-in-law. When she was going through the period of life when all her kids and her friend’s kids were getting married, she’d tack the wedding invitation to her kitchen bulletin board as a reminder, and then take it down when the thank-you note arrived. Unfortuantely, one invitation stayed tacked up for two years — it was sort of a running joke for a while, and then we all sorta forgot about it. She had a luncheon one day, and an aunt of the girl in the invitation saw the invitation tacked up on the bulletin board and made a surprised comment that she didn’t know that my MIL was such a close friend of “Lisa”. Someone else, who didn’t know it was Lisa’s aunt, laughed, and said, “Oh, no, that just means she hasn’t gotten the thank-you note yet!” The aunt apparently turned bright red — and three days later, the thank-you note finally arrived!!

And I am all for the “No Goody Bag” movement! I stopped giving them out the year that my son went to a very chi-chi party and the goody bag cost more than our gift, including two action figures and almost more candy than the Easter Bunny brought. Ridiculous! You’ve invited children to a party, entertained them and fed them — why do you have to give a gift in return?

By: As I See It

As I See It — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:42:31 +0000

“At every school my 9 year has attended” – My, God, Sabrina – how many schools has your 9 year been kicked out of already? I mean, he’s probably only at the 3rd or 4th grade level – if he’s already been suspended or kicked out of school numerous times, there may be a disciplinary problem here, don’t you think? Maybe you should take some “Good Mommy” lessons.

By: Sabrina

Sabrina — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:01:10 +0000

At every school my 9 year has attended, if you send in Birthday Party invitations to be delivered, the entire class must receive one. At first this bothered me. One it can get expensive, and two she is not necessarily friends with some of them. However, with that being said every year only a hand fun of classmates actually came. Additionally, her school does not allow any type of homemade cakes, cookies, etc. So in order to celebrate with her class, I had to buy a cake, cookies, etc. I can understand this concept to a degree. I am not sure I would want my child eating some of these things that others bring!!!