If you have a 4/5 year-old, ice skating party?

[rootbeerfloat]

Short version: Would your 4/5 year-old attend an ice skating party? Would you skate yourself? If so, would you expect your skate rental to be paid for by the host?

Long version: DD asked for an ice skating party for her 5th birthday next month. She has only gone skating once, about 6m ago, and though she picked it up after awhile, I needed to help her in the beginning. This leads me to assume that most kids her age will need parental assistance. At the ice skating rink, you are charged to rent skates; if you just want to hang out/eat/play video games/watch your kid, that doesn't cost anything. She has 20 kids in her preschool class, and I feel obligated to invite everyone. I wouldn't expect everyone to attend (H estimates that about half attended a party last weekend), but there is a big difference cost-wise between paying for 20-25 people to skate vs. 40+ people. Thoughts?

[mainelyfoolish]

I would have let my DD go but I am completely unable to ice skate, so I guess I wouldn't have been much help! I would expect that the host would pay for skate rentals for the kids invited to the party, but if I wanted to skate myself I would plan to cover my own skate rental.

[cosmowife]

Considering that I can't ice skate without falling on my ass, there is no way that i would be able to try to support myself and my child who probably knows less than I do! So no, sorry. But if I lived somewhere where ice skating was more prevalent and more people would actually know how to skate, maybe.

[starlily]

Yes, yes, and no (for the adults, yes for the kids).

Signed,
Had a few skating parties as a kid;
Planning on hosting some in the future

ETA: Every rink I've skated at includes a lesson as part of the party package. From what I've seen, most kids pick up a decent amount. You can also check if your rink has the on ice walkers for assistance.

[zarapipe]

Dd would love to go but couldn't skate by herself so dh or I would have to go with and skate which eh, wouldn't be my first choice for a bday party. WE would probably attend though bc dd would love it. I know a lot of parents probably wouldn't come though if they had to skate with their kid, at least those in dds preschool class.

[zeewifeandmama]

I soooooo wanted to do this for DDs frozen themed 5th bday. But after talking to some mom friends we concluded it would be a giant cluster and all of her school parents would probably hate me.

[rootbeerfloat]

Sept 24, 2014 18:52:24 GMT -5 cosmowife said:

Considering that I can't ice skate without falling on my ass, there is no way that i would be able to try to support myself and my child who probably knows less than I do! So no, sorry. But if I lived somewhere where ice skating was more prevalent and more people would actually know how to skate, maybe.

I live in the tropics! I have low expectations for everyone's skating ability

[rootbeerfloat]

Sept 24, 2014 18:55:09 GMT -5 zeewifeandmama said:

I soooooo wanted to do this for DDs frozen themed 5th bday. But after talking to some mom friends we concluded it would be a giant cluster and all of her school parents would probably hate me.

It would be a Frozen party.

I don't care if they hate me as long as some of them show up

[starlily]

OP - Check my ETA if you haven't already.

[rootbeerfloat]

Sept 24, 2014 18:59:43 GMT -5 starlily said:

OP - Check my ETA if you haven't already.

Thanks. They do have the walkers and a separate area for those. I will ask about a lesson, too.

[Redpoppy]

DS learned to skate at 4/5, but I think it would have been difficult as a party at that age. We went to a roller skating party in K and he was one of the few doing well (he'd been ice skating two years and got their rollerblades). The advantage there was the parent just walked out in the rink if needed.

[thejen626]

I wouldn't go. DD1 is 5.5 and has never been ice skating or roller skating. I can only think of one 4.5 year old that I know that has gone ice skating. And I, personally, am a terrible skater, so I wouldn't be any help if she needed it.

If you want to do a Frozen party, what about reserving a party room at an ice cream or frozen yogurt place?

[fortmyersbride]

I would take my kid, but hope he could figure his way out on the ice. I am a terrible ice skater! In the event I got dragged out on the ice, I would expect to pay for my own skates. But I would hope it didn't come to that

[hocus2]

I think it is too young for an ice skating party (or a swimming party). Most of the kids won't know how to do it and I think that you should pay for the parents skates because most of them will need to be on the ice. I think ages 7+ are better for these sorts of parties.

[rootbeerfloat]

Sept 24, 2014 19:34:05 GMT -5 @lcap said:

I would expect the skates to be covered for the kids. DS has been to go kart, mini golf, arcade, etc. parties and all that stuff (the "activity" portion for the party) is covered. Not sure on the parents. Generally I would say no, parents are there to watch from the side lines but the fact that many of the 4/5 yos you want to invite probably haven't had much ice skating experience makes that really tricky. Can you wait on it a year or two so the kids become more dexterous on their own? I wouldn't worry about my 6 yo on the ice. He'd probably be a little wobbly at first but would quickly get the hang of it. Not sure for the 4 yo.

Sure, but then Frozen won't be popular anymore 

This has been helpful feedback, though.

[imojoebunny]

My kids ice skate.  Both started at 3-4.  Like all good southerners, I have been skating like 5 times in 42 years.

For a skating party, I would expect that the kids admission/skate rental would be paid, and they would have cake & pizza because that is what they do at our rink. I would not go on the ice with my kids. I have, but I don't love it. Could you hire a teen or two to help with the kids not he ice. My kids take lessons, and a lot of the teachers are teens who are very good skaters. As a bonus, 4-5 year olds adore teens. It probably wouldn't cost you more than $30 -$40 to hire a couple of competent teens for an hour, and the rink could likely help you find some.

[irishbride2]

we just went to a roller skating party for a 5 year old. It included 5 and 6 year olds (and a few almost 5 year olds). It was a disaster.

[6fsn]

This is an invite I would hide and hope my kid never found out about. If I was the parent I'd make it a special family fun day and do a different party.

[Deleted]

I live in the land of skates and I'd wait a bit. Most kids here that age are just learning and their parents are trying to figure it out all over again. It sounds like a giant disaster with that many kids.

Can you do something else for her actual b-day party and just take her as a family/with cousins/her best friend one night instead?

[rootbeerfloat]

Sept 24, 2014 19:53:39 GMT -5 6fsn said:

This is an invite I would hide and hope my kid never found out about. If I was the parent I'd make it a special family fun day and do a different party.

We had her sold on a vacation (overnight at a hotel) until last night! She really wants to "see snow and build Olaf," which is impossible, lol.

[Deleted]

Dd asked for one for her 6th bday. I said no. Too many if her friends had never skated.

[Deleted]

Sept 24, 2014 19:59:00 GMT -5 rootbeerfloat said:

Sept 24, 2014 19:53:39 GMT -5 6fsn said:

This is an invite I would hide and hope my kid never found out about. If I was the parent I'd make it a special family fun day and do a different party.

We had her sold on a vacation (overnight at a hotel) until last night! She really wants to "see snow and build Olaf," which is impossible, lol.

Go to Amazon and order Insta-Snow. Viola! Hours of fun, or at least enough to build Olaf.

[InBetweenDays]

Yes, yes and no. But I would call the skating facility. At our local ice skating rink parents skate free for birthday parties.

[badgergrl]

I would hide the invite from my kid too, unless her dad was able to go. I can't skate and have no desire to meet the parents from my dd class as they help my ass up off the ice every 30 seconds.

[meij]

I'd take DD, she would love it. I haven't been on the ice for ten years but maybe it's like riding a bike?

If you go for it, I'd put something on the invitation about parental involvement. Something like FAQ just to answer questions and outline if parents need to skate or not. More people might come if they know they don't need to be on the ice or that their kid doesn't need to know how to skate.

"but Chloesilversdo we can't skate!"
No problem! The children will have a quick lesson and walkers are available to help them on the ice.

"My kid won't want to skate!"
The party won't be all skating! If they don't take to it they'll still enjoy cake and presents.

"I don't want to make a fool of myself"
What happens at the ice rink stays at the ice rink.

"Does a parent have to be on the ice with their child?"
Whatever answer is the rink rules here

[MDmomof2]

To me, a skating party is like a pool party. I have to get in the pool or on the ice with my kid. While I wouldn't decline just for that reason, I'd mumble about it under my breath and hope we had plans that day. If you do the ice skating party, I'd offer to pay for the adults. It won't be optional for most of them not to skate - they pretty much HAVE to get on the ice with their kids. I don't think it's right to ask people to pay when they come your party for things that aren't really optional.

[orval]

We did a skating party for my ds's 7th bday. Most kids had never skated before. We paid extra for the skating place to provide a assistant who gave a 15 minute lesson and helped on the ice. A couple parents skated with the kids as did my DH. They also had the sled things that the kids could hang on to and skate behind if they were struggling. Most were doing great by the end and had no assistance.

[orval]

Also, I got comments from parents and kids that the kids had so much fun and they went back to the rink several times after the party. They liked it because it was something new they had never done before.

[Deleted]

Sept 24, 2014 18:55:24 GMT -5 rootbeerfloat said:

Sept 24, 2014 18:52:24 GMT -5 cosmowife said:

Considering that I can't ice skate without falling on my ass, there is no way that i would be able to try to support myself and my child who probably knows less than I do! So no, sorry. But if I lived somewhere where ice skating was more prevalent and more people would actually know how to skate, maybe.

I live in the tropics! I have low expectations for everyone's skating ability

I would not do this then. I would just take her another time.

[whereintheworld]

I wouldn't go because my 4.5yo boy isn't comfortable on skates and he is kind of anxious/perfectionist around trying new things and not being good at them, so he wouldn't enjoy this party at all as he tries to learn a new skill - there would be tears and it would be rough. I would probably opt-out of the skating part and then join for cake and presents later if it was ok with the hosting mom.