Friday Night Parties

[icedcoffee]

Parties! Our favorite subject. How do you all feel about a Friday night 5-7 birthday party? I feel like all times have pros/cons. Nobody in our circles have done this (yet). Is this unpopular?

Kid is turning 8 and it would be at a party place. Parents can drop off and leave if they want (or stay).

Pizza obviously.

[joy]

No complaints from me

[waverly]

I’ve started to love Friday night parties although generally they are at the house for older kids and a later start time. 5 would generally be fine. The only issue I had was when the party venue was 30 minutes away and it is still rush hour traffic. If it’s close by then bonus points.

[scm1011]

I’d be totally fine with that!

[beerlover]

I would like this, and if it was a drop off party, H and I could go for a happy hour drink. I approve 😂

[thebreakfastclub]

If my husband is not able to coordinate this then I need to leave work early to make this party time work, since office hours end at 5.

[countthestars]

I'd love that!

[Deleted]

5 might be a little on the early side for folks who work, but in general I like the idea of a drop-off party as long as it’s close to places where they can get dinner, grab groceries, or do something fun or productive while the kid is at the party. If it’s more than like 15 minutes away from that kind of stuff, it would almost not be worth trying to go anywhere. Which would mean rushing home from work to get my kid in time for the party, then hanging out for two hours, and getting home late on a Friday, of which I would not be a fan.

[icedcoffee]

Oct 16, 2024 19:19:30 GMT -5 @villainv said:

5 might be a little on the early side for folks who work, but in general I like the idea of a drop-off party as long as it’s close to places where they can get dinner, grab groceries, or do something fun or productive while the kid is at the party. If it’s more than like 15 minutes away from that kind of stuff, it would almost not be worth trying to go anywhere. Which would mean rushing home from work to get my kid in time for the party, then hanging out for two hours, and getting home late on a Friday, of which I would not be a fan.

This is definitely part of my concern. Most of his friends go to after care with him and that ends at 6 but I feel like with enough notice people would probably be ok on a Friday? Idk. That was my hesitation. So far the reactions make me lean to doing it. I just wanted to make sure the reaction wasn’t “are you insane?” 😂

Friday is also his actual birthday so that might be fun for him.

We’re just so freaking busy on the weekends these days.

[countthestars]

Oct 16, 2024 19:31:03 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

Oct 16, 2024 19:19:30 GMT -5 @villainv said:

5 might be a little on the early side for folks who work, but in general I like the idea of a drop-off party as long as it’s close to places where they can get dinner, grab groceries, or do something fun or productive while the kid is at the party. If it’s more than like 15 minutes away from that kind of stuff, it would almost not be worth trying to go anywhere. Which would mean rushing home from work to get my kid in time for the party, then hanging out for two hours, and getting home late on a Friday, of which I would not be a fan.

This is definitely part of my concern. Most of his friends go to after care with him and that ends at 6 but I feel like with enough notice people would probably be ok on a Friday? Idk. That was my hesitation. So far the reactions make me lean to doing it. I just wanted to make sure the reaction wasn’t “are you insane?” 😂

Friday is also his actual birthday so that might be fun for him.

We’re just so freaking busy on the weekends these days.

I think you could offer to pick kids up at after care, if you’d be comfortable driving them!

[Deleted]

Oct 16, 2024 19:31:03 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

Oct 16, 2024 19:19:30 GMT -5 @villainv said:

5 might be a little on the early side for folks who work, but in general I like the idea of a drop-off party as long as it’s close to places where they can get dinner, grab groceries, or do something fun or productive while the kid is at the party. If it’s more than like 15 minutes away from that kind of stuff, it would almost not be worth trying to go anywhere. Which would mean rushing home from work to get my kid in time for the party, then hanging out for two hours, and getting home late on a Friday, of which I would not be a fan.

This is definitely part of my concern. Most of his friends go to after care with him and that ends at 6 but I feel like with enough notice people would probably be ok on a Friday? Idk. That was my hesitation. So far the reactions make me lean to doing it. I just wanted to make sure the reaction wasn’t “are you insane?” 😂

Friday is also his actual birthday so that might be fun for him.

We’re just so freaking busy on the weekends these days.

If there’s a way to pick some of the kids up from aftercare if the parents don’t get off work in time? I know not all programs let someone else pick up, but if it’s allowed, maybe this could be an option that would allow some more friends to attend.

[jeaniebueller]

I’d struggle to get them there by 5. What about 6-8?

[icedcoffee]

Oct 16, 2024 19:46:25 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

I’d struggle to get them there by 5. What about 6-8?

My concern with 6-8 is that it’s 90 minutes of activity followed by pizza. 7:30 dinner is late. You can’t really swap them because who wants to run and play after pizza and cake?

[icedcoffee]

I could definitely offer rides. I have a minivan! 🚐

[brooke77]

I would love a Friday night dropoff party! My DS is 7 and the 5-7 timeframe would be ideal.

[kershnic]

I work until 5, so we'd be half an hour late after 15 minutes home and 15 minutes to your party location. Even later if I'm in a place where commutes are longer or party distance is longer.

[wanderingback]

What about people that work? Obviously some people work on the weekends too, but I think more people work Mon-Fri type schedules in general (unless this is different among this friend group). I wouldn’t be able to make something at that time.

[sdlaura]

That would work well for us. DH and I both work FT but have at least one of us stopping work before 5 everyday for kids’ activities. Where we live, I know very few two working parent couples of elementary schoolers where both parents are still working at 5 pm on the average Friday. I actually can’t think of any…even the ones where both are in healthcare are not working the same schedule on the same days. Maybe because we’re west coast, or a lot of remote/white collar jobs? I think it was more common to be able to do that when our kids were younger and in daycare that was open later, but older kid activities tend to start earlier, so everyone has already had to build in flexibility. So wouldn’t be an issue at all here.

[heygrey]

I would greatly prefer a Friday evening party over a Saturday/Sunday party that interrupts our weekend. *I* don't want to socialize on a Friday evening, but I will happily drop my kid off and have a couple hours by myself or grab dinner with H.

You can't make everyone happy with party times so do what works best for your family.

[redpenmama]

We had my daughter's 7th birthday party on a Friday night last year (think it was 6-8). Nearly every parent told me it was a great idea since weekends were so busy. So, I'd do it.

[maudefindlay]

Oct 16, 2024 19:47:55 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

Oct 16, 2024 19:46:25 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

I’d struggle to get them there by 5. What about 6-8?

My concern with 6-8 is that it’s 90 minutes of activity followed by pizza. 7:30 dinner is late. You can’t really swap them because who wants to run and play after pizza and cake?

Kids!

[beerlover]

Oct 17, 2024 6:50:57 GMT -5 maudefindlay said:

Oct 16, 2024 19:47:55 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

My concern with 6-8 is that it’s 90 minutes of activity followed by pizza. 7:30 dinner is late. You can’t really swap them because who wants to run and play after pizza and cake?

Kids!

My kid won't even eat at a party, he just runs and plays the entire time. Ain't no time for food.

[shauni27]

Oct 17, 2024 6:50:57 GMT -5 maudefindlay said:

Oct 16, 2024 19:47:55 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

My concern with 6-8 is that it’s 90 minutes of activity followed by pizza. 7:30 dinner is late. You can’t really swap them because who wants to run and play after pizza and cake?

Kids!

I was just going to say, kids do NOT care. Do dinner first at 6, then the kids will run around like the dickens and then have cake. 

[Bad Dingo]

I think this is a great day, but would switch it to 6-8 and offer to pick up kids from aftercare if allowed.

[icedcoffee]

Oct 17, 2024 8:12:21 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Oct 17, 2024 6:50:57 GMT -5 maudefindlay said:

Kids!

I was just going to say, kids do NOT care. Do dinner first at 6, then the kids will run around like the dickens and then have cake. 

I think pizza and cake need to be done in the same 30 minute block (we get the room for 30 minutes), but I'll check on this!

[InBetweenDays]

If you did 6-8pm you could have some snacks out that they could stop and grab if they get hungry. And then keep pizza and cake at 7:30?

I agree 5pm is a bit early for working people. And around here that's especially true if you factor in Friday traffic.

[nicolewi]

I think Friday night is great, but I agree with some others that it might be hard to make it there by five. But if that’s just the option you have, I would still go with it. If you could look at 5:30 or six I think that would be preferable. I would probably tell people that pizza will be served at 7:30 or whatever so kids can have a snack after school.

[icedcoffee]

Great feedback! Since people don't seem to think 7:30 is too late for food we can definitely push the party to 6-8. I'll make sure it's clear in invitations dinner will be at 7:30 for snacking purposes.

[niq]

... Friday Night Parties had never occurred to me but now it sounds great. Having to squeeze all parties into Saturday and Sunday, when so many sports are on Saturday mornings and there's an unwritten rule not to do Sunday mornings (even in areas where very few people go to church!) makes things so tough. As long as nobody has an older sibling who plays high school football it's brilliant!

I would not stress too much about exact timing on food.

[purplepenguin7]

Oct 16, 2024 19:47:55 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

Oct 16, 2024 19:46:25 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

I’d struggle to get them there by 5. What about 6-8?

My concern with 6-8 is that it’s 90 minutes of activity followed by pizza. 7:30 dinner is late. You can’t really swap them because who wants to run and play after pizza and cake?

5pm would be a struggle for us, though I have no issues with a Friday night party.  I wouldn't think twice about dinner at 7:30 during a party, but maybe mention the time so parents can offer a snack a bigger snack pre-party if they eat earlier. I also think pizza, then play would be no issue.  Could you do pizza, play, cake in that order?