By Sarah E. Visbeek, author of In the Trenches of Mommyhood
A new school year brings new classmates, which means new friends. Which means a new batch of birthday party invitations. With three school-age children, I am no stranger to this phenomenon. My boys probably receive at least two party invitations a month. That’s a lot of parties. Bowling parties; gymnasium parties; miniature golf parties; indoor playplaces parties…Thankfully, we are at the stage where these parties are drop-off events. Meaning I don’t have to stick around for 2 painful hours of small talk with strangers.
Now, it would be impossible for my children to attend every single event to which they are invited. Not to mention, I would go broke in the process of gift-buying for all these children.
So my husband and I have implemented a “Party Rule” in our trenches: In order for one of my sons to attend a birthday party, my husband or I must actually KNOW the child and/or the parents, or else we have to have heard our son talk about the birthday child as a friend.
Of course, there is always room for negotiation.
I felt bad telling him no, especially because we happened to not have any plans.
So he attended. And it was fine.
I think as the boys get older, we will have to revise our “Party Rule”, but for now, I’m sticking to it!
Do you have a “Party Rule” for your children?
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Like what you see? Check out other posts by Sarah:
- What is Your Back to School Bedtime Routine?
- Meal Planning Made Easier
- Back to School Preparedness… Or What NOT to Do
- Welcome to our New Weekly Columnist: Sarah of “In the Trenches of Mommyhood”!
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