Getting worried - what if no one shows up to DS's b-day party???

[mom2fussy]

DS is turning 5 on Sunday & his party is scheduled for Saturday at our house.  We have no family in this area, but I invited 5 kids (and their parents, if they wanted to come) that he is friends with.  2 are neighbors & the others are from church.  I mentioned the party to all the parents several weeks in advance & then sent out invitations about 1 1/2 weeks ago.  All parents verbally told me they would like to come or probably would come when I mentioned it to them a while back.

One of them is very unreliable about these things & I really don't trust a several-weeks old verbal commitment from them.  I have no clue if they'll show or not & they haven't RSVP'd since I sent the invite.  Another girl will be with her dad that weekend.  So although her mom told me she'll come, I'm afraid the dad will forget or just decide not to bring her or something.

That leaves 3 others...

The mom of the 3-yr old next door RSVP'd saying they'll be here.  But one mom I was counting on who said she was coming just told me tonight they can't make it because she accidently committed to 2 parties at the same time on Saturday (and they're going to the other one).  I haven't told DS yet, but he'll be *REALLY* upset about that particular boy not showing up...  I'm still in shock over it.  And I haven't heard *anything* from the last girl's mom, so I have no clue if she'll be coming or not.

I'm getting REALLY worried that we're only going to have the 3-yr-old next door neighbor show up!  DS will be *so* disappointed & will wonder why none of his friends came.  The others are all age 5-6.  I had planned the activities for that age group and/or more kids than just 2 of them!!  Since I invited 5 kids, including the one I thought we could count on, I never expected we might have just the 1 neighbor come.

And if only the neighbor girl shows up, the "party" won't be much different than any other time they get together & play in the yard.

What do you do in this kind of situation?  Would it be wrong to call the other parents to feel them out about it??  We don't have any other kids I could invite to fill out the guest list...

[Spiralshell]

Sounds stressful!

I don't think there's anything wrong with calling the parents to feel them out. Happy and casual -- "Oh hi! Just wanted to check in and see if you and little Suzy are still going to be able to make it on Saturday -- our birthday boy is so excited!" If they are coming, you'll know, and if they're not hopefully they'd have the heart to say it on the phone (or if they're noncommittal maybe you could tell by their  tone of voice) and you could prepare your little guy so he's not so disappointed when the party time comes.

If it is just your child and the neighbor's child, maybe you can have something very special in mind that would be extra fun for them? A special treasure hunt or other activity?

Good luck and I hope it works out!

[mom2fussy]

Think I'll call a couple of the parents today then.  AND have a back-up plan in mind in case it's just DS & the neighbor.  Anyone have any other suggestions of what to do with them?

[doubledutch]

contact all the maybe people.  the verbal yes from three weeks ago, the mom of the girl who will be with her dad (see if you can get the dad's number or at least pass yours on to him with a message that they are welcome, no gift necessary), and the "last girl" whose mom you haven't heard from.  i'd even contact the neighbors with the 3yo just to make sure. 

do you have any adult friends your ds is close with who might like to come?  i have a couple close friends i usually invite to the kids' parties even though they don't have children (or have adult children).

[zebra15]

I would call/email them.  did you invites have RSVP on them?  either way call them and let them know you are doing a final head count for snacks or something and you want to confirm they are coming.

This is why I hate kids parties.... I hope your kiddo has a great day either way.

[mom2fussy]

Yep, the invites had RSVP's on them.

Today was pretty stressful - LOTS of phone calls & texts.  I invited several other people, all who were busy tomorrow.

But I ended up talking with all the parents today for one reason or another.  The one I thought was most unreliable said "Of course we're coming! We've been planning on it!"  Another one who I had just spoken with on Sunday about the party (and watched her daughter on Wednesday night) told me she'd forgotten!  She wasn't sure if the girl's dad was planning on taking her or not.  But later she said yes, she'll be bringing her daughter.  And the last one's mom called me & RSVP'd this evening.  So it looks like there's a good chance we have 4 kids coming.  Yay!

Thanks for the advice & support.