No one coming to party??? WWYD?

[AllisonK]

DD wanted to invite a few people from her school to her birthday. We just moved here so these are really the only people we know her age. Well so far not one has RSVP'd what do I do? DD is so excited about her friends coming over and I don't want her to be dissapointed if no one can make it. There is still 5 days till the party so there is still time. What would you do? Invite a few more in hopes that someone can make it, prepare DD (6) that people may be on vacation, have stuff to do etc. These are all homeschooled kids that are pretty busy. I know I can't shield her from all dissapointments but darnit I am her mother and I don't want to see her sad.

Allison

[nicole lisa]

First thing I would do is make follow-up calls to the kids she invited. Just a friendly reminder that the party is coming up and you haven't heard from them yet if they're attending or not. People are so bad about RSVPing nowadays.

If each parent then declines I would just be honest that, unfortunately, no one can make it (busy time of year etc) and ask her what she'd really like to do instead (indoor playground, fancy dinner out, trip to the museum, matinee etc).

We don't do parties but this year DS invited his friend (we're honeschooling too) to go to an indoor playground and then out for dinner with us. We didn't hear back until very last minute so we were very honest leading up to it that we hadn't heard back yet and that his friend might not make it and we worked on a plan in case that happened.

That way, as the day rolled around, DS (who was turning 6) was looking forward to both possibilities and really was cool with either happening.

[oliversmum2000]

i would definitely ring round and check and then make some last minutes invitations or changes if necessary

for ds's 6 party i made sure there were at least 6 children coming from his class and then just relaxed about the rest, maybe as long as a few friends are coming she will be ok - but i would definitely check

[onlyzombiecat]

I would also call to see if people are coming. You may not find other people available last minute either so Definitely prepare your dd for the possibility that not everyone will be able to come and talk about fun alternatives.
Maybe if the kids can't make the party you can set up some playdates at your house after the holidays.

We don't do parties. We decorate the house. Dd gets to pick a restaurant or someplace fun for us to go to.

[AllisonK]

The only problem with that is I don't know any of these kids phone numbers. They are all kids from her school, I am sure the school won't give out their phone numbers. I think I will make a few more invites to take in tomarrow just in case the others can't come.
Thanks,
Allison

[rabrog]

Isn't there a class list for phone numbers or something?

RSVPs are out the window - no one does them anymore. The only way to get something to happen is to follow up yourself.

Jenn

[oliversmum2000]

i am sure that if you contact the school that they will get a mesage to the parents asking them to call you

[absinthe]

I was just recently in the same situation. We had just moved here and my daughter was having a fifth birthday party and was so desperate for her classmates to come.
I would speak to the teacher and explain the situation, she may be willing to provide the other parents numbers and/or emails. If she or he will then I would call the parents and explain the situation to them, they may be more willing to make arrangements to have their children attend if they know how important it is to your daughter.
If all else fails I would explain to your daughter that this is a very busy time of year etc. I would also offer a special birthday outing or adventure, something really neat. Good luck, I know how stressful it is to want to cushion dd from any hurt or disappointment and to not be able to.

[Mizelenius]

No advice to add but I wish we could come! I really, really hope it works out for your DD!