My son has been hoping for an aquatic center birthday party for a few years now, but the price just keeps going up! It would cost about 200 dollars to pay for our guest list of family and a few friends wether we reserve the place for a party or simply pay for all guests. What I'm wondering is if it would be rude to pay for the childrens costs and allow the parents who want to swim to pay for themselves. I tend to think it would be, but I'm occasionally overly proud, and my husband thinks it would be fine. Most of the guest list is his family so he would know if they would find it rude or not. Please help!
it is way appropriate to only pay for the kids. that is what the party is for right? what I would do is on the invitation put something like,
kids will have pool time from 1:00p-3p. Food served from 3p-4p. Any adult that would like to swim can pay the front desk the $5.00 required fee.
Or something to that effect.
Party is for the kids, parents can foot the bill for their own entertainment, unless it is a parent of a small child, then it is a safety reason, so I would pay for them. Really though, any adult that is pouty about not getting to swim for free at a kids party is sad! Listen to your hubby and let your kid have their day and stop stressing the small stuff. LOL
Personally I think if you invite someone, you should pick up the tab. If your son wants an aquatic party, why can't you just allow him to invite a few friends, let them go swimming and then bring them back to your house where they can meet up with the family and have cake and ......
I just took my son to a skating party and the kids were covered but if the adults wanted to skate we had to pay. I didn't think much of it.
But if the kids are young and would need an adult in the water with them that might be something to consider when deciding to pay for them too. Older kids I wouldn't worry about paying for the adults but if your son is younger then I think it's only right to pay for the adults that would have to be in the water with the kiddies.
If it were me...I would only invite the kids and tell the parents we are going to XXX to swim and we would be leaving my house at XXpm. Please drop your kids off by then. We'll be back by XXpm for you to pick them up. i wouldn't even invite the adults or siblings.
If they are familiar with the swim place they know if it's safe for their kids.
How old is your son? My guess is that for children 6 and under, parents may want to swim with their child for safety. But for 7 and up, they will probably all swim on their own and the parents would likely just enjoy having some time to just watch and relax. So long as your are specific on your invitation such as: "Kids swim free, Adults swim for $6.00", I think that you will be fine whatever you decide.
Have fun!
When ever I have gone to a party at a pool or play center, I assume the child invited is paid for, nothing more. If I intend to stay or bring a sibling, I fully expect to pay for us. If it is family, just ask if they would mine paying for themselves to help out.
Send the invitation out to the kid from your kid and then they should pay for themselves. I do not think that is rude at all.
We had a birthday party at an aquatic center that mandated that the kids that couldn't swim the length of the pool have an adult/parent in the pool with them. So, if the kids can swim, then don't worry about paying for the parent. But, if you're not sure then you should pay for the parent. Do, you have to pay for the adults ahead of time or can you just pay as you go when you find out who needs to have an adult in the water with them?
This problem is apparent when my niece has a party at our local theme park. She buys x amount of tickets and passes them out to the kids. The tickets are discounted, so if the adults get in line to purchase a ticket, they usually buy it and use the discount. Some adults ride, but not all of them.
However, are all the guests able to swim? Will they need the assistance of their parent in the water? If so, yes, that would be rude.
I would make out your invitations and then put a note on saying something along the lines of "Johnny's admission is included for the party but if parents or siblings want to swim the cost is "X" amount"
I think it depends on the age of the children. If you have a young son -under 6 or 7 and most of the kids will be that young, then the parents are going to need to be in the water with them. Therefore by asking the kids you're asking the parents with the expectation of them having to swim -and therefore you should pay. However, if the kids are older and the parents don't have a need to be in the water with them -then I think it would be okay as long as you word the invitation in a way that gives them a heads up. Ideally I would pay for everyone, but I don't think it's a breach of etiquette to do it this way as long as the kids are older. Also -is there a way maybe you could invite fewer people?
I personally don't think that it would be rude at all. It's the parent's call rather they choose to swim or not. It sounds like a lot of fun! It's nice to see a fellow New Mexican on here! I'm from Roswell. :-) Have fun!
