My son is having his 10th birthday party at a public pool. It is 7.00 a person. I did stick a not in the invite that said something like your child will not need any money. You may drop your child off or feel free to come as well. i meant free as in welcome. Should I pay for the parents? I never even thought about this. But all the rsvp's are turning out to be kid and parent. What do i do? Is it the right thing to pay? I cant afford it but will just have to if it comes to that. If you were invited would you assumme that It was all paid for? I only intended to pay for the kids. The stupid pool doesnt have group discounts so I have to pay per head. Please help. I need to know asap. party is monday from 1-5. I wrote in the invite drings and snacks are available with cake at 2:30. I did that cuz i am sure people know how expensive the snack bar is. So, would you assume I would pay for parent and child? and also, is that the way it should be done ethically? See, if it was me, I would assume to pay or drop my son off. But others think differently. Thanks!
The party is tomorrow. I hae notified all parents and they were very undersanding and thank GOD planned on paying. I agree that some parents would want to come because it is swimming but I did mention in the invite there were plenty of eyes. I had that covered. A public pool I meant they do not have group rates and it is $7.00 a person. Food is expensice too. So what I did do to help offset this, is i was going to have cake and snack and drinks at a picnic table for the kids. But know I have bought cases of water, soda, and snaks and 48 cupcakes. I am glad because 12 kids rsvp and anywhere from 1-6 extra people are coming per child. i think its 12 kids and at least 35 adults and siblings. It is almost like they as a family decided to make a day of it. So at least now I will have plenty of free, drinks and snacks and cupcakes for adaults and sibling. I plan to have extra money on me if there is any issue or a kid shows up that didnt rsvp. I was honestly shocked at how many people rsvp and told me they were bringing the entire family.It would be impossible to have the food and not expect all of the little siblings not to want ot come out for cupcakes.The parents to will have acces o free drinks and snacks all day because the snack bar is expensive.thanks for everyones help.If i was to do it again, i would have pitched in for mom.nut i am guessing no every parent will swim so I hope the pool doesnt charge them.
personally, I would not assume that the parent of the birthday kid would pay for me as well as for my child. I would assume that, if I chose to stay, I would be responsible for paying my own way.
Since it is at a pool I can see where a parent would want to stay with the kid. There can never be too many eyes on the water. I wouldn't assume that I was being paid for, just my kid. However, I would prepare yourself to pay for an adult if there is some confusion.
As for drinks, I would ask if you could bring a large cooler of kool-aid or water and have that be the provided for. I would not assume that whatever I wanted from the snack bar would be included.
M.
Maybe you could contact each parent that said they were coming to let them know that only the kids are paid for. I wouldn't be offended if someone let me know ahead of time. Then I could decide whether I want to drop off or stay. I'd be upset if I assumed I was paid for (which some parents might) and then got there and learned differently. Good luck and enjoy the party!
If theinvitation said feel free to stay, I would assume it was paid for. By age 7, all the parties were drop off parties, but we would stay if it were a pool party--just our own comfort level. I would never bring siblings to a party without asking first; that being said, you are having the party on a work day, so if I were taking the afternoon off to take my child to your party, it would be a lot for me to also have to pay a babysitter--no income + a babysitter.
Sounds like a great party and everything will be great! Happy Birthday to your son!
Eeek! I would probably assume that the "pool birthday party" was already paid for, and I could just walk right in, but then at the door, if I had to pay, I wouldn't hold it against the hosts at all! Tell the door staff you're paying for kids and to keep a tally-or pay in advance for kids. The parents will think it's cute the kids were covered. Stay away from the door! People will pay, and you can always apologize once they're inside that they didn't offer a birthday package if you feel like it. If you have time, you may want to send a note that group package was not available and parents will have to pay at door if you wish, but it may not be necessary.
From the way you worded it, I would assume that I could enter for free as well. Here's why: We're not a big swimming family. I'm never clear on the difference between public pools and the rest. There's really only one close enough to me to be worth going to, and we can't afford the membership. So as someone who has no knowledge of how these things work, I would have guessed that there was a group discount. I figured there must be cheaper rates since pool parties are so popular.
Since my kid is a poor swimmer, my husband or I are around whenever there's water involved. Sure there are lifeguards at the pool, but there are also friends and peer pressure to go further and keep up. We would have replied "no" if one of us couldn't attend. I like to think that we're both pretty helpful at these events, getting sunscreen on the kids, and cake handed out, and not hogging all the food that I know is intended for the kids.
I certainly wouldn't have been at all offended if I was asked to pay my own way to the pool. I couldn't afford it either! If you didn't say something in advance though, I might not have the cash on hand the day of the party because of my assumptions.
I just got an invite for my son to go to a birthday party at a lake and it said one parent. she also has to pay for the adults admission and I had a party at the Riversharks and also put one parent and gave them the price of the ticket if 2 parents wanted to come. At age 10 usually kids will get dropped off but you have to remember its in water and alot of parents may be afraid to let their child go alone.
