Shortest Birthday Party ... Ever??

Honestly...whatever. It is odd, and there's probably a reason but who cares? I would go and either stay or run an errand.

I think 6 pm is a little late for a 7 year old party.

Since you really don't seem to know the people, why not just decline the invite?

I'm a day late for this, but still wanted to add my 2 cents. I was very shocked to see someone say that a 1 hour party is just a ploy to get gifts, and a couple people saying it was weird or whatever. I'm American, I don't think I'm weird, but I don't remember having a party as a kid (not counting sleepovers when I was 12, NOT 7) that was longer than 60-90 minutes. Friends came in, we did some introductions if people didn't know each other, we played together, we had some pizza or frito pie, some cake and ice cream, sang songs, made the birthday girl feel special, there were a few simple gifts. That's an hour or hour and a half.
My son's party in October was no more than 90 minutes long. The kids ran around and played together until most people showed up, and since it was a Star Wars theme we passed out light sabers made of paper towel tubes cut as a handle (with electrical tape and "buttons") and a cut up pool noodle so everyone had a saber that wouldn't hurt anyone. We played Pin the Saber on the Jedi (I traced my son the day before, cut it out, decorated the figure like a Jedi, and made little light sabers of all colors for the kids to get closest to his hand), a pinata, Yoda Says, Use the Force (a blindfolded relay game), and a Jedi training class (a backyard obstacle course) where they got graduation certificates that were personalized, and a little prize as a graduation gift. The kids were laughing and screaming, they had SO much fun, and the parents had fun too. They played with their new sabers and redid their favorite things (little siblings really kept trying to master the blindfold relay on their own, the older kids were into the obstacles) until the pizza was delivered (Pizza the Hut). Everyone was sitting down with their pizza (party sabers nearby because I cautioned that good Jedis never leave their sabers laying around), and then suddenly we heard the Imperial March playing, and we looked up, and there was a surprise guest: Darth Vadar came in, in full costume, with a real saber! (My husband: I rented his suit and breathing thing). The kids were shocked, scared, they finally regrouped and beat him up with their sabers and made him change to the good side. Their final test of bravery was posing for pictures with Darth Vadar. Then they ate pizza, the cake came out and we sang to him, we opened gifts and gave big hugs, played a few minutes while parents gathered their things, and most left an hour and a half later. I don't think that was a boring party, or weird, but it was then naptime for the kids or at least their younger siblings, or some parents had to work, or some had to get ready for a soccer game, etc. His one "best" friend stayed behind to play while I visited with his mom (my friend) and we cleaned up after the party together.
It could be any number of reasons: the fact that they're young but the party doesn't start until 6 could mean that someone has to work that day and that's as soon as the party could be started, and they didn't want it to end too late. It could be that they don't have a lot of money for silly stuff like bounce houses and all that stuff which seems to be the rage (but I don't really think necessary), or maybe they knew that if they waited until a day that was longer, it was summer vacation and less people would be around to attend. Who knows?
I just wanted to get that out there to say that a party doesn't have to be hours long and can still be a lot of fun. The "ploy to get a gift" comment sent shivers down my spine---I HATE the idea of people thinking that's why someone would be invited to a party, or the purpose of a party, when the POINT of a party is to make the birthday child feel special. Period. Maybe we just need to get back to simpler times, when a little creativity could go a long way?

A couple things... For one, I would NOT drop off my kid at a party by themselves in 1st grade...Especially since you do not know the family. So, that takes care of your drop off/pick up issue... you just stay.

Another thing. Are you implying handwritten is not preferred? I find no issue with that.

One hour is very short, yes. They should have re-phrased it as "Birthday Dinner".

...and I would call and see if it was a mistake when they wrote 6-7pm.

As far as going, I'd ask my daughter how much she wanted to go, if she wants to go and it works with your schedule, then go. ...and YOU go with her! :)

It's odd, but I'd let it go for the sake of the child. It's not the 7 year old's fault her parents arranged her party that way. You never know how many parents are going to want to skip the party because of it being only one hour. Every child deserves to have a nice birthday. I would bring your DD if at all possible, with a small token gift, and try to lounge a nearby coffee shop for an hour, or just hang out if you're not comfortable dropping her.

OK, I am going to say that:

1) it is the parents right to do a party however they choose, maybe they are only going to serve pizza and cake as the party, no games or entertainment, and an hour is enough for that. I am sure they have their reasons. In one of my friend's case, the stepdad had killed himself and we forced ourselves to give the stepdaughter a birthday party a week after her birthday, the day he had killed himself. We did it for her though our heart wasn't in it, but she was only 8. I don't recall how long it was but it was short. Maybe in their family or culture they do it this way. Maybe they are having a big shebang with family and she wanted a party with kids her age. I know at venues they limit the time you can have the room, and an hour there would be the norm, it was with my granddaughter's party at an ice rink in South OC, they literally helped us take everything out of the room so we would be out by the end of the hour.

2) I would never leave my child at a party as a first grader, never. I would stay, offer to help, and be there to supervise.

3) If the child having the party was in another class and not a personal good friend, neighbor or relative, my child wouldn't attend.

4) I hand make elaborate invitations to everything, but I wouldn't care if I received a handwritten one, it's the thought behind it. : )

Our daughter's birthday party was only an hour and a half. That was with 45 minutes of gymnastics play and 45 minutes of food/cake. That was the standard package at the place. It didn't feel short.

It may be that there are reasons for keeping it to an hour. I wouldn't read too much into it and would just run a couple of errands during that time (or just stay).

Mom probably hasn't got the nerve for a longer party. I have say that I always had my parties somewhere OTHER THAN my house! That way somebody else ran the show, and I could just have fun watching the kids and making sure everyone was happy!

If I were you, I'd see if you can stay and offer some help LOL!

Dawn

A couple things came to mind when I read this...

1) could it be the "one hour" is only for those not invited to stay overnight? And the ones staying overnight have been asked not to say anything.

2) is it maybe only one hour so the parents are forced to stay and it doesn't turn into a babysitting service?

3) is it only one hour to enforce promptness; I'd be thinking "the poor kid is only allotted one hour, I better not be late"!

I'm wondering why someone from another class is inviting her? I thot at that age they pretty much stick with their classmates? And I doubt it's a "typo" if it's hand written! If it's requesting you RSVP, I'd be asking some questions when I called.

Very interesting!! Good luck!!

Sounds strange but who knows, maybe it's a typo?
Confirm when you rsvp, and if it IS only an hour then take that time to go work out or go grocery shopping or go to Target or something. May as well knock out an errand while you're at it, right? :)

I hosted my daughter's 6th birthday party at my house. It was two hours long, and it turned out to be the longest two hours of my life!

My friend and I provided some of the entertainment (balloon animals, cotton candy machine, running the girls around the house), my daughter opened presents, the girls danced with TV dance cam, and we served cupcakes and juice. Despite all of that, I could barely keep the six kindergartener girls from tearing apart my house and pushing each other around. I suppose I should have had even more games and activities planned, but I didn't think we could get to all of that in two hours. By the end of the party, the girls were sitting in front of the TV watching a movie.

I agree that one hour is a little short, but two hours is more than I will ever put up with in my home with young children. Maybe the host of the party just doesn't want her house trashed -- especially if she is inviting so many kids that don't even know each other. If I were you, I'd tell my daughter to politely decline the invitation.

I wouldn't have a problem with the one hour time frame. I think I would be relieved. My daughter always helped write out the invites. And she has always invited lots of kids from other classes. This year she only had 4 other girls in her class (and 17 boys) so she invited girls from her brownie troop that were in other classes. Ask your daughter if she wants to go. If she doesn't then decline, if she does then go with her. My thoughts about the timeframe are it is either her first ever party, or a prelude to a slumber party (although 7 year olds can't keep a secret, so if this were the case, your daughter would know!)

Maybe it's a mistake?

I'd definitely ask when you call to RSVP, just to clarify.

Sheesh.. Here's your hat. What's your hurry? LOL

I'm all for passing on most birthday parties anyway, but I think that perhaps there might be some other unknown circumstances at play. Or maybe the girl has strange parents? Ask your daughter what she'd like to do, maybe, and if it works with your day, then go for it.

Also, the gift can be a beaded bracelet or a bunch of stickers and a couple pens... keep it simple. It sounds like the parents who issued the invite are!

I have no idea but i hear that and number one i think hmmm perhaps they haven't lived in the US that long??

I also think ... maybe they are having some sort of a family party and school friends are just there for the food part and nothing else. It's not a venue right?, but at their house??? maybe they are trying to be respectful of bedtimes???

the kid didn't write it did she?????

I would probably actualy plan on staying if when you confirm they do say Yes it's one hour. You'll probably just watch the kids eat and sing HBDay. unless there is an errand you can do close by, i think i would feel better supervising this one.

Lord, I don't think I could stand that many children in my house for more then an hour. I wouldn't leave my 7 year old at a house with parents I've never met before. You could just stay the whole hour, you know! I can't really understand why you wouldn't , to be honest.

LOL

I hate kid's parties. I'd rather have the parents drop them off (like they use to!) instead of having to entertain adults, as well. But that being said, I would not be comfortable dropping my kid off at a stranger's house, so I'd be thrilled for an hour of my life wasted, rather than 4.

We just had 2 of our son's birthday parties back to back.

Sat from 11am-12pm for #4 and then 12pm-1:30pm for #2. The same people would be invited. We had food catered, 2 cakes, opened presents and the kids played outside. We were done by 1pm....2 hours DONE. If it were for one kid, we could've had it done in 1 hour. EVERYONE was thrilled how we did it. They thanked us and commented about how they hate being at kid's parties for 3-4 hours.

In my experience, a very short birthday party either means they're overscheduled out their ears but can't bear to blow off the day, or the mom is completely overwhelmed by the idea of being in charge of entertaining a room full of kids and figures pizza and cake will keep them occupied without her having to plan games.

As always, whether you want to send your daughter or not is totally up to you. If she's excited, she should probably go. If she's not excited, just RSVP and say, "We won't be able to make it, but we wish Birthday Girl a happy birthday."

(As an aside, I don't believe in huge, showy expensive gifts; one in the $10 range should be just fine. Don't feel obligated to impress anybody.)

I was wondering about opening presents too. I feel like this either has to be a mistake, or someone's parents just want people to buy their kid stuff for his birthday!

I would not let my kids go to this as it is only a means to get presents. IT is almost an insult really-NO parties are for just an hour. The only excuse for this would be if the host is foreign and really has no idea of how to run a party in America.

Might as well just drop a gift off and go. I would not even bother.

I like it when the parties are kind of open ended... at least, that's how we do our parties. I don't want anyone feeling like they HAVE to leave at a certain time, and we love hanging out with our friends & DD's friends. Of course, less close acquaintances & classmates can feel free to leave whenever they feel like it.

Not sure if I'd bother with such a short party. If DD was friends with the kid, I'd lean towards taking her. An hour is hardly enough time for kids to eat, let alone do anything fun, IMO, and isn't much of a party. It seems like a procrastinating mom's last ditch effort at acknowledging her child's birthday and/or to make sure the kid got gifts, honestly.