Birthday party...guests not rsvp'ing?

Okay so heres the story...


i gave out my sons b-day party invitations about 2 weeks ago (the party is on Sunday...i wanted to give them out earlier but i forgot about spring break...BTW my son is going to be 6 and is in kindergarten)


3 parents have rsvp's (2 in person at the school and 1 over the phone and 1 boy told him in class that he was coming (and this boy's parents dont speak engilsh so i think that is why they didnt call)


so do you think more than these 3 or 4 people will show up?


the party is at McDonalds and i told them 10 people would be there...(oh..and the party is costing me the same whether 1 or all 10 show up)

Birthday party...guests not rsvp'ing?
First and foremost, manage the expectations of your child. Let him know that regardless of how many people show up it will be a blast!





We've had this problem in the past. If only one or two other kids show up, I say, "This is great! We couldn't take 10 kids to the movies, but we can go now because it's a smaller group."





Try to make it into a win regardless. And if no one shows up, say, "I know you're disappointed, but now we can go to _______ which we couldn't do with a crowd." (might be a movie or going to a certain restaurant or the mall or whatever it is he likes.
Reply:It is always best to plan for a couple of people to come w/o RSVPing. A lot of people forget to or lose track of time.
Reply:i have found parents to be very bad a rsvping. my son just turned 6 on march 31st and he wanted a few friends to sleep over, well no one rsvp'd so i kept inviting kids. one parent finally rsvp'd but 10 showed up and they all came ready to spend the night! the best thing i can tell you is be prepared for around how many you invite b/c you never know who will show up. and heaven forbid you don't have enough goody bags for all of them!
Reply:It is very unfortunate, but our society has lost the idea of common courtesy. It is not only a 6 year old's birthday party that people fail to respond to, but things as costly as weddings. To give a little grace, we are also so busy all the time that we simply forget these things until the last minute. My suggestion is that you grab your phone and call the people you have not heard from. It is annoying, but in the end you will at least know how many party bags to prepare.
Reply:You phone, that's what all parents do. Well, how can you NOT have their phone numbers - knowing the parents' names. And if you don't have the parents' names, and don't know them, why in the world are you inviting them to your son's party???
Reply:Dont worry my sister was turning 5 and she also gave out invitations to everyone in her daycare and only 2 rsvp'ed but then when we had the party like 20 other kids showed up.
Reply:Well, when I lived in AZ I had friends with kids in ps and I always tried to bring my kids to their parties because these poor kids would invite their whole class and only 2 would show up.





The place I live now, people do not RSVP, and they will not come to a party in someone's house, but if a parent is having the party at a place like Chuckie Cheese, then the entire class plus all their sibs will just be dropped off.





I would think that 'probably' if the invitations made it home that you'd have a few more than those 3 or 4. Then next year maybe you can just tell your son that he can invite over his 'three best friends' and you will have a REALLY COOL party and spend the same amt of money you'd have spent on more kids. Your son honestly will probably more enjoy just having his own friends there. Plus, when my kids got to a certain age, about 8, their tastes got more specific, and they really didn't like the presents they got from other kids anyway. I don't mean they weren't happy to open them and grateful that the child thought of them, I mean that it was just stuff that would sit in their room till it rotted...





Sorry you are having this experience - I know it is tough.
Reply:This is one of my 'pet hates'. I have been having birthday parties at Hungry Jacks (Burger King for you guys in the USA) for the last few years. My son is 8 now. I make it easy for people by stating that a text message is okay to RSVP but usually they dont call , text or tell me in person.


Its very disrespectful especially if you have to pay for kids that didnt turn up. Thankfully here in Australia we only pay for the amount of kids that DO turn up. Although there are places that expect payment regardless the amount of kids who finally turn up.


Try to think positively - in my experience a few kids turn up that didnt RSVP.


Also next time get your son to hand out the invitations when all the parents are there to pick their kids up. I had a few mothers tell me that their child didnt even give them the invitation and it was in the bottom of their bags.





GOODLUCK and Happy birthday to your little one.
Reply:I know exactly what you mean. I really freaking hate that. No one RSVP's anymore and its incredibly rude.


I refuse to have anymore burger king/mcdonalds parties for that reason. One time, I had to pay for 5 extra kids showing up that were related to the ones that were invited, because their dumbas* mothers dropped them off at the door.


Another time, more were invited that showed up and the party was expensive for the amount of kids that did show up.


I guess the only thing I can tell you is learn from this experience because this year there is not one dam* thing that can be done.
Reply:listen im 12 and ive had well... 12 bday partys.





yes some well probaly show up as long as they didnt say no








Good Luck with your sons birthday party!
Reply:Are there neighborhood kids you can invite to make up the difference? What if you call the parents who didn't RSVP tonight to confirm?
Reply:i am totally fed up of that kinda thing too





one year i sent out invites to 20 children to come to my sons birthday party (OK more than i thought would actually COME but his birthday is during the long summer break)





a couple did let me know they were going away and so couldn't make it (which IMO is fair enough) a couple told me they COULD make it (which again fair enough) and the rest i never heard from at all (i had enclosed a phone number and a diagram of how to find our house so NO excuses for that) and never showed up





there i was on the day with food enough for 25 kids and only 5 turned up





so yes i am fed up!





this year we are going to take our son out for the day - costs about the same with no clearing up to do and no inviting ungrateful thoughtless families round for a free feed and not so much a 'thank you'
Reply:Apparently you gave a date to respond by and if they haven't responded by that date then it's alright for you to start calling them. If they don't speak English ask your son to call his friend and ask him over the phone. The boy will probably ask his parents while your son is on the phone waiting for an answer. Sometimes you get a better response when you tell them to RSVP if they are unable to attend.
Reply:well, just hope they show up, i know how that goes, about one third of the people actually bother to rsvp.
Reply:That makes me mad. My son is only 2 I don't' want that to happen to him when he is your sons age. I hope more show up. I would call them to find out if they are coming. I know if it was me I would be so offended. I am so mad for you and it's not even my child. If they don't show make sure you make his day special for him I know you will.
Reply:I can't believe it...I could have written this post! I am in the exact same boat. 6 year old son, party next Saturday. Invitations sent into school the Monday after Spring Break. I gave until tomorrow to RSVP. The place where we are having the party (a Chuckie Cheese-type of place) needs a count by Tuesday. I am a nervous wreck -- have only heard from 8 out of 24...5 No's and 3 Yes's. Of course my top concern is my son getting a decent turnout...how do you explain to your child if only a few show up??? But I am also livid that the majority have not responded yet. Since I did give an RSVP date of tomorrow, I will hold off until then, but then I think I may send an email to the parents...the school does have distribution lists set up by class for announcements. I am not sure if that is better than calling or not, but it sure would be easier on me. I am just praying for at least a few more Yes's. Plus I am annoyed since my son attends every party he is invited too...there have been about 8 so far this year. I would expect those people to make the effort to reciprocate. I don't know...maybe Saturday mid-afternoon parties in the Spring are not a good time with all the activities going on, but it is what it is, and now I am just hoping for the best. Good luck!!
Reply:try calling each parent and asking whether they got the invitattion (ans: yes) and then asking whether they'll be coming.
Reply:You will get a few that don't RSVP to show up.





This seems to be a problem everywhere. In the future, see if you can plan at places where you won't be charged completely for the party if some don't show up, or have the party at home, or invite a smaller group of friends in which you know the parents and can make sure who you expect to show up will show up.





I had this same problem for my daughters B-day party at Build-A-Bear workshop.
Reply:This happens frequently.It may be that the child has forgotten about the invitation.You need to follow up on this yourself with the parents.
Reply:If they're not rsvping then you can pretty much plan on them not being there. That's one of the drawbacks of having birthday parties at places like McPuke's. You have to pay for it all period. Hopefully you didn't send the invitations to SCHOOL to be handed out. If so that COULD be why no one is rsvping. It is very RUDE to send invitations to school because somewhere along the way one or two children are left out and feelings get hurt. That sort of thing is just not done.
Reply:Send a note to the others with your kid. A reminder note with your phone number and email address.. Good luck!