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The baby’s first big birthday party is almost upon you, and the whole family, of course, wants to come together to celebrate. In this very familiar scenario, everyone usually lives close to one another and certain sides of the family or particular people just don’t get along. Yet, everyone gets an invite to this important celebration.
Now planning a party ~ especially a first birthday party ~ can be very stressful to begin with. Throw in family politics and feuds and the party scene becomes that much more complicated. So, what to do? Here are some guidelines to help navigate the situation for you.
1. Some people would think having two birthday celebrations would be the solution, as it keeps the feuding parties apart. If you have the energy, time, and budget to plan and host two separate parties then that is one option. If you go this route, don’t feel they have to be the exact same party. Whatever makes it easiest on you organizing two separate events is best to do.
2. The majority of people may want to have two separate parties, but simply can’t for any number of reasons. If this is your scenario, here are some tips:
- Have the party at a neutral place with plenty of space. If this is for a baby’s first birthday party, a party in the park is an excellent idea. There will be plenty of room for people to keep physical distance from one another and it will not take place in a private family home where people may feel free to criticize or, being in a much smaller space, have proximity to be rude to others.
- Keep the party within a set time frame as this will limit the time that people come together and doesn’t allow for what should be a one hour party becoming a whole afternoon.
- If you feel there may be confrontations between certain people, the best way to keep this from occurring is to give them something specific to do at the party. Now, don’t spring it on the people at the party, but think this through in advance. Proactively call the guests up and ask if they would help with X and Y…this could be running the games or cutting the cake. Giving people something to do will make them feel included and give them less time to create an awkward situation.
- If you really are worried about one or two particular guests who will be attending, you could call them in advance of the party and explain the party and who will be there to try and curtail any outbursts before they happen at the party.
In the end, you will be so busy at a party where there are a large number of guests and so much activity, you can’t control all that will take place, you simply have to try to arrange to have the chances of something happening be as minimal as possible. After that, people are people and may stir up family politics and feuds simply because they are together and they can and will not have thought about the special occasion. Hopefully this will not happen. If it does, it is unfortunate, but don’t blame yourself. Parties can often bring out the best in people, and sometimes the worst!
