New to Town, Who to Invite?

What if you are new in town, have had very little chance to meet anyone let alone unpack, and you have a birthday party coming up? Your kid is enrolled in school and knows almost everyone, but you have no idea who these kids are and if you should then take liberty to invite the whole class to the upcoming party. It could definitely be awkward as you don’t know this community yet, and they don’t know you.

Here are a few thoughts:

• A birthday party where you invite the class and have the parents stay would be a great way to get to know people.
• Given that your child knows his classmates, it won’t be awkward for them to receive an invitation to your kids’ party. if their parents question who he is, the kids will tell their parents he is new to the school.
• It is perfectly acceptable to invite the kids from the class to a birthday party, whether or not you are new to a community or not.
• If you don’t feel comfortable inviting the whole class, your kid may have made a few close friends, who may also know you through play dates, etc. Set the limit of the number of kids you invite. In this case, make sure that your kid’s school does NOT have a policy of inviting the whole class to birthday parties beforehand.

The most important thing is, after taking into account what your kid wants, what you are most comfortable with. Transiitons to new towns are extremely stressful…ease in the way that relaxes you the MOST!