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My daughter is turning three, and this is the first year that she is so excited to have a party. She wants a princess party with all of the trimmings, as well as all of her friends to attend. During past years, I have chosen the kids who are invited from church, a monthly play group that we attend in the neighborhood, and day care. This is her first year in pre-school, and she wants to do the inviting. Should I let her invite the kids she wants to attend the party, even if I do not know some of the kids she wants to have attend? Is she old enough to make this decision?
Three is the magical age when kids really understand what a birthday party is all about. It is not surprising that she wants a themed party, and that she knows exactly the theme, and she also has definite opinions about who she wants to have attend. Your daughter is old enough to contribute to the the invitation list.
Given that she is attending preschool, make sure to contact the school and see if there are policies regarding parties, i.e. all kids must be invited. Such a guideline will help you in this area. Next, determine how many kids your space and budget can afford to handle. From there, ask her who she wants to have attend. If she rattles off a bunch of kids from preschool whom you are not familiar with, you may want to contact these parents to introduce yourself.
If the issue is that she wants to invite a whole bunch of new friends to her party, and yet you have a standard list made up of good friends from the different groups that you want to invite, you may want to be open to discussing adding some of her new friends to the mix. Your daughter is moving in a new circle now and some of her preschool friends should also be invited, as long as it isn’t a guideline by the preschool to invite everyone.
Don’t totally leave your kid to decide the guest list at the age of three, although she certainly will be able to contribute. As kids get older, i.e. school-aged, they will take a large role in determining the guest list. Three is a good year to begin to ease into letting your kid help you decide who’s coming!
To ease the theme selection process, check out online party supply stores such as Birthday in a Box. Looking at a selection of invitations online, versus in the store, can be timesaving as well as stress-reducing! At this age, a physical party store can be overwhelming!
