[spaypets]

Ahh, Waiting, I'm with you on limited kid parties.

The rule of thumb, according to my wise mother, is invite no more children than years. So a party for a four-year-old would have four friends.

DD will be 4 in November. Last year, we had one playmate, his parents, my parents and cousin and her dh. This year, we owe invitations to three friends and one cousin. The cousin lives out of the area, so I'm on the fence about inviting them--it would involve inviting her older sister I fear. One of the friends has an older sibling who will likely get invited because they do socialize...you see how this snow balls?

Anyway, we're fortunate, that the other kids parties (with the exception of my neice who had a big party at a gym) have been relatively small and casual (most included beer for the adults, which, IMHO is vital to surviving children's parties).

A lot depends on the culture of your community. In the suburb where my brother and his family live they have big parties, usually at some sort of venu and they don't even open the presents!! My SIL said it was too overwhelming for the kids to open 16 presents or whatever, so they put them in a garbage bag and took them home to be opened later, which IMHO teaches kids nothing about the joy of giving, and everything about acquisition. But, that's a rant for a different thread.