If you had to pay for the skate rental at a birthday party?

I am trying to plan my sons birthday party and we cannot afford to pay for everyone and their sister and brothers and parents to come and skate at the skate park where we live. Is it acceptable to add on the invitation that people need to make sure to send money with child for skate rentals?

I could care less about him getting presents, I have that covered, just want him to have friends there. 

No, I don't think that's tacky.

But, if they have to pay their own rental, you should make sure to cover all of the food and drinks in return. 

thanks! 

I would say pay for the party participant only.

To answer your question, I would think it was odd that you weren't paying for the skate rental for the invited child. If you can't afford it - do a different kind of party. 

I agree with Kel. When we had my boys' party at the bowling alley we paid for everyone we specifically invited. If they brought brothers and sisters, that was on them unless of course we invited them as well. It wasnt as bad as I thought because the place gave discounts for such a big party. Also some of our guests surprised us at the end because as they left some left money at the cashier. I thought that was nice and plan on doing that if my kids go some place like that. 

i agree with others pay for the person you INVITED if they bring someone then that is on them to pay for their self 

i agree with others pay for the person you INVITED if they bring someone then that is on them to pay for their self 

Yeah, I do agree with that. 

agree with the others. Pay for the invited child. Im in that position a lot with having to bring the other girls to a party. I always clarify when rsvping Ill be staying with the other kids and paying for them. 

Oh but personally I wouldnt write it on the invite. I would just assume people arent rude. 

I never assume people wont be rude!lmao 

I never assume people wont be rude!

Yep agree!! 

ha that reminds me (hoping they arent UGers!) a few years ago I had a combined party for 2 of the girls. At the house with a bouncer - nothing spectacular. So we invited every child from the class. I get a call a few minutes after the party starts from a parent asking if the food is there yet lol. I say yes. They show up WITHOUT the invited child but his sibling. He was sick?? The mother, boyfriend and unknown kid then call and have the grandparents come when they are at the house. I was so confused. We had ordered too many pizzas so I offered to make up some plates to take home to the invited kid but they already had a whole pizza box grandma was holding when they were about to leave! 

With both my kids, we plan a party venue with a budget. I figure out how much each child would cost & plan for how many friends we can afford to invite.

I send invitations out 1-2 months in advance & specify RSVP by a set date so I can adjust accordingly for reservations, gift bags & thank you cards. 

There are so many people coming that I think I am going to just have a pool party instead. I talked to my son and he is ok with it. Just way too many people to worry about. Thanks for the input! 

I thinks thats a good idea! My kids would rather have a pool party but both their bdays are in January. =( 

I don't think you have to pay for the invited child. I went to a skate party where everyone paid for their own and that was perfectly fine. You never know who will actually come, so it's possible you'd overpay, and then if the invited child brings a guest-they'll have to pay? Seems strange to me. I'd provide all the cake, food, and drinks and the kids parents pay their skate rental. Simple. 

Instead of writing "must pay for own skate rental" on the invites. You could just write something like "snacks and beverages provided", that would imply that skate rentals are not included. 

Definitely pay for the kids you are inviting but you aren't obligated to pay for any guests they have brought along with them. We had this issue when we had my daughters birthday party at the bowling alley. I bought tickets for every kid that we invited and that's how they got their shoes. But some families brought siblings, cousins, other adults, etc and I didn't see how I should pay for their whole clan. Provide drinks, snacks and skates for the kids you invited and I think you are good to go :) 

i went to skate party when i was 12 and i had to pay for skates if i wanted to skate. i wouldnt pay for anyone else for skating because you provide food and drinks most likely. parents who have their kids attend should bring money for themselves becoz at some skate places there is more to do than just that so u cant pay for them for doing that would you? so imo you should write on invite to bring own money to do what they want with. its not rude its practical. 

We just did our skating party today and there were 35-40 people there. A handful did not skate though.

Most skating rinks offer birthday packages which includes a certain number of people and usually the birthday person is not included in that number.


Personally I opted to pay for anyone I invited. We did ours by family though since it was for our now 3 yr old and she doesn't really have classmates yet.

But to answer your question, I do not find it tacky at all to request the adults, or siblings pay on their own.
I had people ask me about skate rental and I told them the price, however we ended up covering 20 people in addition to our 11 freebies. But, like I said we planned for that in advance so it was already expected for us. 7 pizzas, 6 pitchers of drinks, a rainbow brite cake and neon clothes for days = worth every penny spent.

If you DO NOT want to be covering people at your party be sure to mention price, and make sure the skating rink knows this before the party starts. Usually they will give party skaters a stamp or something and add them to your list which could end up costing you in the end. As long as you keep the communication open between the invitees and the location there will be no surprises for you.... hopefully. 

Personally, I wouldn't have a party where I didn't cover everything for the invited guests. 

They show up WITHOUT the invited child but his sibling. He was sick?? The mother, boyfriend and unknown kid then call and have the grandparents come when they are at the house. I was so confused. We had ordered too many pizzas so I offered to make up some plates to take home to the invited kid but they already had a whole pizza box grandma was holding when they were about to leave!

WOW! You are a lot nicer than I am. I wouldn't have let them attend the party since none of them had any relationship with the birthday girl or you. 

Personally, I wouldn't have a party where I didn't cover everything for the invited guests.

I feel the same way. We have 3 kids and spend between $200-500 each party. ( Snow White hosting the party was a little steep) BUT that is by our choice. I do not like inviting people to something and not having it all covered for them to just enjoy themselves.

They show up WITHOUT the invited child but his sibling. He was sick?? The mother, boyfriend and unknown kid then call and have the grandparents come when they are at the house. I was so confused. We had ordered too many pizzas so I offered to make up some plates to take home to the invited kid but they already had a whole pizza box grandma was holding when they were about to leave!

Perfect example of why you don't invite the entire class of people you have never met families of. That sucks. =/

JMO of course, but our kids birthdays are a day to celebrate them and we like doing that with our friends and family. The people that know our children and are at the party because they care about the birthday child NOT the free food or experience we are having. 

I always feel bad when we dont invite the entire class...but now with class sizes being so large, idk. I think we will have to trim down the guests lists this coming year, with little man having actual classmates this year. Since the boys are so close in birthdays, we have always done their parties together but with their ages its getting harder to find things that they both like so next year we will separate them. 

Is it common to invite whole classes to birthday parties? I've seen a few close friends of the birthday boy/girl but never an entire class! 

Is it common to invite whole classes to birthday parties? I've seen a few close friends of the birthday boy/girl but never an entire class!

I always have. One year almost the entire class showed. :/ That was a long three hours! lol 

Is it common to invite whole classes to birthday parties?

We have done that before, in preschool and kinder. But there were only 20 or less children and we got to know the parents throughout the year which made it nice. Those parties are usually more bbq/ park ones.

I always feel bad when we dont invite the entire class...b

as do I. I think if you are bringing invitations to school, it would be very rude and hurtful if the entire class was not invited. If you just want to invite a few children the invitations should be handed out in a more personal way away from everyone else. 

I have the same feelings about baby showers. I am hosting my best friends baby shower and her husband hears my plans and says they can't afford all that...I said what would make you think I would throw your wife a party ans not pay for it? Lol. 

Is it common to invite whole classes to birthday parties?

Not common for me and many of my friends lol. I'm not inviting the WHOLE class to a birthday party. I don't think it is rude either. We didn't do that when I was growing up; I invited my close "friends" to my party and that's how I've had my kids do it. I don't find that rude at all. The people they want to come aren't always classmates. 

I think it's more common when kids are younger my son has friends at school that he only plays with at school. Last year I invited his whole class plus his tball team.... we had ALOT of kiddos but it was ALOT of fun!

When he is older I will probably just invite his close friends but I would hand out the invitations out side of school.