Kids party - distance

Sunrise_Sunset

How far is too far to expect parents to drive to bring their kids to a party?
Is 41km too far, approximately a 30 minute drive.
Another venue option is 33km, approximately a 30-35 minute drive.

drunkmonkey

30 minutes isn't much. Nearest play center to us is 30 mins away and a lot of the kids have their birthday party there.

bee06

It kinda depends on where you’re living and the normal travel distance to places. For me anywhere longer than 20 mins away would be too much.

Sunrise_Sunset

We are in Wicklow and there aren't many party venues locally that my kid likes. There are lots of options in Dublin. I priced a mini bus but it's too expensive.

2xj3hplqgsbkym

I live in Dublin, I would hate if my kids were invited to a party 30 mins away, it would be the whole day gone nearly , driving to party - allow 45 mins there and back - 3 hour party. 2 other kids to entertain/ mind in the meantime .
Is the party just for one kid?
If it was 4 or 5 kids in the class together it wouldn’t be as bad, as then parties are less frequent , once every few months instead of once every few weeks.

jlm29

I live 15 miles from my kids school, and I would never have his party at home, or In our local community hall or whatever, because I would expect that nobody would show up. I probably would decline an invite to a party that was 30-40 min away, unless it was a really close friend.

bringupthebook

Sunrise_Sunset wrote: »

We are in Wicklow and there aren't many party venues locally that my kid likes. There are lots of options in Dublin. I priced a mini bus but it's too expensive.

What age is the child? I think it’s fine for older kids to travel that distance. They are more likely to travel with other kids so less parents making the journey plus not so many parties as younger kids.

If it’s a younger kid I’d be more likely to go with local venue or even hire a hall and provide entertainment.

Sunrise_Sunset

I don't want people to feel put out, and I appreciate that they might have other kids to entertain in the meantime.
Personally, I have never minded taking my kids to parties, no matter the distance, cos I am happy that they are getting to socialise and have fun with their friends. And I always try to make the most of my one on one time with the other kid while they are at the party.
But I appreciate that not everyone feels the same. Thanks for the feedback, we might try to come up with another option for it.

ElizaBennett

I live in a rural area so a 20 minute drive would be very usual and I wouldn't baulk at 30 minutes or even more as that's what life in the country is like. As you say yourself, OP, i'd just be delighted my child was invited and has friends as the alternative would be so upsetting. I don't think we ever turned down a party invite if we could possibly make it at all. I think go with what you think is okay yourself. On occasion we've wanted to organise a party at a more expensive or far away venue then I'd only invite three to five kids and take our own two cars to bring then, as I would feel bad asking people to drive for an hour.