McDonalds Birthday parties – Ergh... never again. WDYT, WWYD?

[Catherine]

Are you kidding? I would not have even gone to this party!

Be true to yourself, just no. YOu don't have to justify yourself or even give an excuse. Just Say NO!

That sounds like an absolutly awful experience. *shudders*

LOts of hugs and outdoor play seems the order of the day!

We were invited to a birthday at hungry jacks when DD was 2 - I think I said "sorry, but we won't be able to make it"....I said no, because, like you, the thought of it appalled me.

I reckon you'd be doing more harm taking your son to such parties...and if the hypothetical people are offended by you turning down the invite to theit unimaginative party...welll...who cares!

(sorry, it is getting late, and I may be a bit over tired...but I am so with you on this issue...avoid it like the plague)

[Fleur]

Be true to yourself, just no. YOu don't have to justify yourself or even give an excuse. Just Say NO!

I wouldn't be offended, but I wouldn't mind knowing why, either... if you just said no, or that you don't 'do' them it might leave me wondering what the problem is (asusming that if theoretical 'I' am holding the party, I don't have a problem with it)
I wouldn't think you have to go into great detail, just a basic ... '_' .... erm, I don't know what.. just so they know it's not personal?

[Phteven]

I wouldn't be offended if you turned down an invitation to a party because you didn't like the theme or location.
I've never been to a McD/HJ's party but it sounds scary

[Gigi]

i feel strongly about fast food parties too, but as bilby is about to start school soon, i wonder if i will get put in the position of having to do the same, decide to let her go or not. And if i will fold, under the pressure of
- her excitement to go to a "birthday party" (she would have little idea of a fast food party - they don't sound very child friendly to me)
- the peer pressure of "everyone else is going except me" type comments.

Once i took my step daughter to a fast food party. EVERY child in the class was invited (29). Too many kids really, it was just a noisy rabble. No-one really enjoyed themselves. I think it was very overwhelming for the birthday child too. It was at a posh school, i remember being surprised that affluent people would choose a fast food party, but i can see the "no mess, no hassle" aspect - home is not trashed. But parents still brought quite a bit of stuff for the party, even though it was supposedly fully catered for by the fast food place. It was a relief to leave the party.

my dd's birthday usually falls in heatwave weather, and every year i go thru the mindgames of "how do i transport the food and keep it cool, in a park/playground?" cos i don't have a suitable home to host a party in either, so i do get the "location" aspect. I deal with the numbers of children, by iniviting the number of children, the age that bilby is turning. So if she is four, i invite four little friends. No structure except for "cake time". Last year, i provided music, encourage invitees to dress up, and they all danced around in fairy outfits - had a blast being giggly, whirling, kids.

i think as children get older, it would be harder to turn down an invite, without serious upset from the child. I'm trying to teach bilby to look after the environment, not be wasteful etc, but i'm not sure my environmental reasonings, would calm her down, in the same situation as you describe ECAPRIS. I'm sure i would try, but i'm not game to predict what the actual outcome would be, UNTIL bilby is actually in school, and we come up against this situation.

From your description, i would want to supervise and watch like a hawk too. One bad experience, would prolly be "enough ammunition" for me to say to bilby ' remember how awful the last fast food party was?

things like this, that were clear cut for me PRE CHILD, are suddenly blurring into "shades of gray", now i am a parent. Makes me feel wishy washy, but it's really how i feel. Unsure basically. I'm bringing up a single child, already feeling very guilty for my low rates of socialising - which then in turn mean low socialising for bilby.

Once she's at school, maybe it will all become clearer. I can't just hope that the situation won't come up, cos i'm sure it will. (and the electronic hand held games, and the kids with access to all the stuff i have kept from her so far e.g computers. all day kids cable channels). i feel so out of my depth.

Rach, i feel so strongly about McHappy Meals, Fun Meals etc (all that unethical marketing to children, the linking of toys to their brand), that even with our food issues (her not eating), even when i was so desperate, i bought her junk food at HJ, i bought her food individually, so she did not get the brightly coloured kids box with plastic toy inside. She didn't eat anything but the french fries. she loves cheese, so i thought she might try the cheeseburger - but no.

I do have a friend, who bought Macca's, started eating it to find a roach inside the burger - so i just can't bring myself to go there, plus they don't have salad in the burgers.

[Party-of-five]

DS had a few Hungry jacks birthday parties, its what he asked for at the time all his friends were having them there.
I wouldn't have been offended if ppl didn't come because of where it was.

[Glamourcide]

Okay, I'll admit - when I saw the title of this thread I thought I knew how it was going to go. So I apologise for pre-judging!
I went to a few Macca's birthday parties as a kid. They were pretty sad affairs, but the one you describe sound really terrible - your poor DS! Upon thinking back to my own experiences, yes, they were pretty bad - I remember my parents throwing a Macca's party for my brother when he was little (before McDonald's restaurants introduced those conference/party rooms separate from the rest of the restaurant) and we were crammed down the back near the toilets, taking up about 8 tables, then for the games of duck-duck-goose, the teen 'host' took us across the drive-thru to a tiny patch of grass in the carpark (YES, you read right!) as there simply was nowhere else to sit. Back in those days, we also got the 'tour' of McDonald's and took turns sitting in the freezer amongst boxes of burger patties et al - I imagine those days are thing of the past lol, we got to walk right past the chip fryers and see staff squirting ketchup onto buns - good times! (*cough* sarcasm lol...)

But yeah. They didn't do me a great deal of harm as a child, but I'd probably be inclined to decline an invite to one if my kids were invited to them. I can appreciate that parents can't find suitable locations to throw a party for their child (I'm spoiled for choice here, a massive fenced yard in suburbia and plenty of nearby public places like the marina, botanic gardens etc that are easily accessible), and/or may not want to bother with all the mess and hassle that comes with organising a birthday party... I'm not strongly opposed to the ethical practices or the quality of food at fast food joint parties but as others have said, they just don't seem to be the most enjoyable parties for kids or parents, and that's not even taking into account the crud food, the environmental/ethical concerns regarding excessive waste/packaging/plastic junk toys and all the rest.

Like I said, I'm lucky to have the circumstances that allow me to have parties at home (the kids are so small right now that it's usually strictly family, maybe a couple of friends with their kids but yeah, not like the whole daycare class is invited or anything... yet!), so I can't say whether I would be offended or not if a parent declined an invite should I ever throw a McD's or HJ's party. To be honest, I probably *would* be offended for a minute, and assume that the parent in question is just one of those snotty so-and-so's who thinks they're better than all the other parents for being 'above' junk food, junk toys and 'lazy' parenting, but I'd get over it pretty quickly and think of all the reasons that have been discussed here so far and decide it's not something I should take personally.

Umm... well that was long-winded lol! Long story short - no, I wouldn't be offended if I invited your child to a fast-food birthday party and you declined. I can understand why. I would probably *want* to decline an invite for my child to attend such a party, but I'd probably give in and take them so that they don't get upset about 'everyone else is going'... but I can't say for sure whether that would happen anyway, the situation hasn't arisen yet and my girls are too small to even know there's a party on unless they attend lol
It's a tricky one, for sure, but you have to do what works for you and your family. If that means running the risk of offending someone, then I guess that's life! A reasonable person (I would hope) would have a think and come to the same conclusions we have, and get over any 'insult', and if they don't, then that's their loss

[Pandora]

I wouldn't be offended.
And on the cake, the times we've seen more than one was because that supplied one and the parents brought their own as well.

[Junglemum]

Nope, I wouldn't be offended at all. We all have our beliefs and its important to stand by them. I'm not a fan of maccas kids parties either, i don't like much about the company and their ethics (after reading fast food nation) although I do love a bacon and egg muffin, and the convenience of drive through is just so tempting sometimes!

[Doing my best]

While I wouldn't stop my child going to one, I would never have one there.

I don't think it is fair to punish the child who is having the party by not allowing the invited guests to go. More often than not, the kids don't get a say. If they want a party, the parents say it is here, or none at all. They think it is a 'convenient' way to go without considering all the stuff mentioned by previous posters. I feel much the same about play centres. I hate them as I can't keep an eye on both children, especially now they are at the ages of doing separate activities (3 yr and 18 months).

I wouldn't be offended if someone didn't want to come to a party I was hosting if it was against their beliefs, but I have not yet come against anything I am so passionately against that I am faced with that decision. But that is not to say that I don't respect the way you see it.

[aussienic]

I would never have a party at a fast food place because I have seen a few parties there before and I don't think you get your money's worth

We were going to hire a jumping castle for my Ds2 birthday last year.. rain made us change plans the day before *sigh* we hired out a room in the library and we had just over 30 kids and they all had an awesome time.. and we didn't spend much money either..

I find those fast food parties a waste of money

[ezymay]

While I wouldn't host a macca's party I would let DD go to one (she already has been). We do eat macca's in moderation.
I agree with the others that have said just say "we can't make it". The parents obviously don't hold Macca's in the same light you do, so in all likelihood could be offended. It's a bit like some of my parenting beliefs, I just don't say anything cause in most cases I'm not going to change their minds, just make them feel like I disagree or think they are wrong.

Eta I did go to a 21st at macca's many many years ago lol