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Little babies absolutely love their hands and feet — I have the cutest photos of my kids giggling and grabbing their feet when they were little.
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This set of rattles from Infinno is available at Amazon.
Sales of note for 9.10.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase
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- Target – Car-seat trade-in event through 9/28 — bring in an old car seat to get a 20% discount on other baby/toddler stuff.
- Zappos – 26,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Birthday sale, 40-50% off & extra 20% off select styles
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- Target – BOGO 25% off select haircare, up to 25% off floor care items; up to 30% off indoor furniture up to 20% off TVs
Cb says
We booked flights to Legoland Denmark… my kid is going to be so excited! Going to make a personalised ticket and a countdown calendar to go under the tree.
My husband meanwhile swings between excited and anxious, as his parents told them they were splitting the day after they returned from Legoland when he was 10, kicking off a mental health crisis. I’m hoping the context of a different trip, mode of transport, our son’s joy, will make it OK?
Anonymous says
Can you plan something nice on the way home the next day and then the day after you get home? Like even if just an afternoon at a cool park or a visit to the zoo or something. To ease the transition.
Anon says
Your kiddo will love it so much!! And I hope it’s healing for your poor husband.
Cb says
Thanks! Sometimes I think I’m a cow to my in-laws but then he brings something up and I’m like “yup, they were awful parents!”
Spirograph says
Aw, little Cb is going to love that!
I feel for your husband, I have this association with Disney World! The exact timing has faded, but I distinctly remember a very tense 2-day drive home, and my parents told us they were splitting within the next week. It didn’t keep me from enjoying a Disney World trip with my high school marching band a few years later, though, so I hope your husband has a great time once he’s there.
Anonymous says
I know this is not a special needs forum, but we have a dilemma and I wonder if anyone here has any advice. We have an autistic 4 year old who was asked to leave our regular daycare center because of hitting and meltdown incidents. We have had him home for over a month now, hanging out with mom or dad or a babysitter. We’d really like to get him back into a school setting because the only way to get better at peer interactions is practice, but we toured one yesterday and it hit me that it will probably be exactly the same as the last center. Unfortunately, all specialized autism preschools we’ve looked into are booked up right now, and the county did not find that he qualifies for their services (try again next year was the message). We’ve tried to find an aide that would go with him to daycare for one-on-one support, which is what our previous daycare center told us to do, but those are super hard to find outside of ABA, and our psychologist doesn’t recommend ABA for him right now. So probably what we should do is hire a nanny and enroll him in some classes that she can take him to so he at least gets some classroom experiences. But I’m feeling really resistant to that prospect, partially because it could be twice as expensive and partially because it feels like giving up on this year. Any suggestions?
Anonymous says
If there are ABA trained aides available who have experience they might still be a good hire. ABA is a specific therapy but you would not be hiring to do the therapy. They are hired to support your son at daycare and intervene/redirect when he has meltdowns or watch to prevent hitting etc. That’s different from providing ABA therapy. I wouldn’t hold being ABA therapy trained against someone given that it was once the predominant treatment methodology.
Have you looked into combining part time preschool with a full time nanny who could take him? Might be a bit less expensive and less overwhelming for him than a full day program.
If it helps, I have seen early years interventions make a massive difference in children with autism in terms of their stress and ability to function in social settings. The efforts you are making with him now are exhausting and expensive but so beneficial.
Anon says
I don’t have much to offer, other than solidarity than having a special needs kiddo and trying to have two working parents feels very much like you are set up to fail. Ours is ADHD and anxiety (didn’t score high enough on ASD screening, but has some of the same behaviors) and what I can say is helpful so far is to make any school or program extremely aware of all the work you are putting in outside for your kid. I know there is a breaking point when the school/program can’t handle the kid without a 1:1 aide, but if it’s a borderline case, I feel like they’re much more willing to work with you if they know you’re doing therapy and coaching and other programs (I have seen this first hand w/ my pedi actually amazed my kid hadn’t been kicked out because “the director over there is really strict” – but, she knew how hard I was trying to get my kiddo help). I keep everyone up to date with the latest progress, what we are trying (in our case, we have to medicate and we are currently trying to find the right ‘cocktail’ that works for our kiddo), and I make sure if there is any way for providers/school to communicate directly I enable that (HIPAA-wise).
Other than paying out of pocket for whatever you can (therapy, parent coaching, etc), the only other thing I would suggest is something called “social skills group”. Depending on your area, these could be fully out of pocket sessions (where you’d submit the superbill as out of network after the fact) or if they are funded by a grant, totally free.
hugs. I know there are a few of us on this board who have special needs kiddos, so hopefully others chime in!
L says
Hi Anon at 8:44. My son is also autistic and has ADHD too, so first off let me offer a huge hug of solidarity on the challenges of finding good care and school options. You may want to look for therapeutic preschools in your area. They are preschools with multiple therapies suitable for ASD kids incorporated into the day, such as OT, ST, PT, feeding therapy, etc. Kids get the benefit of peer interactions, common preschool experiences like circle time, and therapies. Many such schools do ABA, but we chose one with a DIR focus for because that aligns best with our therapy goals at the moment. In our case, insurance even covers most of the costs. We enrolled our 4 YO in September, and already he’s made so many gains in his social skills. The staff is phenomenal and couldn’t be more supportive. If there aren’t any therapeutic preschools in your area, some pediatric therapy clinics offer therapeutic playgroups. We did that prior to preschool for several months, and it was helpful as well. Good luck!
Anonymous says
Would a mainstream preschool even allow an outside aide? That seems like it would raise security concerns and also cause confusion among the other children, who would think the aide was just another teacher and try to treat them accordingly.
Spirograph says
I don’t see why not? Presumably the aid would be screened and background checked the way any other teacher would, and four year olds are certainly old enough to understand that Aide is here to help student X, not a teacher for the rest of the class. I’m sure the aide and teachers could work out how to handle situations where another student needs help because they’re adult professionals.
OP, I’m sorry. I don’t have any great suggestions, but virtual hugs to you — we’re wading through a different challenge right now, and I know how stressful it can be to navigate getting the right support for your kids.
Anonymous says
It’s very common in my area. children with autism, Down syndrome or physical disabilities all benefit from participating in preschool but the ratios for regular teachers are often not sufficient.
Our kids knew that the aide was there to help xyz kid because they needed some extra help.
Anonymous says
Our preschool has an inclusion program and always has at least one aide in the 3/4 year old room. I don’t know if the aide is resident in that room or moved with kids. I think she’s resident because I feel like she’s been there for awhile. I think the county covers this though, I’m not sure of the specifics.
AwayEmily says
My kids have all gone to preschool with kids who have either full or part time aides. They’re all fully screened/vetted and don’t seem to cause any confusion. My son’s close friend had a part-time aide, and he actually joined in on some of their therapy sessions (she had speech issues, and so a lot of her therapy was practice talking).
NYCer says
There is a child in my daughter’s class at a private preschool with an aide. Not sure why it would raise security concerns. The kids all understand she works with X and is not a regular teacher.
Anon says
I’m pretty sure not allowing an aide that the parents pay for would run afoul of the ADA. It seems like a reasonable accommodation to me, and I found this language on the ADA webs*te:
“Q7. Our center specializes in group child care. Can we reject a child just because she needs individualized attention?
A: No. Most children will need individualized attention occasionally. If a child who needs one-to-one attention due to a disability can be integrated without fundamentally altering a child care program, the child cannot be excluded solely because the child needs one-to-one care.
For instance, if a child with Down Syndrome and a significant intellectual disability applies for admission and needs one-to-one care to benefit from a child care program, and a personal assistant will be provided at no cost to the child care center (usually by the parents or through a government program), the child cannot be excluded from the program solely because of the need for one-to-one care.”
Anon says
What city do you live in? I would 100% reach out to your cities parent support place for special needs families and they will provide you with an advocate that has been through this and help you find local options.
L says
Oops sorry, realized that I didn’t explain by therapeutic school, I mean one that caters to kids with developmental differences/special needs in general (as opposed to autism-only schools), as that may open up some new options. Anyway, all the best!
Anon says
So, a lot of my thoughts on this are dependent on which state you live in. In my state, he would qualify for the state pre-K programs run through the school districts. Once within the district, they have a lot more requirements for providing assistance, like aides, and additional support. Also, unlike a private daycare, they couldn’t ask him to leave for these incidents/behaviors.
Anonymous says
Same (I’m in MA)
Anonymous says
OP said he didn’t qualify for county services. Maybe engage an advocate and appeal that decision?
Anonymous says
Brainstorming, and I don’t have a special needs kid so apologies if this is out there. Can you work with your current daycare to pay for a 1:1 aid? They might have someone they can flex for more hours, at your expense.
What are the plans for kindergarten? In our district the threshold for 1:1 ABA (IMO) low. An autistic child with behavior like you describe would certainly qualify.
For the expense portion, what about enrolling him in part time preschool with an aid? Then the aid could be his afternoon sitter. Now you have the social exposure and only 30-40% more expense, not double.
Alternatively, have you considered part time PK options that may be a better fit, with a nanny/babysitter to fill the working hours gap? If your kid is really “borderline” then perhaps fewer hours and a smaller class size would mitigate the need for an aid.
Anon says
Slight variation on the sleep questions we often talk about.
I have a three year old who falls asleep beautifully – we have a routine, she falls asleep easily, etc. But. For the last month or so she’s been waking up early … VERY EARLY … like, two or three in the morning early. Sometimes, she wakes up to use the bathroom and just stays up. Other times, she doesn’t seem to have a reason to get up but refuses to go back to bed.
What do we do? She claims not to be tired. We took the babyproof handle off her door so she could get herself to the bathroom, so now she gets out and roams around. We got her one of those clocks that has a stoplight (And she can say, “Red, Stay in Bed!” but refuses to actually do it.)
DH and I have been taking turns getting up with her since otherwise she’ll wander around and wake up her sibling and/or us. She (and we) are obviously exhausted by the afternoon. We’ve tried moving her away from naps, since we assumed she would be more tired – but when she gets up at 2:30 or 3, she’s just a nightmare by 5 pm. We all are. Help!
Anon says
My otherwise champion sleeper had a phase like this around 3.5. We had her come into our bed, and all went right back to sleep. I know many people are reluctant to do this, but we were willing to do anything to get sleep ourselves, and she went back to sleeping in her own bed within a few months so it didn’t cause any long term issues.
AwayEmily says
Yeah, I think it’s safe to assume this is a weird short-term thing, so do what you need to do to get through it, get her/you back to sleep, and don’t worry too much about “creating bad habits.” Co-sleeping didn’t work for us (too much kicking) but we solved a similar problem by putting a mattress on the floor of the kids’ room and a parent would just go in there to sleep with them after their wakeup, with the understanding that parental presence was conditional on the kid laying quietly in their bed. Having the parent in there would help the kid lay still long enough to fall back asleep. The period lasted a few months, if that. We still have the mattress, though. Makes for a good wrestling zone.
Anon says
+1 – 2 or 3AM really can’t be an early “wake up,” I would definitely treat it as a night wake up, where all efforts are on getting your child back to sleep. We have a camping mat and sleeping bag on our floor that we will tuck a child back into for night wake ups. Also agreed with given more protein before bed. My hangriest kids woke up early and angry when they didn’t eat enough food before bedtime. I find that an apple with peanut butter right at bedtime (as in, after showers, during stories) takes the edge off of early mornings where they wake up just absolutely starving.
Anon says
My 3 year old wakes up with nightmares every night between 12am-3pm. We put an extra crib mattress on our bedroom floor and he just runs in our room and puts himself back to sleep. It’s not ideal but he’s not in our bed (bad habit IMO), everyone is sleeping (I often barely even wake up/hear him come in), and I hope he’ll just grow out of it eventually.
He naps 1 hour during school, but no naps since 2.5 on weekends.
Anon says
I’ll also note: he shares a room with his younger sister, so this also keeps him from waking her up.
Anonymous says
I think you just set some boundaries/ ground rules and expect that this will be a phase that ends, while carefully managing her naps. For example: she has to stay in her room but she’s allowed to look at books or play with a doll. She is not allowed to wake up other members of the family unless it’s an emergency or her clock turns green. If she violates the rules, she loses daytime privileges, like dessert.
Good luck!
Anon says
Just as a counterpoint – admittedly, I had some pretty spicy 3 year olds, but my kids definitely would not have been able to play alone in their rooms quietly for like 3 or 4 hours (from 2AM to 5AM), and threat of not eating dessert several hours later would definitely not resonate/keep them confined to their rooms for hours at a time. At 4.5, my twins can manage to read books quietly for about 15 mins max before they come out of their room, regardless of the color on their Hatch. I think OP needs to treat it as a night wake up, and all efforts should be going back to sleep, not starting the day at 3AM, which isn’t safe/healthy for anyone.
Anon says
Yeah, I also have a spirited kid, but it’s laughable to me that a 3 year old could play quietly for hours in their room beginning in the middle of the night regardless of what consequences are imposed. My kid could do long stretches of daytime independent play for several years before she could play independently without waking us in the mornings. She’s really only gotten consistent with solo mornings in the last couple of months and she’s almost 6.
I also agree it’s not healthy to be up for the day at 3 am, even if they will play quietly. Unless you’re putting your kid to bed at 6 pm (in which case, maybe push bedtime back) there’s no way they’re getting anywhere near enough sleep if they get up for the day then.
Anonymous says
My friend had a child like this and I’m not sure it has changed. The poor boy would fall asleep for a nap at like 10am. Could she be hungry? My friend was incredibly strict about food (“almond mom”) and my guess was her son was just hungry.
Anonymous says
Ooh, this is a good point. OP, have you tried the spoonful of peanut butter at bedtime?
Anonymous says
Or is it possible she’s getting cold? The weather has been changing in the last month or so.
Anon says
+1 to trying out a bedtime snack to see if this helps. Something boring but filling. Peanut butter, a banana, yogurt, yogurt smoothie, cheese stick, etc. We also make the wake up as boring as possible. Get up, go to the bathroom, go straight to bed. No negotiations, no playing, no reading, just back to bed because it’s the middle of the night. Our kiddo has had a couple periods like this and almost always I think they were related to a growth spurt, physical or mental.
Anonymous says
I would suggest a “dream pee” in addition to bedtime snack, just in case that’s part of it. It helps one of my kids get an extra hour of sleep- if we don’t take him to pee at 10:30-11, he is up at 5:30. If we do, he often makes it till 6:30.
Anonymous says
Is there a way to gate off the hallway so she can only get to the bathroom and can’t roam the rest of the house and wake everyone else? It depends on the configuration of your house, but in our house it would work.
anonM says
Can you power through with no naps for a few days, or just really shorten the nap length? (Or even play around with moving bedtime later?) To me, 2/3 am is back-to-bed time, not up for the day time (especially for a month straight!). That sounds horrible for you as parents!
Both my kids did go through phases of getting up really early, but that was more 5am than 2/3am. But, FWIW, the big thing for us was not rewarding it. At one point we put up a baby gate and would lay in their room to kind of keep an eye on them/half sleep, and they have a dedicated bin of quiet-ish toys (toy cars) they can play with. But they can’t wake everyone up or watch TV, and it is not the time for special 1-on-1 time with mom or dad. When sleep is really in a bad phase, DH and I also try to trade off, and, give each other time to nap during the day on weekends (I know not feasible for everyone, but really if you can, do it.).
Good luck, hope you get some sleep!
GCA says
I have a true early riser, but he gets up with the sun rather than in the middle of the night. When he was a toddler he went through a phase exactly like this: chipper and wide awake and 100% Not Tired at 2am. Turns out he was just hungry because of a growth spurt plus an already furnace-like metabolism. I used to just give him a snack and put him back to bed. (I was also training for a marathon at the time so I was hungry too; we would hang out on the couch eating cereal and yogurt at 2am, then brush our teeth and both go back to bed.) Also made sure he was eating enough dinner instead of doing laps around the table in between bites.
Anonymous says
I am looking for some other “mom gut/intuition” to weigh in on this and see if it’s worth of looking into more. I have a 4.5 year old son. He is an amazing sleeper, and has been since he was a newborn. I don’t know how to explain it other than he just intrinsically loves his bed and loves sleep. He currently sleeps from about 7:15-7:10 am. 7:10 is the latest we can get him up and get all three of us out the door at a reasonable hour. He no longer naps, but there’s still a hour of rest time at school when he lays on his nap mat.
The potential issue is that, about 8/10 times that I go in to get him in the morning, he is fast asleep and mumbles some version of “I’m tired I don’t want to get up.” After about 5-10 minute of silent cuddling in his chair he wakes up a bit and then is as happy as can be. He eats a huge variety of foods, including a good amount of protein(including red meat) and spinach.
A friend (who is way more into health things than I am) mentioned that they just learned one of her daughter’s is anemic, and that with the amount my son sleeps, that’s something I could look into. I’m not opposed to looking into this, but to diagnose this, there would have to be a blood draw, and I am not really jazzed about the idea of making my kid get stuck with a needle unnecessarily … he hates needles. He does seem to sleep a lot more than the other kids his age I know, but him sleeping a lot isn’t new. And for these other kids… per their parents, they’ve never been good sleepers.
Anyway, curious what the other “mom guts” think.
AwayEmily says
I think it’s PROBABLY just that he’s high sleep needs. But it is going to interfere a bit more with his life as he gets older and wants to do more activities, so it would be worth knowing if there is something going on that you could address.
I am a total layperson but can’t anemia be diagnosed with just a finger prick? That’s how they always test my iron levels before I give blood….
Spirograph says
Anemia would have other symptoms, right? Like he would generally have lower energy throughout the day, tire easily, etc. Do you see any of that?
I’d make a mental note to mention it next time you have a well visit, but this isn’t something I’d schedule an appt over based on nothing but a solid 12 hours of sleep and general reluctance to get out of bed. After all, who wants to get out of bed in the morning, especially at this time of year?! And you’ve trained him that he gets snuggles if he resists. Of course he’ll do it 8/10 times! (NO judgement, just pointing out that there’s a reward in play here that makes him more likely to exhibit the behavior you’re seeing as potentially worrisome.)
Anonymous says
OP here – thank you! You make a great point about the “reward.” I too, do not really want to have a full on conversation the moment I wake up, so I have to remember that he is probably just feels the same way. Nor do I want to get out of the comfortable, cozy bed I’ve created for myself. Once he’s up, he’s the happiest kid you’ll meet!
And thanks for the information about the finger prick – my friend described the blood work her daughter had done to sound like typically blood draws that I’ve had to do, which seems unnecessary if I’m not really concerned about this.
Anon says
Hmm. I don’t think the total amount of sleep is concerning (it’s high, but not off the charts, and my kids were similar) but my ped has always said that kids this age should wake easily, and that was my experience even with very high sleep needs kids who were always at or near the top of the normal range in terms of total sleep hours. At this age range, up to 13 hours of sleep is considered normal and if they’re not napping (mine didn’t either) they get it all at night, so it really is possible he needs more than 12 hours of sleep at night. Is there any way you can do a slightly earlier bedtime or later wake, and see if that makes him easier to rouse? Even 15 minutes can make a big difference. One of my kids was in bed around 6:30 for much of preschool.
Anonymous says
Some kids just aren’t morning people. Mine has never liked waking up in the morning. I always think the stories of little kids waking the whole house up at 5:00 a.m. are odd. That said, if you are concerned why not call the pediatrician? Some blood tests are just done with a finger prick.
Anon says
Anemia often causes poor, restless sleep. I would not suspect it for a child who sleeps 12 hours straight. Another symptom is paleness (especially look at his lip coloring). My 2.5yo has struggled with anemia/low iron and has been world’s worst sleeper since he was a newborn. Other than that he’s had zero symptoms, and despite sleeping just 9-10 hours a night with multiple wake-ups, he’s never seemed fatigued (mom is fatigued, though).
And yes, pediatricians usually start with a finger prick IME.
Anonymous says
+1 – I tend to get anemic and have trouble sleeping. You’re tired when you are awake. He sounds within the range of normal. I knew a family whose kids still needed a nap when they came home from kindergarten; they just have high sleep needs. My son, not so much.
Anon says
My guess is he’s probably just high sleep needs, but as a first step, you can check your child’s lead levels from prior blood draws, since he’s always had these high sleep needs. Presumably the anemia would show up there as well, given his history. All that said, if it’s a concern at all, have him get a finger stick at his next dr appt. I absolutely hate needles, but sometimes they’re necessary.
Anonymous says
I have 3 kids and one is like this right down to the not waking easily. The only place he won’t sleep is an airplane. It’s just luck. if you’re worried that he’s a poor eater and may have low iron for other reasons, just add a centrum junior chewable multi vitamin which has iron.
Anonymous says
That seems like a totally normal amount of sleep for a kid that age, or at least it’s the same as both of my kids at that age. If your kid is also complaining of fatigue during the day, no harm in testing iron levels . One of my kids was low and supplements did help (and spurred me to check my own ferritin level – I was dizzy and exhausted- and lo and behold I needed iron IVs).
Anon says
Following up on yesterday’s post about when whining and/or meltdowns taper off. I have twin 4.5 year olds, who have been home from school since last Thursday. They have wildly different personalities and likes/dislikes, so from my sample size of 2, here are my thoughts. If the twins have a perfect schedule, including enough sleep and food, and are not asked to do difficult for their aged tasks (ahem, wait in a long standing only line at the specialty grocery)….we actually can go a full day without whining or meltdowns. This was unheard of in their 3 year old year, and even right after they turned 4. Now, when we keep the schedule to our house or a park, with lots of food that they will happily eat, and they get enough sleep overnight, they are downright delightful. Once I introduce an X factor, I see a meltdown or whining. It makes me hopeful that around 5, their bodies will be stronger/better able to handle external variables, and while the whining may never fully taper off, I bet we will have fewer meltdowns. At least, I (and all of the other people at the fancy, tiny grocery store) freaking hope so.
Anon says
We’ve always had kid birthdays at lunch time and served pizza, but the venue where my kid is set on having her 6th birthday only does parties from 2-4 pm. Do you think it’s ok to do pizza and cake around 3:30? I feel stingy not serving “real” food, and it’s an active party so I don’t want to serve a big meal at the beginning, but I know some parents might frown upon their kids having pizza mid-afternoon.
Also the venue is kind of cramped for the number of people we’re inviting. Do you think many parents will drop off if given the option? Kids are in K and 1st, and it’s a place with staff who will lead activities, not something like a playground where parents are responsible for watching their own kids.
FP says
What if you do heavy snacks? Like a chicken nugget platter, some bags of pirates booty, fruit and veggies? The parents who have dinner plans that they don’t want to be spoiled can steer their kids toward a lighter snack, and the parents who want to use the party as a substitute for dinner can have something more substantial. My kids are in K and 2nd and I generally stay with them in case they need me – I don’t want to be a burden on the party parents if someone gets (not seriously) hurt and needs a hug or something along those lines.
AwayEmily says
A party where you feed my kid pizza at 3:30 so that I don’t have to make them a big dinner AND I get to drop off rather than spend two hours making small talk with other parents? A thousand times yes.
I’m sure this is an overgeneralization, but my experience is that parents of multiple kids REALLY appreciate the drop-off option.
Anon says
+Eleventy Billion.
Anonymous says
I have an only child and would also REALLY appreciate the drop off option :) Small talk with parents I don’t know well is not my thing, and I’d love to have a random two hour block on the weekend to treat myself to a pedicure or book + coffeeshop time. But you’re right that it’s probably even more valued by parents of multiple kids.
NYCer says
Agree with all of this.
I also think you could just do heavy snacks in this time frame as an earlier poster mentioned – whatever you prefer really.
Anon says
Agree with all this. In fact, my middle son has been invited to three birthday parties this fall and we’ve declined all of them because I don’t want to spend my weekend attending them myself! (I have three kids, they weren’t close friends but whole class invites, etc.) If I knew I could drop him and bail I may have been more inclined to convince him.
And kids eat frequently…pizza at 3:30 is basically a hearty snack and I would have no qualms with it messing up any sort of eating schedule.
Boston Legal Eagle says
I’ve been to and hosted many bday parties from 2-4 where pizza and cake was served at the halfway point. And yes, we’ve had drop offs beginning in K (the spring, for my spring born kid) and it’s fine as long as they’re mostly contained and supervised.
Anonymous says
I’ve been to many parties that serve pizza mid-afternoon. I personally am cheap and don’t want to have to provide pizza at a weird hour, so I just do snacks and cake and make that clear on the invite so people can plan accordingly. Parents will love a drop off option, just make it clear in the invite that it exists!
Anon says
Do pizza and cake. It’s what the kids expect and, honestly, will fill them up better than just cake. We went to a bday party a few weeks ago where my non-pizza-eating kid just had cake and she still wasn’t hungry for dinner… until bedtime. If she had eaten pizza too, I think it would have been better.
For drop offs, my kid is in K and doesn’t know the other parents well yet, so wouldn’t want me to drop her off. But I think you can say on the invite that drop off is welcome, but not required. That can help steer things the way you want.
anon says
If you make it clear on the invitation that drop offs are invited, I think many parents will be happy to drop off.
With that timing, I’d just do snacks like fruit, cheese, and baguette slices and cake. I don’t understand why there should be a meal at a non-mealtime party.