No, it’s not. If you are in the small minority who love a long lingering all-day-drop-in-when-you-like type of affair then skip this. The other 99% of you keep reading.
This is not about the kids. Kids cannot differentiate between a shorter dynamic party and a longer slower one. It’s all just a blur for excited kids. Parents though, can. I can tell you from literally thousands of phone calls and in-person conversations that two hours is the accepted and comfortable length for a kids party.
Parents know that if they drop and run there is time to run a few errands in those 2 hours. It is workable time. It’s almost now an unspoken social agreement that busy parents expect of each other. Parents that decide or need to stay — and this is common at younger children’s parties — will do either of two things if you go over 2 hours:
1. Be quietly thinking to themselves what makes you think your time is more valuable than mine.
2. Or they simply won’t accept your invitation in the first place and politely decline.
Besides 2 hours has inbuilt positives. Perfect schedule. School sessions are 2 hours. The kids’ clocks are set to work on this.
The longer the party, the more the cost. The main cost to you though is not money, it is social currency. People simply do not appreciate a party longer than 2 hours these days.
Check out our other blogs with more tips and dispel Costly Misconceptions at Phatmagic.co.uk
