Party invites - only one sibling

[geiboyi]

My children are fairly close in age - and whilst of course I understand that people can invite whoever they choose to a birthday party, I really don't feel really comfortable taking one and not the other, and promised myself that the next time it happens I would just decline politely with a prior commitment. Now it's happened and I'm wondering, is this just me being uptight? We're not talking a small and intimate event, and there will definitely be children over a fairly wide age range. I would never invite one child and not the siblings. Isn't that like inviting the husband to a party but not the wife?

[carang]

i have the same problem. my two kids are 2 years apart and they play with mostly the same kids. HOWEVER, if it was my son getting an invitation from someone at school, then i would only take my son.

i don't think there is any problem with just taking one child.
if you know the people fairly well, then you can ask them if it is ok for you to bring the other one (but then again, if you know them fairly well, then they would most likely be inviting both kids anyway).

i think before school age, family invites are appropriate. after school, some family invites to close friends and then "extra" invites to the friends at school (no siblings if they are not known by the birthday child).

otherwise, your little get-together ends up having 50 people.

[Honkyblues]

If the party is at someone's home, I think it's acceptable to ask whether there is room for a sibling to come along (and I would buy a more expensive present in appreciation). If it's in a hired venue, where the cost to the parents is usually per child, then you could ask if it's ok to bring a sibling AND offer to pay for the extra child (explaining that your children usually do things together and you don't want to leave the other child out).

I have two boys close in age, so I do understand where you're coming from. I always prefer to take them to parties together. When I hosted my elder son's party (in a hired venue), I invited younger siblings too and since then, I've found that mums who took me up on the offer have invited both my boys in return.

[saun-mom]

I always took both (1 boy, 1 girl, 18mo apart) to parties when they were younger, and was happy to have their friend's siblings at our parties.
Now that they're getting older (7 and 9) they appreciate the time by themselves (its nice to have a break from your best friend/ worst enemy sometimes!). Also, the parties are now often a bit more tailored to the individual child. ie. a makeover party, with fancy hairdos and princess movies (which my son wouldn't be caught dead at), instead of a crazy party at a playground. So its just easier on everyone to send just one kid.