Is it inappropriate to supply beer and wine for the adults who are accompanying their kids (around ages 3-6) to our house for a mid-afternoon birthday party? I would assume most people would partake of a midday drink on a Saturday afternoon, but I don’t know if the purpose of the get-together being a kiddie party makes the adult beverages inappropriate.
Whaddaya think?
Oh, I would say it’s nearly mandatory. At least when my kids were that age, we always at least beer and usually wine.
I’d look at you cross if you didn’t at least have beer. Whiskey would be a nice touch. 
I wouldn’t do it myself. It would just seem incongruous to me and I’m not sure buzzed adults really mix with a child’s birthday party. I prefer to keep things innocent. A kids’ party should be a kids’ party. That’s just me, though.
I think the adult party-goers would bless you fervently. People know not to get shit-faced at a kiddie party, but a little something to take the edge off would go down nicely.
I think it depends on the crowd. Are you inviting only kids from your child’s Baptist Church Sunday School? Or are these all family friends with whom you’re usually camped out next to the barbecue with a few beers? We’ve always served beer & wine because the only people we’ve ever invited to my kids’ birthday parties are family and family friends. The birthday parties are typically just another gathering, and we’d normally have beer and wine, so it doesn’t really feel out of place.
If you don’t really know the adults, you could have some cold beer in the fridge just to offer, but don’t bother to set up the whole bar.
I’d do it, and have done it in the past. No one batted an eye. You should supply some adult oriented snacks as well - cheetos, gummi bears, and ice cream aren’t the best mix with beer.
On the one hand, I don’t see any harm in a social drink or two for the adults.
On the other hand, I’ve never quite gotten comfortable with social drinking, so if I were hosting, I wouldn’t be providing any beer or wine. and if I weren’t hosting, I would not be partaking.
So I agree with those saying you should know your audience.
We have the adult snacks covered, I just don’t want parents to look at the booze and cry “Alcohol at a kid’s birthday party? Won’t someone think of the children!?!?” or whatever. Past parties for the kids were during the day mid-week, but now that the tikes are all in school, we’re having it on Saturday.
I was leaning toward providing it, and since the majority are leaning that way as well, that’s probably what I’ll do. I’ll put it on the counter right next to the big Scarface-sized piles of coke.
I personally would think it was a bit odd.
It seems to be the norm in latino culture though, which I’ve encountered a lot more of in SoCal. The people I know around here would think something was wrong with you if there weren’t kegs.
Usually the parents don’t stick around for kids parties, but if there is an adult presence gathering in the shadows of the main party hubbub, I dont see anything wrong with offering alcohol. However I wouldnt encourage alcohol fueled antics in front of the kids either.
I agree with the know your audience.
The birthday parties I’ve gone to (not many, only one friend has kids and mine only just made friends) included beer for the adults. Mostly it was ‘let the kids run around and play, have a barbecue and towards the end have cake and presents’. So really casual from what I remember of my/my brother’s birthday parties (Mom did everything from pin the tail on the donkey to pass the shoebox with prizes…), but just perfect for that age group IMO and since all the adults were friendly it just made a nice afternoon.
A dozen or more preschool-age brats in one place on a Saturday afternoon? You better have a fuckin’ bong ready, and it better damn well be loaded with good shit. :mad: 
I’m kidding, of course. If I walked into that party and you offered me a cold one, I would gratefully accept, but I wouldn’t think you remiss if you didn’t.
Beer and wine? The hell with that, hookers and blow for the adults!
I am going to be a discenting voice: Unless you and/or the children are driving the adults home, absolutely not! And watch out for the joker who thinks it’s okay to give children sips of booze.
I came in to ask why there was a question mark on the end of the thread title but looks like everyone else has it covered
I’ll assume I’m being wooshed here, but if not…
All due respect, but they’re adults, not high school kids inviting their friends over for some hooch while the parents are away for the weekend. I’ve socialized with many of these same people at other events and I’m in no way concerned about their judgment in keeping things in moderation.
McNew, I do apologize, but the idea of drinking and driving is one of my hot spots. And to throw children into the mix.
You as the host are responsible. If you serve alcohol, make sure you have adult food there, and cut off the booze an hour or two before the party ends. And make sure that if anyone even seems impaired, you make other arrangements to get them home. Even if you have to drive them yourself or call a cab.
Huh. Maybe my experience just differs from yours, but I don’t really have any acquaintances who can’t/don’t know how to cut themselves off after a beer or two. I would never get drunk and sloppy in front of my kids anyway, and if it were my kid’s birthday, I’d pull aside anyone who looked to be doing so and straighten them out. It just wouldn’t occur to me that serving beer or wine to the adults would lead to problems.
OTOH, people who would give a “3-6 year old” (OP’s quote) sips of booze are an entirely different animal. Genus “total dipshit.”
I always let the kids I babysat for taste my beer or wine (I did several long weekend stays and went with them on vacation to mountains). ONCE not multiple sips. They’d forget they hate it since last time, spit most of it out and the curiosity was gone. Mom knew I did this and was fine. She knew I wasn’t putting beer bongs in their mouths.