I’m a long-time listener of the show (10+ years), and I really thing you guys are great. Could you please help me spread the word about RSVPs to kid’s birthdays?
My son is turning 7 this month, and he asked for a friends only birthday party so we could go somewhere fun, i.e. Urban Air. Even though this isn’t quite in the budget for us, I decided to go through with it, because he’s an awesome kid and doesn’t ask for much. So I bought a birthday package at Urban Air for 10 kids, and invited 30 kids to make sure he had a full party. Of those 30 kids, 5 RSVP’d as “No.”
I assumed there would be a few kids that didn’t show up—because hey, it is summer vacation. I was also prepared to pay for any extra kids that showed up, because my kiddo wanted everyone to be included. He hates having anyone left out of anything. However, I wasn’t emotionally prepared for what did happen: Only 1 kid and her sister showed up.
Like I said, my kiddo is pretty awesome. He didn’t cry or act like a jerk; He played with his friend and made sure to include her little sister in their games. We had cake, ate pizza and opened his present. He gave his friend and her family giant hugs and thanked them all for coming to his birthday. He was a trooper. He didn’t mention it again all weekend; he just said he had a nice time at his birthday.
When we got to his day camp this morning, where more than half the kids we invited attend, he didn’t want to get out of the car. He said he was embarrassed that his friends didn’t come and didn’t want to tell them that no one showed up for his birthday. Y’all—that was a sucker punch to the gut. I had to talk him out of the car and walk him inside. I told him to keep his chin up, and if anyone asked to answer, “My party was great. I had a really fun time.”
Rod and Dinah, can y’all please make a PSA to all the parents listening that RSVPs are important? Had I known no one was coming, I could have moved his party to another weekend and saved him from this whole ordeal. It’s a kid’s birthday party – you can just text yes or no if you’re going to make it—especially when the invite includes my cell number and says, “Feel free to text me anytime.”