Did my kid's Birthday Party invite get sniped?
Birthday party dilemma and advice from a sloppy cupcake baker:
Okay. So, my screwed-up mommy thoughts these days are: Did my kid's first grade party invite get sniped by another first grader's party, or am I just socially greedy?
"And now," she said, speaking with a semblance of hindsight:
"The answer is I was not technically sniped. However, I am someone who could be accused of being unreasonably hoggish regarding the sharing of party-goers."
And so, I'm now asking the PTA Fairies; Just what is the right way to handle dueling invites in grade school?
Just to be clear: What I mean is, what happens when two kids -- different classrooms, same grade, same friends-- have conflicting parties at the same time?
Admittedly, I made the biggest mistake right off the top: I tried something new. I put "Regrets Only" on the invite.
Hey, can you blame me? So many people just blow off RSVP'ing these days that I figured by reversing the process of skipping one round of communication that I'd be that much more prepared. As if.
Wrong. Not. Big mistake. Don't do this. You could end up making your kids cry if you screw up their party, and admit it; How much would that suck?
At first, several Moms said "We'll come but we'll probably be late..." and some even said "We can't come due to another birthday."
But, I didn't get what was going on till one particularly honest mom said "So, how are you going to handle the X (insert other kid's name here) party problem?"
That was my first tip-off that I had a potential first grade social train-wreck in the making. And it got me asking; Just what do you do when two kids have parties at the same time but you don't know the other mom, just the same pool of party-goers?
The "Mommy" in me tried really hard, not to feel dissed not knowing till it was almost too late that things were a mess.
Is there ever a proper Mommy-Etiquette is regarding party invites and avoiding future (unintentional) Birthday Party sniping?
Lessons Learned from my child's 7th Birthday:
Rule #1. Always get the invitations out WAY, way earlier than you ever think you need to.
Rule #2. Don't rely on "Regrets Only" to figure out who's attending a kid's party. Or, the only regrets will be your own when you realize that not hearing from people was not a slam dunk that they would be there. How dumb does that make me?
(Why didn't I read my blog first?)
Rule #3. Don't give harried, mixed up Moms (like yours truly) any social wiggle-room on party invites, or the kid you hurt may be your own.
And the worst part is that unless you are Eloise's Nanny; You simply "cah'nt, cah'nt cah'nt" pour your kid a stiff one when the guests don't show.
Okay. So, my screwed-up mommy thoughts these days are: Did my kid's first grade party invite get sniped by another first grader's party, or am I just socially greedy?
"And now," she said, speaking with a semblance of hindsight:
"The answer is I was not technically sniped. However, I am someone who could be accused of being unreasonably hoggish regarding the sharing of party-goers."
And so, I'm now asking the PTA Fairies; Just what is the right way to handle dueling invites in grade school?
Just to be clear: What I mean is, what happens when two kids -- different classrooms, same grade, same friends-- have conflicting parties at the same time?
Admittedly, I made the biggest mistake right off the top: I tried something new. I put "Regrets Only" on the invite.
Hey, can you blame me? So many people just blow off RSVP'ing these days that I figured by reversing the process of skipping one round of communication that I'd be that much more prepared. As if.
Wrong. Not. Big mistake. Don't do this. You could end up making your kids cry if you screw up their party, and admit it; How much would that suck?
At first, several Moms said "We'll come but we'll probably be late..." and some even said "We can't come due to another birthday."
But, I didn't get what was going on till one particularly honest mom said "So, how are you going to handle the X (insert other kid's name here) party problem?"
That was my first tip-off that I had a potential first grade social train-wreck in the making. And it got me asking; Just what do you do when two kids have parties at the same time but you don't know the other mom, just the same pool of party-goers?
The "Mommy" in me tried really hard, not to feel dissed not knowing till it was almost too late that things were a mess.
Is there ever a proper Mommy-Etiquette is regarding party invites and avoiding future (unintentional) Birthday Party sniping?
Lessons Learned from my child's 7th Birthday:
Rule #1. Always get the invitations out WAY, way earlier than you ever think you need to.
Rule #2. Don't rely on "Regrets Only" to figure out who's attending a kid's party. Or, the only regrets will be your own when you realize that not hearing from people was not a slam dunk that they would be there. How dumb does that make me?
(Why didn't I read my blog first?)
Rule #3. Don't give harried, mixed up Moms (like yours truly) any social wiggle-room on party invites, or the kid you hurt may be your own.
And the worst part is that unless you are Eloise's Nanny; You simply "cah'nt, cah'nt cah'nt" pour your kid a stiff one when the guests don't show.
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