Sigh, last November we had a birthday party for Robbie at a local gymnastics joint. The party was noon – 1:30 and involved kids playing wild and crazy games, eating cake, and going home exhausted. Parents didn’t have to lift a finger, and their kids were in and out in an hour and a half. This is my favorite kind of party to attend. No fuss, no muss, and on with the rest of your day.
You can see I’m going somewhere with this, can’t you? I am totally cranky today and it’s because I’m on this insane email list for the local mother’s club. Full of questions about where to buy the best ski boots for a 2 year old, vacation in Hawaii, hire a second manny, and why housekeepers are just not as high quality as they used to be. But I saw a message go by today that really irked me.
Because it was about me!
Someone had asked for advice about food to serve kids at a birthday party. This party was at the same place we celebrated Robbie’s 4th birthday last year, so I read the list of responses she got. They’re all anonymous, and now I know why!
Someone complained about what was clearly Robbie’s party. I can’t say for sure, but all the many details were correct. She was pissed that I didn’t provide a full enough lunch for all 20 of the kids.
Read on to see what a bad host I am.
The year before we had a party there for Mike and we brought lots of food. We had coffee from Peets and deli sandwiches from Whole Foods for the adults. For the kids we had PB & J and other simple sandwiches, cut veggies, juice boxes, and water. We also had cake.
Guess what happened?
The adults ate the PB&J while the kids were playing, and the kids only wanted cake. Not one kid ate any other food. We had these sandwiches around FOREVER, and it was such a waste of money.
So for Robbie’s party, we got bagels — including lots of plain and cinnamon raisin ones for the kids — cream cheese, lox and coffee. Kids who were hungry could have a bagel, and then we’d serve cake at the end of the party.
This woman had the GALL to complain. I’ll paraphrase her email:
I am a whiny douchebag.
Hmmm, that doesn’t really get the details across, does it…
I went to a party there with my kids during the same time slot and was surprised when no lunch was served. The parents of the birthday boy offered only bagels and coffee to the parents (not really enough for noon, if you ask me), but nothing for the kids. My girls played and then had only cake for lunch! Yuck.
You see she said “my girls”? I know who it is because she asked if she could bring her other daughter. I said “Sure, the more the merrier!” Turns out that daughter needed to play soccer after the party and needed a hearty meal before hand. I suck, don’t I? I should have known that! Next time I’ll serve steak.
There is, however, an upside. Now I know why she was scowling at me at the end of the party. I am so relieved — until today I thought she found out that I was the one who keyed her car!
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