Moms Talk: The Power of Saying No to All Tomorrow's Parties

Summer is nearly here (June 21 is the longest day of the 2011) and so are the invites. Why is it that every kid seems to be (mine included)? Was there something in the water in September 2006? I’m thinking there had to be as there is no other way to explain the 17 party invitations sitting on my desk, in my inbox and on my Events page.

Obviously, we are not going to all these parties. That would just be silly, and unnecessary and frankly, no fun at all. And considering the average party gift is 15-20 bucks, I’m not going to blow my wine budget on SpongeBob toys. So what is a girl to do with too many places to go and not enough time and resources to get there? Well, you lie through your teeth of course.

The problem with fibbing your way out of an invite is, well, chances are you are going to get caught. It’s all the Internet’s fault, of course. What with all these fancy-pants check-in apps, tagged mobile photos and status updates, it’s just impossible to say you are going to be someplace and not actually be there. Worse yet, saying you are staying home with a sick anybody and being called out in your friend’s status for making the waiter blush…all these things result in hurt feelings and disappointed friends.

Guess who really doesn’t care about any of this stuff? The kids, of course. It’s really up to us Mommas to understand that sometimes people have better things to do than go to our kid’s party.

Ouch. Hurts, right? But it’s true. I’ve even witnessed some pretty smart women cut each other down for daring to schedule their child’s party on the same day as their own. Talk about a popularity contest! Do yourself a favor and accept the regrets, even if their pants are on fire, with grace, class and a promise to not stalk them on Facebook to see what they were actually up to.

So, if you want to send regrets, send them immediately. Don’t overdo it. Simply say, “So sorry to miss the big day…Happy Birthday to You!” No lies needed, no backstory to maintain and no drama when you get totally nabbed posting a picture of yummy happy hour fare and a crazy cocktail when you should be wearing a paper hat and keeping your kiddo’s fingers away from the birthday cake.