We've had zero replies to my 7yo's birthday party - no one is coming

"Or is it that we all just ignore party invites these days?"

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Advice Needed 

Honestly, I am devastated for my soon-to-be 7-year-old.

He excitedly handed out birthday party invites on the first day of term 2. The 10 invitations sent to the school received no response. One week from the party, there has been no response (with four days until RSVP deadline).

From what I understand, my child is popular. He says 'hi' to other kids, has friends, and socialises with classmates at school - which I see in the mornings.

Is it no longer common courtesy to send a message saying, “Thanks so much for the invite, but we won’t be able to attend”?

Do we all just ignore party invites these days?

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Jordana's Advice 

I'm so sorry for you and your son. Worrying that your child won't have anyone come to their party is an awful position to be in as a mum. You want them to build friendships and be happy at school without too much intervention. But sometimes, as mothers, we do have to step in. 

He must have been so proud to invite his friends and hand out invites. Let him have that moment, but now it's time for mum mode. I would say, "Kids can be so cruel", but the parents are at fault here. Ultimately, your son is the one suffering. 

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Why is it so hard to RSVP? 

Lately, there has been a lot of pushback on not RSVPing; it's rude, without a doubt. But for whatever reason, making the effort to reply doesn't rank highly for many people.  

I'm in the "all-class" or nothing phase when it comes to my kids' parties. So, as a group, we have agreed that the host will post in the class WhatsApp group and then post a poll to confirm who can come. Even with this easy method, I still need to chase some parents! 

 I don't need the stress. I get the invite, and then I RSVP immediately. I can honestly say I've never left another parent hanging.

Image: iStock

RELATED: ‘If I can’t be at the party, my son will not be attending’

Parents, check your kids' bags!

It's also possible that the invites are now buried at the bottom of the kid's school bags. From my experience, what goes into that bag often disappears into a black hole and reappears the following term. I would politely reach out to the parents to follow up. It's annoying and time-consuming, but hopefully you will get answers, and your son won't be embarrassed at his party when no one shows up.

While I'm not sure of your school policy, I can't imagine that they would be against you contacting parents to confirm if their child can come to a party. You aren't trying to sell them a time-share. This should be your top priority since you're close to the party date. 

Hopefully, it was oversight, given that it was a paper invite, and the kids might not have known what to do with it. 

Happy birthday to your son! 

Originally published as We've had zero replies to my 7yo's birthday party - no one is coming