goldenpig
07-24-2011, 05:39 PM
We had DD's birthday party yesterday at a farm and it was great! They had pony rides and a petting zoo. It was a big party because we invited 9 of her classmates (she's in a 3-5 year class of 27 so we only invited the ones in her year) plus her ballet friends, plus a couple of her close friends, plus her cousins, plus everyone's siblings (we don't usually have no-sib parties around here). It was a little chaotic, but the kids really seemed to enjoy it. There were about 14 or 15 families (24 kids including my kids, DD's cousins, and all of the kids' siblings).
DD opened her presents last night (we don't typically open presents at the party around here) and I'm planning to get my thank you notes done ASAP this time (instead of procrastinating like I usually do). Problem is, I'm not sure if one of the families brought a gift...I can't find a card or gift from them. We did have a lot of food & stuff to bring home, but I talked to DH and he said he checked the area before we left so he doesn't think we left anything behind. This family was an hour late for the two hour party, so I didn't get a chance to talk to them much and there was so much going on that day that I really did not keep track of who brought which presents.
Honestly I really don't care if DD got a present from them or not, but it makes it difficult to figure out what to do with the thank you. My options are: 1. Ask them directly if they brought a gift, which I would NEVER feel comfortable doing even though I know them fairly well 2. Send a generic "thank you for your gift", which could make them feel bad if they really didn't bring something, or make them feel bad that I didn't mention the specific gift if they did give something 3. Send a note saying "Thank you for coming to DD's party" but not mentioning a gift, which might be a little strange 4. Do/send nothing, which again might offend them if they gave her something. The party was not a "no gifts" party (again, not because we want gifts, we have way too many toys as it is, I just think people tend to bring gifts anyways and it bugs me if I don't bring something and everyone else does...that has happened to me several times). FWIW, this family attended DS's birthday party a few months ago and brought a gift. And we attended their DD's party, and they emailed a thank you with a pic of their DD and the gift, but no mailed thank you. So WWYD? I'm leaning toward sending a "thank you for coming" with a picture of their kids at the party, and not saying anything else unless they bring it up.
There were also two presents that were identically wrapped and two detached cards from other kids, so I will probably have to check with one of the moms to figure out who gave what.
And finally, this is a petty bitch that doesn't deserve a whole BP, but indulge me a bit. I admit I totally went overboard on the favors--I bought a bunch of stuff (about $8-10 per kid) from Oriental Trading including cowboy hats (pink for the girls and red/blue for the boys), and a horse backpack with a bandana, boot mug, horse lollipop, stickers, cowboy tattoos, make your own picture frame, and a flocked horse with saddle (or soft cow/barn for the baby siblings). And each one had a sheriff pin with their name written on it. Plus each cupcake had a Safari toob horse on it. That's 24 kids, so it adds up, but it was a lot of fun for me to do and I didn't want to give a random BOC so I think it was worth it. Mostly everyone loved them, but I saw one mom of one of DD's classmates (I even made a whole favor bag for her daughter's younger sibling) looking at the back of the lollipop wrapper and making a face and complaining to the group of school moms, "I don't think I want my daughter to eat a Made In China lollipop". Sheesh. I'm sorry I didn't buy organic lollipops. If it offends you so much, fine--just throw it away. No need to make rude comments in front of everyone else! I just think it's kind of hypocritical when 1) she let her daughter eat the cupcake and 2) when we went to her DD's party, all of the stuff there was from Oriental Trading too. I normally try to feed my kids organic too, but it's a birthday party for goodness sakes. Unfortunately, DH heard it too and he's more upset than I am. He told me, "Who is that mom? Her kid's not invited next year." Gah. How embarrassing. :bag
DD opened her presents last night (we don't typically open presents at the party around here) and I'm planning to get my thank you notes done ASAP this time (instead of procrastinating like I usually do). Problem is, I'm not sure if one of the families brought a gift...I can't find a card or gift from them. We did have a lot of food & stuff to bring home, but I talked to DH and he said he checked the area before we left so he doesn't think we left anything behind. This family was an hour late for the two hour party, so I didn't get a chance to talk to them much and there was so much going on that day that I really did not keep track of who brought which presents.
Honestly I really don't care if DD got a present from them or not, but it makes it difficult to figure out what to do with the thank you. My options are: 1. Ask them directly if they brought a gift, which I would NEVER feel comfortable doing even though I know them fairly well 2. Send a generic "thank you for your gift", which could make them feel bad if they really didn't bring something, or make them feel bad that I didn't mention the specific gift if they did give something 3. Send a note saying "Thank you for coming to DD's party" but not mentioning a gift, which might be a little strange 4. Do/send nothing, which again might offend them if they gave her something. The party was not a "no gifts" party (again, not because we want gifts, we have way too many toys as it is, I just think people tend to bring gifts anyways and it bugs me if I don't bring something and everyone else does...that has happened to me several times). FWIW, this family attended DS's birthday party a few months ago and brought a gift. And we attended their DD's party, and they emailed a thank you with a pic of their DD and the gift, but no mailed thank you. So WWYD? I'm leaning toward sending a "thank you for coming" with a picture of their kids at the party, and not saying anything else unless they bring it up.
There were also two presents that were identically wrapped and two detached cards from other kids, so I will probably have to check with one of the moms to figure out who gave what.
And finally, this is a petty bitch that doesn't deserve a whole BP, but indulge me a bit. I admit I totally went overboard on the favors--I bought a bunch of stuff (about $8-10 per kid) from Oriental Trading including cowboy hats (pink for the girls and red/blue for the boys), and a horse backpack with a bandana, boot mug, horse lollipop, stickers, cowboy tattoos, make your own picture frame, and a flocked horse with saddle (or soft cow/barn for the baby siblings). And each one had a sheriff pin with their name written on it. Plus each cupcake had a Safari toob horse on it. That's 24 kids, so it adds up, but it was a lot of fun for me to do and I didn't want to give a random BOC so I think it was worth it. Mostly everyone loved them, but I saw one mom of one of DD's classmates (I even made a whole favor bag for her daughter's younger sibling) looking at the back of the lollipop wrapper and making a face and complaining to the group of school moms, "I don't think I want my daughter to eat a Made In China lollipop". Sheesh. I'm sorry I didn't buy organic lollipops. If it offends you so much, fine--just throw it away. No need to make rude comments in front of everyone else! I just think it's kind of hypocritical when 1) she let her daughter eat the cupcake and 2) when we went to her DD's party, all of the stuff there was from Oriental Trading too. I normally try to feed my kids organic too, but it's a birthday party for goodness sakes. Unfortunately, DH heard it too and he's more upset than I am. He told me, "Who is that mom? Her kid's not invited next year." Gah. How embarrassing. :bag