I guess R.S.V.P. means nothing any more
Our son's birthday is next week, and we're planning the big pre-K birthday party thing at our house. We gave invitations to each of his classmates at school two weeks beforehand.
Two mothers of his classmates called to say their sons were coming. That's it - not another word. I have no idea if all 20 kids are coming, or if only the two will show, or if we'll be somewhere in between. So I'll have to buy enough goodies for 20 goody bags, enough ice cream for 20 kids, etc., and we'll have way too much of everything. Because if I risk it and buy enough for only 10 kids, then 20 will show up for sure!
When did it become acceptable to ignore the request R.S.V.P. on an invitation? Do people no longer grasp even the simplest rules of basic etiquette?
Thank you for letting me rant - I feel a bit better. Feel free to respond (or not!) to this little post. You are under no obligation. 
(Unless you were invited to a 4-year-old's birthday party on Saturday. In that case, pick up the @*$#&* phone and R.S.V.P.!)
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I'll be there. Count me in!
I'm a little worried that a majority of your invitations are still hiding in the little 4-year-olds' backpacks. I once neglected to pass a message to my mother that my friend and his grandma needed to be picked up from Karate practice. As a result, they waited for several hours and then had to call a cab.
In Ultima Online I used to poison hams and leave them on the ground in cities for people to pick up and eat. I can't believe how many people thought street ham was a good thing to eat. -Elliottx
Hire a bouncer. Anyone who isn't on the list shouldn't be allowed in your house. Throw in a few ass kickings to set an example.
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On the plus side Halloween isn't too far off so you can recycle the extras for then.
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I agree with Yoyo, this is indeed the issue. Without a doubt, those invitations are in the bottom of those backpacks, crumpled or ripped up, or used to draw on. And this is just an invitation; it never ceases to amaze me that schools persist in using students to transport critical documents. I still have this problem with my 13 year old.
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Perhaps they don't know what R.S.V.P means.
Next time say "Y'ALL TELL US IF YOU AIN'T COMIN!"
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I shall eat any and all left over ice cream.
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If you haven't discovered it already you'll seen realize that the 20+ person birthday parties are a colossal pain in the ass. Not only do you have to deal with all the planning and aggravation but you get 20 toys that cost $10 each. They're either broke in 3 days or you spent the next six months kicking them out of the way.
We've done the Chuck E Cheese route, the bowling party route and even the McDonald's route. Never again and ya know what, my son and daughter don't seem to mind.
I wouldn't buy the extra stuff... and tell them that i'm sorry that they can't have any since i didn't expect them. I'm a mean git though. Your avatar truely fits your good nature.
I was given the choice... an expensive birthday present (i believe it was a NES) or a big birthday party. There were times i did long for the party but all in all i think i made the right decision.
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I think people just think "Oh, they know I'm coming." We ended up having to call family members, on my side of the family, for our wedding to verify if they weren't coming. You know the fact that we included a stamped envelope to respond whether or not you were coming just wasn't enough I guess.
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Did you send paper invites?
We shall grapple with the ineffable, and see if we may not eff it after all.
When did this "all the kids get presents" thing come about and why wasn't it around when I was a kid?
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Invite the two kids to an afternoon at the movies (ie, out of the house.) Movies, visit to the local kids dress-up joint or Gymboree, then ice cream and cake at one of the local places. Be out of the house at least an hour before time.
That'll do it. You'll get rsvp's next time.
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I'm sure this is at least partially intended as a joke, but it's a good idea. Acronyms are bad; as are phrases in other languages. An acronym of a foreign phrase is beyond ridiculous.
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I'm sure most Americans know what RSVP means. Lately I have experienced the reverse. People RSVP that they'll come and then never show up so I'm stuck with extra stuff.
WDSFG.
Rhymes with 'yidcaff'. I don't use smilies. Imagine a wink and a wry grin at the end of most of my sentences. I don't like using exclamation marks either. I'm more friendly than you imagine.
I had a quick look to see if there are stats on the number of Americans that understand RSVP. Instead I found a page for foreigners (to Americans), on how to behave if when moving to the US.
It had this advice:
"People in the US are curious. They will ask you a lot of questions. Some of their questions may appear ridiculous, uninformed and elementary, but try to be patient in answering them."
Oh, how I laughed.
Rhymes with 'yidcaff'. I don't use smilies. Imagine a wink and a wry grin at the end of most of my sentences. I don't like using exclamation marks either. I'm more friendly than you imagine.
My experience with this suggests that you should expect the bulk of your RSVPs one or two days before the party.
Red Foxx, standing by.
May I suggest the following...
if only two people RSVPed then spend the same money you would have spent on the favors on 2 favors. have enough food/ice cream for the rest but make a big deal out of the party favors. "oh if I knew little tommy was comming I would have gotten him somthing too. I'm sorry, I wish you had responded to my RSVP."
If you do this anyone with half a brain should get the idea and respond next time. And anybody who dosn't get it... Well you probably don't want their mentaly challenged spawn comming to your next party, chewing on your nice couch anyway
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Holy crap! RSVP is French?! WTF?!
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All that does it hurt the kid.
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Or you could not give out party favours (at least anything more than hats and noisemakers) and not expect presents, because, as you said, you end up with 20 $10 gifts that either break or are in the way. Really, does your little guy need more toys than you and/or family gets him? Really?
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I have never had someone just show up that didn't RSVP'd a yes. Usually, just the people that call to say yes show up, and those that don't call have don't show.
This is unrelated, but upon reading this thread, I remembered...
A while ago there was an SA forums thread which asked, how many 5-year-olds could you realistically take on, assuming there's a neverending crowd of them attacking you, before getting overwhelmed ?
The replies ranged from amusing to serious, detailed accounts on how one could, say, spin a 5-year-old and throw it into others to buy some time, or barricade themselves fallen 5-year-olds, or possibly try running on top of them to safety...
Those visuals are just stuck in my head after seeing this thread for some reason
Lately, all the invitations we've been receiving say "regrets only" instead of RSVP. I do not know who thought of this.
"Hmm, let's see. I know everyone wants to come, so it's perfectly safe to assume they all are!"
I've always wanted to call, "I wish I had taken that trip to Europe. I wish I had learned to play the xylophone better. I wish . . What? Oh, yeah. We'll be there."
"And the circle has been charged through the power of unphysics, which are physics so stupid they erase normal ones from your mind." -Wields-Rulebook-Heavily at rpg.net
There's probably a good chance some of the 4 year-olds forgot to give the invitations to their parents. And based on the way I've seen parents allow their children to misbehave, there's a good chance many of the parents are grotesquely inconsiderate.
Fedaykin98 wrote:
Good idea - I hadn't thought of that. Boy, will the kids in my neighborhood be in for a suprise. No candy - toys instead!
And now it's time to pick the brains of my fellow Goodgers with kids: any suggestions for games for a bunch of 3-5 year olds? I've got a variation on pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, and we may get a piñata, but my mind is blank, and we'll need to fill about 2 hours. After presents and cake, I figure we need 3 game ideas. Suggestions? Please?
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
- Dr. Martin Luther King
Slip and slide? Water guns? Soccer? I know they aren't games but the best birthday parties I went to had those.
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You're never too young for D&D!
Seriously though, if it's not too cold a super soaker fight would be fun.
You could have them all try to attack Elysium and see how long he can hold out.
After he is vanquished, there should still be a few of them last standing around and probably bored. You could have them play "Carp Tail". I just made the name up on the spot. Basically it's like a Congo line that tries to chase itself. Get all the kids to line up and place their hands on each others shoulders, then instruct them to hold on and to not let go. Then have the kid at the front of the line try to grab the kid at the back of the line. The kid in the back needs to try to run away from the kid at the front. If he succeeds in "grabbing the tail" then he moves to the back of the line and the next kid gets a try. You probably need at least six or seven kids to make this work.
Once this is done you should have fewer than a handful of kids left. These are the true heralds of the next generation, the righteous inheritors of the Earth, the God-Kings and Queens of the New Order. Place carefully woven wreaths upon their heads and introduce them to Guitar Hero. Add to their goodie bags your best stationary containing your contact information so that thirty years from now when they descend from their thrones on Mt. Olympus, they might look upon you and your kin with a kindness and grant you health and happiness beyond your wildest dreams.
Other ideas: Musical Chairs, Cornholing, Bacci Ball?
In Ultima Online I used to poison hams and leave them on the ground in cities for people to pick up and eat. I can't believe how many people thought street ham was a good thing to eat. -Elliottx