An Oregon mom posted an important note after no one showed up to her son’s birthday party. In the note, she begged parents to RSVP after not a single child showed up to her 9-year-old son’s birthday party.
Kristen Layne, the blogger behind Life on Peanut Layne, promised her son that this would be “his first real party with friends.” This was Mahlon’s first year going to public school after being homeschooled his entire life, so they planned a Diary of a Wimpy Kid-themed party for his ninth birthday.
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And even though Layne hadn’t heard back from any parents of the invited children, she assumed they would still show up. After all, the same thing happened at their daughter’s birthday party earlier that month. Her husband told her not to worry. “Nobody seems to RSVP these days,” her husband said. “Don’t worry, they’ll come. Kids love birthday parties.” Except, the party came and went — and not one child was there.
“Words cannot describe the utter and complete devastation that washed over me, my husband and my nearly 70-year-old father, who was almost brought to tears himself,” she later wrote on her blog. “Seeing my heartbroken little boy sitting all alone at his brightly decorated, empty party table was more than I could take.”
“It could’ve all been avoided by a simple RSVP, via phone call, text, email, whatever, etc. I know I will definitely never ignore those four little letters ever again. Parents or caregivers, please, I beg you not to ignore it either.”
While the day started off devastatingly, it quickly turned around after the family went bowling to make the best of a sad situation. Later, word reached Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney, who gave Mahlon a virtual tour of his office via FaceTime.
Strangers across the country have also reached out, sending cards and gifts to the Layne family. If you’d also like to mail Mahlon a birthday message, you can send one here:
Mahlon K. c/o Kristen P. Layne PO Box 8141 Bend, OR 97708
