Children’s birthday parties can bring out the absolute worst in adults. Don’t believe us? Check out the endless dumpster fire that is the “Am I The A—hole?” subreddit on Reddit. There’s drama regarding the guest list and the food. And now an outlandish list of demands for birthday presents is going viral on TikTok.
“Birthday parties now are really getting out of control,” a mom on TikTok said in her video. She explained that three days before the party her child was going to, the mom hosting sent out a text with guidelines for gift-giving. (!!!)
She said that if you are going to give the birthday kid a gift, it can’t have any colors, it can’t make noise, and it has to be waste-free, meaning there shouldn’t be any plastic in the toy and/or the packaging.
“If you can’t abide by these [stipulations], just give a handmade card,” the instructions continued. “Don’t buy a card because that will produce waste.”
Wow. OK. We understand this mom aiming to be as sustainable as possible. Kudos to her! And we really understand how irritating toys are when they make noise. But why no color? We understand that “rainbow explosion” is not the vibe that every parent wants in their house, but bright colors are actually really good for a child’s development.
This is a lot to ask of parents three. days. before. the party. And sure, plenty of people will be scrambling for a present at the last minute, but what about the caregivers who have already purchased gifts? What are they supposed to do if it doesn’t follow these guidelines?
Now the mom who made the video doesn’t even want to go for fear of making a gift-giving mistake. “It was so much easier in the ’90s,” she said with a sigh.
The video has gotten more than 220 thousand likes and nearly 17 thousand comments from people who think this sounds “stressful AF.”
“So like a rock?” one person asked. Or, as another person joked, “Perhaps the child would enjoy a sourdough starter?” Another TikTok user pointed out that it was an “interesting way of asking for cash.” And honestly … maybe that is the goal here! Is that mom secretly hoping parents will stash 20 bucks in the handmade cards? However, cash is green and that might be too colorful.
One person wondered if the mom in question was Kourtney Kardashian (who many consider to be “granola”), and another translated the list to mean this parent doesn’t want any toy that would bring their child joy.
While the legitimate suggestion for toys included Montessori Toys, there were plenty of spot-on gag gifts that fit the requirements perfectly: A russet potato, a beige bath towel, or a block of wood from Home Depot. And then there were the rebels who suggested a Cocomelon sing-along bus, slime, glitter, a megaphone, a cat, and more.
If none of these gift ideas are speaking to the mom who posted, followers agree that she and her child might have to suddenly and mysteriously come down with a fever that day. *Cough cough*
These celeb parents know how to throw an epic birthday bash!
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