Anonymous wrote:My kid had no Bat Mitzvah, no Sweet 16. Birthday parties with less than 5 kids for the last 10 years.

I am a single mom and I am so damn proud of her- and me! We have had a lot of challenges and despite it all, she has crushed it.

It makes me so sad that you would think that way about a party I invited you to.

Don't worry about OP. They probably already are nasty enough that they aren't your family's friend.

July 30, OP reposts a troll post from June because they have no sense of civility or fraternity.

The greatest gift you can give is to not attend the party. Let the people who love people quality spend time together.

My kid had no Bat Mitzvah, no Sweet 16. Birthday parties with less than 5 kids for the last 10 years.

I am a single mom and I am so damn proud of her- and me! We have had a lot of challenges and despite it all, she has crushed it.

It makes me so sad that you would think that way about a party I invited you to.

Anonymous wrote:We broke even on the party but it was a great time and we got to see a side of our kid we'd never seen before. Such as smiling and laughing in public... and I'm not even being facetious

We invited teachers our kid liked too, and THEY CAME. It was really cool to see them transition to not being a person of authority but just an adult friend of a kid-becoming-an-adult.

I totally disagree.

I have relatives (Southern) who send out "graduation announcements." Now THAT is a money grab. My MIL will send a kid she has not seen in 15 years $50, just to be polite or something!

I think you are ascribing mal-intent where there is none. Maybe, rarely, the driving force is to get gifts. But why live life with that mentality? Even so... let's play this out. Family thinking about all the many costs associated with going to college. Kid says "Oh what about X?" Mom says, "Idk I think you will have to go without X. Or maybe you'll get some gift money for graduation you can put towards it?" Is this really the worst thing in the world and worth resenting someone over?

We broke even on the party but it was a great time and we got to see a side of our kid we'd never seen before. Such as smiling and laughing in public... and I'm not even being facetious

It’s like a Bar Mitzvah. Definitely a gift grab.

Anonymous wrote:My DD was invited to many parties, and many kids came to hers. Most didn’t bring gifts; those who did brought something small and/or meaningful (my DD loves pickles and her friend bought her a jar). Most of the adults gave ~50 with a few random 100’s thrown in. Some didn’t give a gift at all. Everyone seemed to have a nice time.

This is kind of how our circle rolled. Some had parties, some didn’t. There was never ANY expectation to give or receive a gift (material or $). In fact, some invites specifically requested NO gifts….but people don’t listen (we didn’t and gave when/what we wanted).

We only attended (or invited) friends we’ve known for 10+ yrs (plus a very few HS-only classmates). We are fortunate, though, to have many people fit that category. ☺️ All the events were joyous, sentimental, and special to/for each honoree. That, to me, is the point.

I did not bring money or anything to one where we did not know the kid well. Only realized later alot of people were giving $$. I'm fine giving some kind of present or money to kids we know well....

Anonymous wrote:HS grad parties are low class.

troll

no different from a birthday party

who cares

Anonymous wrote:HS grad parties are low class.

What?!? Ha, it's just a celebration for a kid. If people want to have a little party, great! This board is ridiculous sometimes. So much judgy, resentful sentiment. You do you, negative folks! The rest of us will shrug and show up for a party if we can make it.

Anonymous wrote:Different question—do people invite both family and their kids friends? My grad says no one does this and it would be super weird. Do people have two parties?

Yes to bolded. No to two parties.

Anonymous wrote:Different question—do people invite both family and their kids friends? My grad says no one does this and it would be super weird. Do people have two parties?

Personally, I did what my grad wanted. It's his party after all. And that was to invite a couple of family friends for a bbq. He was not interested in a big shindig at all.

My DD was invited to many parties, and many kids came to hers. Most didn’t bring gifts; those who did brought something small and/or meaningful (my DD loves pickles and her friend bought her a jar). Most of the adults gave ~50 with a few random 100’s thrown in. Some didn’t give a gift at all. Everyone seemed to have a nice time.