A Salt Lake City mother, Breanna Strong, 27, recently shared her heartache when none of the 27 children she invited showed up for her daughter Avery’s third birthday party at KidsTopia Playground, an indoor jungle-themed venue. Strong had planned an elaborate celebration with pizzas, a detailed Frozen-themed cake, and plenty of treats, hoping for a lively turnout.
Nevertheless, her heart broke for her three-year-old daughter as not a single invited guest showed up for the party.
Breanna Strong, a 27-year-old mother of three from Salt Lake City, Utah, organized what she anticipated would be a grand celebration for her daughter Avery’s third birthday.
Despite ordering several pizzas, an elaborate Frozen-themed cake, and a plethora of other treats, the event ended in disappointment when all 27 invited guests failed to attend.
She shared the heart-wrenching experience on TikTok through a viral video, prompting an outpouring of love and support for Avery from people around the globe.
She shared the heart-wrenching experience on TikTok in a video that rapidly went viral, amassing over four million views in just days. This led to an outpouring of love and support for Avery from people worldwide.
“In the video, Breanna wrote, ‘We invited 27 kids to Avery’s third birthday party. Not a single one of her friends showed up. Money and time wasted. Breaks my heart as a mom so badly.'”
“In the video, Breanna shared, ‘We invited 27 kids to Avery’s third birthday party. Not a single one of her friends showed up,’ as she panned the camera to reveal the empty room.
‘Money and time wasted. Breaks my heart as a mom so badly. Literally going to go home and snuggle my babies.’
One clip showed Avery sitting alone, nibbling on pizza, before Breanna disposed of the remaining food. Another depicted Breanna fighting back tears as she drove home from the disappointing event.
‘I wish I was making this up,’ she added in the caption.
In the comments, Breanna disclosed that she had sent out virtual invitations to the party via Facebook. Although seven families initially RSVP’d with a ‘yes,’ some messaged her last minute to cancel, while the others simply failed to show up without explanation.”
In one clip, Avery sat alone, quietly eating pizza, before her mother gathered the remaining food and disposed of it in the garbage.
In the video, the mother expressed her intention to return home and “snuggle her baby.” In the caption, she lamented, “I wish I was making this up.” A recent image of Avery is also shown.
She added that she was more distressed about the situation than her daughter was, as the youngster still managed to have a fun time at the indoor playground and was too young to fully grasp what had occurred.
“She got everything she wanted. Pizza, Frozen cake, and the jungle gym. She didn’t know any different, just had fun. It truly shattered my heart,” Breanna explained.
Despite this, many people flooded the video’s comment section with supportive messages for Avery, while others expressed their disappointment towards those who didn’t attend.
“Let’s have a redo. I’ll travel and bring a bunch of kids who love making friends,” suggested one person.
“This makes me so sad,” added another, with someone else expressing, “This breaks my heart.”
“This is a rule in my house. If we’re invited, we’re GOING!” read a fourth comment. “We’ve been the only ones that show up. So sad this happens, I’m so sorry.”
In the comments, Breanna clarified that some families messaged her at the last minute to inform her they couldn’t make it anymore, while the others simply failed to show up without any explanation.
Nonetheless, numerous individuals swiftly filled the video’s comment section with kind messages for Avery, while others expressed their disdain for those who failed to attend.
Another parent chimed in, “This happened to one of my daughters. Now I make sure we show up to everyone’s party we are invited to. I never want to see that pain for any child.” Some even confessed that they no longer host parties for their children due to this exact reason. “I honestly think people just don’t attend birthday parties anymore. I’ve stopped doing them. We just have a social day celebrating our kid,” one person explained. Another shared, “Exactly why I don’t have parties, I grab a cousin/friend and travel to give my kids experiences.” “This is so sad,” wrote a different user. “We don’t do these parties because I have a fear of this. We prefer smaller parties with just family and close friends.” Others recounted their own experiences of being stood up for birthday parties, with one woman revealing, “This happened to me on my sixteenth birthday. Never had tried again until I was like 26 and it happened again. I’m 39, now I always treat myself to a spa day.”
