She promised a kids' party with Pinterest fails. Parents are celebrating it.
Elle and Edie Bourdeau have been planning the most important day of the year - their July birthday party - for more than eight months. The 4-year-old twins have told their mother, Carys Roberts, they want unicorn and bat decorations. Maybe princess designs, too. Oh, and they need an area to dance.
Elle and Edie's prekindergarten classmates often send polished party invitations that indicate a theme - although the agendas rarely go as planned. Roberts doesn't know what will happen at her daughters' party at their Ontario home, so she didn't make any commitments when she wrote the invitations earlier this month.
"AS REQUESTED THE THEME WILL BE 'UNICORNS BUT WITH RAINBOWS AND MAYBE BATS BUT THERE SHOULD BE PRINCESSES AND ALSO MINNIE AND WE NEED DANCING LIGHTS,'" the invitation reads. "SO. . ..DRESS ACCORDINGLY. . ..PLEASE PACK A BATHING SUIT, SUNSCREEN, PUDDLE JUMPERS ETC IN CASE YOUR SWEET BABY ANGELS DECIDE OUR ORIGINAL PLAN SUCKS AND THE POOL WOULD BE A BETTER TIME."
When neighbor Natalie LeClaire pulled the invitation from her 5-year-old son's lunch bag, she couldn't stop laughing. She posted the invitation on TikTok on June 10, and the video has since received more than 5.4 million views as parents across the world have applauded Roberts's sincerity.
"We're going to have some stuff to do, but we have zero expectations that the kids are going to follow what we set up," Roberts, 39, told The Washington Post. "So if they just want to run around and scream, then we'll make sure we have lots of Advil."
Roberts has hosted traditional themed birthday parties for her daughters in the past. For her twins' first birthday celebration in July 2019, she held a "Miami Vice"-themed party in her friend's backyard but called the event "Miami Twice." Roberts bought a backdrop for pictures and placed title cards, each of which included a "Miami Vice" picture, in front of every food dish. She made an Excel spreadsheet listing the nearly 70 people she invited, and guests dressed like characters from the TV show.
In the following years, Roberts organized a "Double Trouble" birthday party and a dinosaur-themed festivity. Roberts always had fun, but she was exhausted from pouring hundreds of dollars into parties and supervising dozens of children who rarely followed the agenda.
Last year, Roberts wrote a simple birthday invitation without pictures and designs for a casual party in her backyard. The kids had fun running through a makeshift obstacle course, playing in the pool, and eating popcorn and Goldfish.
Two weeks ago, Roberts sat at her computer for about 10 minutes to pen a satirical invitation. She wrote that the July 15 party will be sponsored by Pinterest "fails" and the dollar store, "SO PLEASE SET YOUR EXPECTATIONS APPROPRIATELY." Roberts wrote that alcohol would be available for adults, but she will decline parents' requests to help her, though "DEEP DOWN [WE] WANT THE SUPPORT."
"YOU DO YOU," the message concludes.
"We want the kids to have fun, and that's what they're going to remember," Roberts said. "I don't think they're going to remember the decorations."
Roberts gave 10 invitations each to Elle and Edie to distribute to classmates. LeClaire saw the invitation the next morning while her two kids ate breakfast and soon RSVP'd to Roberts, whom she had not met. Then, she posted the TikTok.
That afternoon, LeClaire texted Roberts again: "I have a small TikTok following, and I made a video about the invitation because it was absolutely hilarious. . . . It's sort of blowing up."
By the end of the day, the video had received a million views. As the TikTok has gotten more traction, LeClaire and Roberts have continued texting in disbelief.
LeClaire also has spent hundreds of dollars on themed birthday parties for her son, Evan, and her 1-year-old daughter, Amelia, but has stressed about meeting high expectations every year.
"She said the quiet part out loud," LeClaire, 31, said about Roberts. "It's the part that every parent wants to say but is afraid of being judged, so they don't say it."
Roberts has some ideas for what the kids can do at next month's party. They can run through a simple obstacle course, play with water guns and balloons, or swim in the pool. She is giving her daughters a trampoline for their birthday, so she expects that will entertain guests, too. Plus, she'll buy the essentials: crackers and Band-Aids featuring Minnie Mouse and dinosaur designs.
She believes most of her plans will be in vain when the kids see each other, scream and hug in excitement, and run around. Some TikTok commenters said they're eager for updates on the event.
"I am truly going to be disappointing," Roberts said, "everybody that thinks that this is going to be an epic party."
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