First of all, just wanted to say thanks again for advice and suggestions on my son's birthday breakfast party. It went very, very well. About 20 kids showed up and it was a casual, not overly-structured affair. Kids bounced in the bounce house, then sat down and ate breakfast whenever they were tired or hungry. Towards the end we had a couple relay races, then served the cake.
Whoever suggested bringing cereal - brilliant! I bought those little boxed cereals at Costco, which has a few sugary kinds kids are never allowed to have (Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes, Frosted Mini-wheats) and some non-sugary ones too for parents who didn't want their kids overdoing the sweets. Those were a massive hit!
My question is this: My son opened his gifts later at home and I was pretty good about keeping track of cards/tags/labels. I wrote down everything received and did thank-you notes right away. However, I haven't seen anywhere a card/tag or label from one guest and I'm stuck wondering if they brought a present and there was a mix-up of labels or the present somehow disappeared or maybe they didn't bring a present at all? Frankly, I really don't much care if they gave a present or not, since my son received too much anyway, but I do care if they gave something and we don't thank them for it.
I'm not good friends with this Mom at all - in fact, the first time I ever met her was at this party. I would be embarrassed to ask if they gave a gift. My stepmother suggested I just send a note saying thank you so much for attending the party and leave it at that. What do you think? Have you ever had a situation where gifts were mixed up or you were unsure that a gift was given?
"Thanks for sharing Jakes' day, and making it special Thank you for your generosity. Jake really enjoyed playing with Jared. Again-many thanks!"
YES! you are spot on - a Thank you for coming to the party we had such a great time!
That's what I would do. "Thanks for sharing the day with me".
I think your stepmother has a great idea here! This way you are acknowledging the fact that they celebrated with you and sending a generic "thank you" without putting them on the spot.
We had a gift-tag mix-up last year, but I knew the two mothers well and called them both to straighten it out. They had both asked for gift ideas and both "ideas" showed up, but without cards! It happens.
Sounds like a great party! I would send a generic thank you "Thanks for being part of my special day and celebrating with me. I hope that you had as much fun as I did!"
