Look, I really don’t feel there is anything malicious going on but c’mon.
When my son started elementary school, he had a dream of inviting his entire class to his. Luckily, it was a small class — but not small enough that we could host the party at our home, so we booked the party room at a local wildlife rescue museum.
We made our guest list accounting for each child to attend with a parent or guardian and kept the total slightly under the limit “just in case.” But as the RSVPs started rolling in, we quickly found ourselves alreadythe limit while there were still about 20 percent of invitees yet to respond. People were RSVPing forI couldn’t bring myself to do anything about it. We were only weeks into the school year and I’d never even interacted with most of these people.
The next year I did just that. I said the venue had a guest limit, but I’d be happy to let any interested parents know if we found ourselves with open spots. I gave myself a pat on the back for being direct yet diplomatic and considered the problem solved.Several people once again RSVPed beyond the scope of the invitation and others showed up with surprise guests — though fewer than the previous year.
Look, I really don’t feel there is anything malicious driving these extra people to show up. I can’t imagine anyone waking up one day and thinking, “Gee, I wish there was a way I could wreak havoc when Becky throws her son’s next birthday party!” There’s a good chance people don’t know about guest limits or average fees unless they themselves have hosted a party like it; I sure didn’t.