Mum's heart shatters into pieces after nobody shows up to son's birthday party

A mum's heart has been shattered into a million pieces after all of her son's friends skipped his birthday party. Her five-year-old son attends a private school on a scholarship - and she cannot afford to throw him a lavish party like his classmates expect.

Instead, she got to work planning a budget-friendly party by catering it herself, coming up with activities, and putting together homemade goody bags for his guests to take home. Taking to Reddit, she said: "All of the kids in his class are pretty well off but we are not. For the most part, all of the parents throw parties for their kids and invite all of their classmates.

"We have attended every single one of them. We do because we never want the other kids to feel alone if nobody shows up, and he genuinely loves to play with other kids his age." But wanting to make her son feel special on his big day, she splashed out on an impressive birthday cake and a dessert table.

For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US.

"I really did my best to budget but also make it as great as his other classmates' parties," she added. "The only thing I would say we really went out on was his cake and the table for the desserts. We rented out a not-so-fancy area as our house is too small. I had plenty of games and prizes for the kid."

The mum sent invited out two weeks in advance of the party - but admits she hadn't received any confirmation back. She said: "I was still hopeful that maybe people would show up. Fast forward to today, everything looked beautiful. It was as if I had hired a party planner. The party started around 1pm. 1.30pm rolls around, and still, nobody but my family was there.

"2pm rolls around and still nobody. At this point, I tell my family that they can eat if they would like. Around 2.45pm my son tells me he doesn’t think any of his friends will come. He started bawling his eyes out, hugging me and honestly at that point, my heart just broke. I feel like I failed him. We end the party early and pack up."

Not knowing what to do next, the woman asked Reddit users: "Should I send the goody bags with my son and let the teacher put them in the kids' backpacks? What do I even do with all of this extra food? I feel so angry and sad."

In response, one user said: "Happened to me once when I was 10. Well, one kid showed up, but he lived on the same street. What happened was a more popular kid had his birthday scheduled for the same day so my whole class went to his." Another user added: "Man, I don’t have kids and this strikes a chord. Poor kiddo. Hopefully, this next rotation around the sun will be full of blessings."

A third user said: "I will try and sound tactful, you say that you have no direct way to contact any parent, two weeks sometimes is not enough time for people who are packed in activities. If you only let your son hand invitations at school without instructions to RSVP then, I apologise, but the process was mishandled."

Do you have a story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.