Mom shares her plan for unconventional first birthday party of her daughter, sparking debate

Every parent wants to celebrate their child's birthday memorably. Some like to have it with a small group and others want to keep it short and sweet. However, a mom named Rachel—who goes by @rachelonlife on TikTok—wanted to celebrate her daughter's first birthday unusually and it didn't go well with people. She talked about it in a now-viral video on TikTok saying, "This is the list of things that I'm doing for my daughter's first birthday that I didn't do for my son's first birthday party."

First, she lists that the birthday party is an hour and a half long from 9:30 to 11 in the morning. She explains, “I don’t want you at my house all day. I’m giving you your day. I do not expect you to sacrifice your entire Saturday for a child’s birthday party who’s not even gonna remember it." She adds that her child needs to nap and anybody coming for the party is usually up by 9:30 am or can make an exception for one day. "It's over at 11, you have your entire day," the mom emphasizes.

The next rule that Rachel talks about is that there will be no meals at the party. She asks her guests to have breakfast at home. The mom states that she will be serving some snacks though. The mother then says there wouldn't be any games at the party which are usual for kids' parties. "This is going to be a very 90's vibe party where that have like a ball pit out and maybe some toys. I'll put the pickler triangle and the trampoline up outside and that will be that," the woman explains. She adds that she will not be spending money on this and she will just get the invitations printed.

Rachel shares that the birthday party is Harry Potter-themed, however, they do not want any gifts for the child. “I specifically, very clearly, put on the imitations ‘Please, do not bring gifts,’” she said and added that she put up a sweet rhyme about her daughter Hazel being "far from a house elf" so she won't be needing any clothes. “And then I said, ‘If you feel inclined to bring something, consider $5 because we’re trying to remodel, redo our yard. Our backyard is a train wreck. Bring us five bucks to help us redo our backyard. That’s what we’re asking. But she does not need anything," the mom says in the video.

The mother also clarified that they won't be serving alcohol at her kid's birthday party. She said that it's pretty normal to do that but they do not drink and it's 9:30 in the morning so they will only be serving juice. Rachel concludes by saying that they are not going to have a cake but coffee cakes which will be decorated like mandrakes as the party has a Harry Potter theme. 

The video gained 658.6k views and is captioned, "Cannot wait to celebrate HP's first trip around the sun but I am not ready for her to grow up. It sparked a debate among people on the platform and many were unhappy with some of the rules. @kelsey_link21 commented, "If I’m showing up to a birthday party at 9:00 am there better be food." @kimberleydepinto wrote, "What is the difference then between a party vs a play date? If I have to have breakfast before I come and leave by 11. If I bring cash as a gift I assume it goes into her savings account not the yard."

@iamm0ther shared, "I would never go to a bday party that early lol. My kid doesn't even wake up til 10:30! But I respect it lol." Most people weren't too happy about the fact that the party was too early and the money was being asked for the yard instead of the child. @nanama721 commented, "At 9:30 I'm expecting breakfast and cake. At least for the second bday celebration, not many people will show up so win-win." @the.millenial.mom wrote, "I would appreciate the early time and everything else but you have to feed your guests. Otherwise, it’ll be just fine!"

You can follow Rachel (@rachelonlife) on TikTok for more content on parenting.