The era of the meaningless RSVP has officially arrived, and the Hendersons are its poster family.
The Henderson family from Strathfieldsaye admits they never actually planned to attend Jethica’s first birthday despite enthusiastically confirming their attendance on Facebook weeks ago.
Despite committing online, the Hendersons had never planned to buy a gift, let alone show up for the two-hour affair that promised fun, games, and Uncle Mark’s balloon animals.
“Who throws a birthday party for a baby who won’t remember it?” Charlene told The Bendigo Standard, rolling her eyes. “We just clicked ‘Going’ so we wouldn’t look like jerks.”
“We were just going to say the baby got sick,” added Charlene’s husband, Dave.
However, their absence did not go unnoticed. After the party began, the birthday child’s mother, Willow, texted Charlene to ask if everything was alright. In a flurry of panic, Charlene quickly responded with a vague message about a “family emergency,” which Willow politely accepted.
As for the Hendersons, they spent their Saturday precisely as they had planned: binge-watching a true-crime documentary and congratulating themselves on their successful escape from yet another mind-numbing social obligation.
