Observed in a Bridal Salon

I've been meaning to post this one for some time because it was such a striking experience. In case you didn't know already, I am a bad, unkind, judgmental person. I just can’t seem to help it.

When I went for my first bridal gown fitting, I shared the alterations dressing room with a tiny little girl in a long and flowing gown with a full train. She was there to have a dress cut down to fit her for her THIRD birthday party. Now lots of little girls are quite excited about trying on pretty dresses and being the center of attention. In fact, when we took little S to get her flower girl dress, she was ecstatic about the whole process. This little girl, however, was not having a fun time.

At not-quite-three she did not seem to understand what was happening, and she did NOT want to stand still while a strange lady pushed pins into her clothes. She just kept saying "I wanna put my paaaants on!" accompanied by much wailing. Mom explained that she was missing her nap, and perhaps that was all that was wrong. However, as we all stood there putting up with the pin ladies, Mom told the story of the planned birthday party, and my judgmental nature just popped out all over.

First, it's important to mention that Mom herself was very young (maybe 20?), had long talon-like nails, lots of makeup, and a tight and somewhat revealing sense of fashion. Does this make her a bad person? No of course not. What makes her a bad person was the plan for the actual party.

Mom explained that the poor little girl was going to have a "celebrity birthday party." The kids were all going to be dressed in "fashions" and there would be many parents to be the "photographers." Kids would get goody bags with "bling" and a stretch hummer would pick them up and take them out to Appleby's. A kind person could imagine the kid who would love this kind of thing, but this child wailed and cried at every mention of the party. I was so disgusted that I didn't trust myself to comment on the plan. The only safe thing was to tell the little girl how pretty she looked in her gown.

Whatever happened to birthday parties with cake and balloons? Pin The Tail on the Donkey was the big news at most toddler birthdays in my day. Maybe if the parents had gotten really over the top, there might be a piñata. I understand that times have changed. Nevertheless, it's one thing to go over the top to make your kids happy. It's quite another thing to make your kid do something just so you can have some sort of weird vicarious moment. Maybe this mom should buy herself a gown, rent herself a limo, and take her own friends to Appleby's. That way the little girl could celebrate by staying home, eating some yummy cake, and putting her pants back on.