So, how would you handle a situation where your 5-year old was sent an invoice for skipping their classmate’s birthday party? Well, this really happened in the UK recently. Scarlet has been asked how to best handle this a number of times over the past few days, so, we’ll chime in!

The reality of life is that things happen and if you haven’t already, you (and your child) will likely miss an event or two that you already RSVP’d for. If you’re RSVP’ing, showing up on time and bringing a gift to birthday parties the majority of the time, missing the mark every now and then shouldn’t ruin your relationships. Now, if you’re a habitual late comer, no-shower and non gift-bringer almost every single time, it’ll all catch up to you.

Was the parent who essentially invoiced the child over the top? Perhaps a tad. I mean, if you chose to invoice, handing it off to a 5-year old who wasn’t going to pay it, certainly wasn’t the best move. Some people are even saying, “well, it was just £15.95 ($24.13)”. This is true, but who are we to count what’s too much wasted money to complain about. The reality, is money was wasted on an accounted for child that was RSVP’d for. While the ability to communicate directly seemed to be impossible in this situation, that in fact would be the best possible course of action.

Scarlet Says…if you can’t make it to an event, (especially one where there is money on the line) reach out to the host as soon as possible, offer your apologies for your inability to attend and consider offering to contribute your personal portion of the event expenses. While this process will work the majority of the time, sometimes it won’t, and that’s where you can rely on your relationship account. If you are constantly putting deposits into your relationships (listening, being a good friend/family member, returning favors, being a person of your word, etc.), then when you mess up and have to take a withdrawal or two, you haven’t stooped into the negative. Party On!

-Scarlet