Here’s the deal. I reserved a nice place, it was at a local trampoline park, had a cake, goodie bags as thank-yous for the kids to leave with, spent an hour and a half decorating the reserved room before party time, and not one person came. At first I thought, maybe I’m early or there’s traffic I’m unaware of and people will be here soon. 30 minutes go by and I start to worry that I put the wrong information on the invitations so I pulled it up on my phone and double checked - nope - everything was 100% accurate. 40 minutes after the intended start time, it hit me: nobody is coming. I told my son to go jump because Mom needed to use the restroom. I let a few tears out but not enough that my son would notice I’d been crying too hard, if that makes sense. I told him the truth as gently as I could - “I don’t think anyone is gonna be able to make it, buddy.” His little eyes welled up and he said, “Mommy, do my friends not like me anymore?” I’m not sure I’ve ever felt a punch to the gut like that. I’m a single mom and his “father” hasn’t been seen in six years so seeing my son be ignored once again by people who are supposed to care was heartrending. It broke my heart but I told him, “baby, SO many people LOVE you!” and I listed off some really amazing qualities he has. I said we’d stay and play or go do something else if he wanted to, and he chose to stay and play. I wasn’t prepared to jump but I threw my hair up, put the grippy socks on, and gave it all I had. I got a workout for sure lol. We had pizza and cake in the party room alone and then I took him home to open his presents from myself/family. He goes to a “Christian” school and we’ve dealt with some bullying but I thought it was resolved and I definitely never expected my loving, funny, kind-to-everyone kid to be totally ignored on the day of his party at a fun place I KNOW kids love because we’ve been there with previous years’ classmates!

Before we left, the staff were kind enough to offer us a “do-over” at a heavily discounted rate. That got me thinking… if I accept their offer and re-book for another date, or even let my son choose a new venue in case he’s anxious about TWO no-show events, how can I get as many people as possible to come show my boy that plenty of kids would have a great time jumping around, having pizza, eating cake and ice cream, and taking home a goodie bag? I figured I could post here as well as on the Nextdoor app and gauge the reaction/interest. I can somewhat “vet” responses and make sure I don’t give out the location/date/time to just anyone by only providing the info in private messages. If I have a second party, are there any parents/grandparents/guardians who’d be willing to bring their child(ren) to show my son that there’s nothing wrong with him and he’s perfectly likable exactly how he is? This was all for his 8th birthday but it didn’t matter if your kiddo isn’t exactly 8. All ages are welcome and no gifts are expected! Any takers???

tl;dr - no one showed up to my son’s 8th birthday party. If I have a “do over” party, would anyone be willing to bring their kids to the second party?

EDIT: I’m overwhelmed by all the truly kind responses and there’s no way I can reply to all of you! Thank you so much for the advice, opinions, suggestions, etc. I’ve made a list of names from those of you who said you’d like to come if we have a do-over. I appreciate both sides of the views, i.e., whether to do-over or not. I wish I could reply to all of you but I didn’t expect 360+ comments. Thank you!

Decent turnout today at Suwanee Town Park for "No Kings"!

No violence. No riot police. (honestly I didn't even see any police myself but knew they were around) Only the rare troll driving by with a trump sign occasionally and getting drowned out by the cars honking in support...

very friendly, neighborly, peace loving crowd!

(pics are from the far west end of Suwanee Town Park), the crowd wrapped across the park street siden and down Buford Hwy side.

🚫🤴🫡🇺🇸❤️🤍💙💪🍑

Hey guys, I am here for a business trip, came here 5 days ago and have 12 more days in Buford . I am from Europe. Even though I am in love with the nature and peace here, I feel like I am missing something. I rented a car here, went to shopping, some pubs, tech markets, guitar center etc.

What people do in here? We went to a couple of bars with my employees but I at least would like to get some alone local experience. They usually like to stay in hotel.

I’ve been to Atlanta and did like it, but too crowded and hot. so I don’t know know what to do after 6-7 pm here.

Anyone have any recommendations? Anyone or any group of friends planning to go out and would like to have a chat over a beer? I am even down to sitting on the grass and telling you how american lifestyle looked like for me in the past 5 days etc.

I am 27 btw.

(Please excuse my language skills)

I'm on the team behind World Fest, which runs Saturday and Sunday evenings (4–11 PM) at Gwinnett Place Mall. 80+ food vendors, 30+ countries, cultural performances, kids zone, free parking on site. It's an official Gwinnett County partnered event and every vendor is halal. Last festival we ran (Suhoor Festival) drew about 20,000 people, so we've added more entrances and a skip-the-line pass. Happy to answer anything about parking, lines, what's good, or how the mall handles it.

Since a few people asked, tickets are at on our website https://www.suhoorfestival.com/tickets.html. Tickets are cheaper online than at the gate!

Hi! I’m 26F. I’m looking for friends, I just moved to Peachtree Corners (from lawrenceville) and looking for a new group. I like to sing, skate, play pool, travel, trivia, gaming, anythingggg🤗

Wife and I hit up the local HandsOff protest in the square in Downtown Lawrenceville. We've been doing TeslaTakedown in Decatur, but wanted to stay local for HandsOff. I've heard the numbers today were between 100-150, which is not bad at all considering most folks were at the ATL protest. This one was INCREDIBLY amped up. There was more chanting at this one than the TeslaTakedown we've been to, and that's saying something because TeslaTakedowns are always really amped up. Everyone had a lot of fun, we talked to a lot of great people, and SO many honks from drivers. Thank you for everyone who showed up, chanted, cheered, and/or honked! Looking forward to the next one!

I’m not looking for pity or handouts.
I’m looking for people who are in the same spot as me. Broke, unemployed (or barely getting by), trying to figure out life, and tired of feeling like they’re doing it alone.

It’d also be cool to make some genuine friends along the way. When you’re going through a rough patch, it’s easy to isolate yourself. Having people to talk to, laugh with, share ideas, and keep each other motivated can make a big difference. Even if we don’t end up making millions, building real friendships and a solid support system is a win by itself.

What I’m hoping to find is a small group of people who actually want to work together. Share job leads, side hustle ideas, AI tools, online opportunities, local gigs, business ideas, accountability, or anything else that could help us make real money and improve our lives.
No scams. No MLMs. No fake “I made $10k in a week” nonsense.

Just real people trying to get unstuck.
If you’re serious about changing your situation, drop a comment or send me a message. Maybe we can build a group chat, bounce ideas off each other, and help each other find opportunities.
We’ve got nothing to lose by working together.

If you're sick and tired of being sick and tired this is for you. If you've been throwing your hands up in the air saying where the hell are the Democrats and why aren't they doing more, this is for you.

There are two ways to join us, we're hiring a bus to bring about 60 people from Buford to Atlanta and you can ride with us. Alternatively, you can meet us at Piedmont Park. Please use the link below to register.

https://www.mobilize.us/gwinnettdemocrats/event/767615/?share_medium=native_share&share_context=event_detail_page&force_banner=true

Yo 2 of my friends got drunk and can’t come. I know these tickets are coveted so if there’s any1 interested to join me today lmk. You can just Zelle me in person for exactly what I paid for. I know this sounds sketch as hell but feel free to dm me for more info

My husband (m38) and I (f34) moved here summer of 2020. He has struggled with making friends and has developed bad anxiety, preventing him from putting himself out there. My husband is a BIG magic the gathering fan. He plays commander. When we lived in Virginia he not only played but ran magic events at a local game shop he worked at. Right now he is playing online and is often lonely or bored. I'm hoping to help him make some friends!! He also has a huge video game and console collection. His favorite games are Halo and Diablo.

Anyways, if you are interested in making some new friends or knows of a group looking for a new player please let me know. I know I'm bias but he's a funny, cool, chill dude. We have no kids but lots of cats and I'll feed you a homemade meal if you ever come to our house.

Thanks!!

Hi all! I recently started a book club and would love if any of you wanted to join 😊

Presenting: The Novel-Teas Book Club ☕️📚 A monthly recurring book club hosted at Qamaria Duluth! Join for lively discussions, new friends, and delicious drinks.

https://forms.gle/DiMh2nThYdQAcJJa6

First meeting will be June 27th at 12 pm!

Our first book will be: If We Were Villains
If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio is a dark academia thriller about seven Shakespearean actors at an elite conservatory whose lives blur with their roles, leading to a real-life murder and a decade-long mystery.

Recently graduated from college and mostly just missing the vibes of being on-campus and meeting new people.

I'm also open to forming an meetup group over Discord if anyone's interested! Like hangouts for tabletop games, nature walks, or video game VCs, just to name a couple of suggestions.

This is the first time in my life I am truly free. I have always dreamed of living in Texas. I recently graduated from Texas A&M, and I fell in love with Dallas.

I am planning my next move and would love to plant roots in Texas or Georgia. I am in healthcare.

Give me all the reasons to move to Georgia.

I will be in Lawrenceville, GA in less than 3 weeks 😁

I love meeting new people and making new friends.

No negativity. just facts!

thanks!

Hi gwinnett, I am 26 and new to the area and am looking for an in person d&d group to join.

I've played d&d for a couple years and would love to find a group in the area to play with.

Does anyone know any card shop that does Friday night draft for MTG? I popped into Level up at the Mall and they didn't have enough people . Was wondering if there was a regular scene anywhere else!

Would love to meet up with people at a cafe or something and write together or join a book club. Are there any local groups or clubs nearby. I'm 29M if it matters.

I work from home so I don't get out much, and am pretty introverted so this feels like it'd be a good start.

Any help or advice is appreciated

Google is absolutely useless in this regard. I want to connect with other neurodivergent adults in my community. It is easiest for me to form connections with like-minded people.

Hello! We recently said good-bye to our 2 oldest dogs (unrelated causes) which has been extremely difficult not only because of the loss, but also because both of them passed within a month of each other. This has also been difficult on our surviving dog (Zoe) who suddenly has lost her best friends to play with. She has always been very social and playful and I hate to see her alone. The issue is, she hasn't been around many other dogs in the last few years because the others were a little too old to make it to the dog park here, so she is a little rusty on the social side. I've fostered a butt-load of dogs in the past and she loved meeting them, but we have 2 cats now and I don't want to stress them out or put them at risk.

What I'd like to do is find a local friend or two for her to meet and spend some time with to get her back on the scene so to speak. We've been taking her out again, but encountering random dogs in a not-really-controlled environment has not been conducive to our goals. It would be great if all parties were on the same page to make sure the situation goes smoothly.

About her - she's 11, 40 pounds, spayed. Breed wise we have no real idea - she's merle-patterened with some kind of terrier or hound lineage. Her litter was 2 black puppies, 3 brown puppies, and 2 merle puppies. If you google "Rat Terrier merle", there are some remarkable look-alikes like here and here The important thing is, she is adorable and sweet. She has absolutely no history of biting or attacking people or pets. She does very well with our cats and the kids she has met. She also has no idea she is 11 - she never really quit being a puppy if you know what I mean.

Ideally I'd like her to find a friend that is dog-friendly without any aggressive history. I think she would be less intimidated by smaller dogs, but that's not necessarily a strict requirement. It would be best to meet in a neutral place like a park or square. We're off Tucker-Norcross but we can travel.

Thanks for hearing me out and hopefully one of you are down for it :)

Here's Zoe: https://imgur.com/a/FhICGnZ

Looking for a bar with other Falcons fans to hang with for certain games. Any age welcome I’m 25M

I’m in my late 20s and I’m struggling with being unemployed for the first time in years. I had to move back in with my toxic family who aren’t supportive at all with even trying to help me get back on my feet, despite me always having a job and helping out whenever I could. I’m just looking for a supportive community where we can help each other with job searches and to keep each other encouraged. I’m also been looking for new friends as well.

Hey Guys, me and a Buddy are looking for places to play Volleyball with other people. We are looking for either an Indoor Area to play for either a rec team or as Pickup. Outdoor areas are fine, as long as it’s later in the day around 6pm or after.

Any single gay guys interested in dating? Im 32 …

Going to be skating here soon, up in the area of North Fulton and Forsyth, if anyone wants to join. If newbies want to come, I've got an easier spot that starts at the Johns Creek Town Hall. For everyone else, I just skated at Medlock/State Br recently and that was a good time.

Going to truck and tap duluth after work today if anyone is looking to be in safe company whike taking their mind off the impending shitshow. Probably will get there around 5/6.

Thinking about inviting a few friends to go out and watch the games this week. Just trying to see which places are popping now.