For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for April 04, 2013

Am surprised my kids never thought of that idea! Lol

That means that I can have 53 people over for my birthday party next year (note to self: Meet 53 people this year)!

I’d have 64 but I think most would be there for the food and drinks. Like I could afford to feed that many leeches. LOL

My next is 76. I don’t like to go to parties with that many, much less have them here where I have to serve them and wait for them all to leave. I like having any family over for dinner – don’t want any to stay, just my man.

This is really only fun until you reach 21, then it’s just depressing when you realize you don’t have that many friends.

I remember a rule during grade school that if you brought the invites to school then there had to be one for each girl in the class or boy if the birthday person was a boy. Otherwise you had to send them usps.

I will be 65 this year and I have never in my whole life ever had a birthday party, those awful cakes and cards at work don’t count. Now that I am retired I don’t get out much so I don’t know anyone except my family that would come to a birthday party.

Hey what a cool idea. My next will be 55, but no way would I feed them all. If I could find that many people (adding in some of their relatives maybe to ensure 55 people) I’d ask them to come to a restaurant I picked out and they’d pay for themselves of course. Then I could give them a little party favour for attending. Gifts to me (lol) optional.

Egads — after reading that, I just realized that I’m turning into one of those elderly people. Age is only a number, legaleagle48, it’s only a number!

Why curb his friends? This can really promote onset of hurt feelings when having to exclude pals. Enjoy life/friends while you can. As you grow up they drift away.

If you can’t invite the whole class, don’t invite anyone. It happened to me 50 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday.

My 83rd birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I can’t invite any of my friends — I’ve outlived them all.

Nice try Mike!

I only ever had one birthday party. I wasn’t more than ten or eleven, but I can’t remember how many girls were invited.

In fact – the only thing I do remember about it is that at one stage, a couple of the other girls decided that it would be fun to start a SCREAMING competition.

It wasn’t fun at all . . .

My dad (rest in peace) used to say, in his elder years, that he didn’t count them anymore.He also used to say that 40 is when you become a gentleman.

I almost had a birthday party when I turned 5. Then I got the measles and spent my birthday in a darkened room. I don’t honestly remember if I ever did have a birthday party, but I remember the one I missed.

This sounds (almost) backwards to me. My kids went the other direction. When they were 7, they invited their whole class at school and some neighborhood friends, by the time they reached double digits, they were only inviting their closest friends. (But I also capped the birthday party thing at 12)

We cut it off at 30. That accounted for the class, relatives and other friends. They didn’t always hit that number, and not all invited came. We had a big yard, and all birthdays were in the spring and summer. Add some pizza, soda, Frisbees, a sprinkler, a football, and the kids had a blast on their own. Some parents stayed to help and fun was always had by all! Many times a few kids over turned into a party. Thank goodness for Costco! We never hired entertainment. We stopped official birthday parties at thirteen. After that, they were birthday get-togethers and much smaller. I loved have kids at our house!

My mother had 300 people at her funeral (at 81), and she was just a small-town gal who spent time helping people. When I turn 65 this year, I might be able to find 65 friends to attend a party, but to recognize that a life was valuable to 300 people at 81 is really saying something.

My rule has been 7 kids to be invited. Why? Because birthday packs of party plates cups etc come with 8 of each item! We mail our invites- never give them out at school. When they’re older they can invite more but not out of control more. :)

goweeder: I can sympathize. I will only be 80, but my house isn’t big enough for that many, nor is my income big enough to rent. And although they saved my family from the blacklist back in the ’70s, I am not Canadian either.

I’ll be 59 on my next birthday, the only way I could have a party with 59 people would be if it was a Face Book party! Forgive my vanity but I have to add … last month I got carded at a bar!!!

What’s wrong with Elly & John limiting the number of birthday party guests? It could have been John’s idea originally, we don’t know. He is lucky to be able to invite 9. When I was a kid, I was allowed to pick a friend to go to a movie or out for pizza on my birthday. My parents didn’t want the hassle of a party & a bunch of screaming kids, & we lived in an apartment, so no backyard. They didn’t care if I liked it or not; they didn’t like kids & didn’t want a party, period.

@ Legaleagle – May your 53rd be a darn sight better than mine – ended up in the ER with a pulmonary embolism. For my 52nd I was being discharged from the hospital for cancer surgery. %0 I was in ER with a still unidentified disease eating the flesh from my fingers.I’m thinking of giving up on birthdays! lol

I usually end up crying, sad, upset, drunk on my bday b/c I have no friends that even care it’s my birthday…

My great-granddaughter is six. For the last few years, since her birthday is around Halloween, she takes decorated cupcakes to her class mates. Everyone seems happy with that.

Come to think of it, when Michael did actually have his 15th birthday party, didn’t Martha encourage him to have a boy-girl party?

My next will be 90. Most of my friends are already on the dark side of the grass.

Llywus: My only birthday in the hospital (other than the day I was born) was a 75 cent appendectomy. I was at a conference which had a temporary insurance policy with the fee.