A mother-to-be took to social media to share footage of her lavish baby shower for 85 guests—there was just one problem.
Abigail Diaz from Orange County, California, posted a clip to her TikTok @abby_days__ showing the grand white marquee, buffet table and the many rows and rows of tables and chairs set out for those attending.
“We sent out invitations a month and a half prior with the majority of the party confirming RSVP,” Diaz told Newsweek.
Baby showers are a popular fixture among expectant parents. In a 2023 YouGov survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, 65 percent said they had been to a baby shower, with 22 percent saying they had attended one in the past year.
Diaz and her husband had pulled out all the stops for their baby shower, spending $3,000 on the venue, food and decor with a total of 85 guests confirming they would attend.
However, as the day of the baby shower began to unfold, Diaz discovered there would be significantly fewer guests arriving. In fact, of the 85 people that had been down to attend, just 15 showed up.
“All my siblings and parents were there, a close friend and neighbors,” Diaz said. “The ones that didn’t show up were most of our cousins, aunts, uncles and my in-laws. They all cancelled a couple hours before the party started they didn’t call us directly they just let my other siblings know.”
The decision to skip the event left Diaz understandably upset as well as being seriously out of pocket. “We were shocked and disappointed at the last minute cancellations,” she said. “Unfortunately a lot of the food did go to waste. We had to freeze some of the uncooked meat.”
Eager to shine a light on what happened, Diaz’s brother convinced her to share footage of the near-empty baby shower to TikTok to gauge the reaction. The video went viral with 260,000 views and counting as well as over 200 comments from shocked viewers.
“This is why I don’t want to have one,” one viewer wrote. “That’s when you find out who really cares,” another said.
Some shared similar experiences though. “Literally nobody came to mine and this is my last baby,” one user commented. “Even close ‘friends’ I cut them off because I always go above and beyond for others and I didn’t get the same in return.”
Another said: “I feel you girl I had so many close friends tell me they are coming and the day of I only had three friends show up.”
Though Diaz felt “sad” reading about similar experiences, posting the clip to TikTok definitely made her feel better. However, she has no plans to organize another major event like this again.
“I don’t think we will be hosting big events any time soon,” she said.
The post Parents-to-be Host Baby Shower for 85 Guests, Worst Nightmare Plays Out appeared first on Newsweek.
