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Mom posts rant about the chaos of school right before the holidays and parents are relating

Parents—which holiday-related school event did you forget this year?

darryl predergast tiktok
@d_prend40/TikTok

"You're welcome."

South Carolina mom Darryl Prendergast’s hilarious TikTok PSA has become an anthem for parents everywhere who find themselves in the throes of chaos right before school lets out for the holidays.

In her video, Prendergast rattles off:

"I don't know who needs to hear this, but your kid has some kind of pajama-wearing, winter fest, book swap, Secret Santa, cookie-sharing, Twelve Days of Christmas, Spirit Week-something happening at school tomorrow that you need to get ready for.”

"And P.S.," she added in her comments section, “there's a sign-up genius somewhere out there with your name on it. Go get your item."

Let’s just say that parents knew this year-end struggle all too well, and were quick to commiserate.

“Pj day and book swap today two different kids,” one person wrote.

Another added, “Just saw this..and sure enough, tomorrow is a holiday party that I signed up to bring the cookies for. Good thing it’s going to be a snow day!”

@d_prend40#momlife#momsindecember#momsatchristmas#momsover35#oldmillenialmoms#momsover40club#momhumor♬ original sound - Darryl Prendergast

Some parents admitted that perhaps some of this last-minuteness could be blamed on the kiddos.

“And my kid won’t mention it until about 9 pm the night before…” one person commented.

Prendergast shared in an interview with TODAY what prompted her to make a video in the first place. “I had just gotten an email from my child’s middle school about a Holiday Spirit Week that entailed various outfit changes,” she said. “There is an ice cream truck one day — don’t forget to send money — Wednesday is 'Red and White' Day, Thursday is 'White Out Day' and Friday is 'Pajama Day.' Oh, and there's a teacher's luncheon.”

She also shared that as an educator, she previously only knew the other side of end-of-year anxiety. "Before I had kids, I was the one emailing parents to send donations to build gingerbread houses, not realizing how busy parents are," she admitted.

Ultimately, Prendergast hopes that her relatable post encourages other parents to “stop and laugh” even during the craziness, "and appreciate that one day we’re going to miss this."

So, to all the parents out there scrambling to make magic happen for their little ones … Merry Christmas. And Godspeed.

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