upworthy

birthday parties

Canva Photos

Everyone brought their own tea.

As you start to get older, it's inevitable that your birthday begins to lose a bit of luster. Sometimes it's because of the other things you have going on in life. Parents usually focus more on their kids' birthdays and holidays, so their own birthdays become a bit of an afterthought. Others just get tired of doing the same kind of things year after year: throwing an unimaginative party to celebrate getting a year older. Yay, I guess? There's also the small matter of our diverse relationships. Most of us have different friend groups, family, in-laws—what are we supposed to do? Mix them all together in an awkward stew of forced small talk?

And let's not even get started on presents. What does a 30- or 40-something-year-old really need when it comes to birthday presents? Maybe something meaningful or thoughtful from a spouse or a close loved one, but certainly most adults have no desire for all their friends to shower them with random gifts they don't want, need, or could buy themselves.

One woman, Liz Migliaccio, decided to reimagine the grown-up birthday party. For her 36th, she invited all her family and close friends and asked them, in lieu of gifts, to bring something far more interesting.

Migliaccio and her wife, Cayla DeRegis, recounted the invitation to Newsweek:

"For my birthday...join me for some cozy wine and please come tell me your insane co-worker gossip or how your boss is the worst," it read. "Regale me with your salacious romantic encounter or unhinged dating story. Get really detailed about someone else's business and we can full form opinions that no one asked for. I'm 36—the world's hottest age and hot people like hot gossip."

It was a clever way of throwing an entertaining party with family and friends from all walks of life, all while giving the strangers in attendance good icebreakers with one another. As seen in a now-viral TikTok from DeRegis, guests took turns spilling their juiciest bit of tea. The party go-ers are absolutely rapt as you can see in the clip:

@cayladeregis

the greatest gift there is ☕️

11 million people watched the video on TikTok, with commenters unanimously agree: The 'tea party' was absolutely genius.

In the interview with Newsweek, Migliaccio said the best story of the night came from a guest who attended a wedding that never happened.

"A friend of a friend went to a family wedding a while back," Migliaccio said. "[She] had to go buy a long-sleeve dress for the wedding. As the receipt is being printed out, she gets a text that the ceremony is being called off, and instead, the bride and groom are just going to 'celebrate their relationship. ... They got there and found out the bride and her family weren't coming anymore so it ended up just being a celebration of him. My friend said it was the most over-the-top, beautiful wedding she'd ever been to but there was no bride."

gossip, gossip girl, leighton meester, rumors, storytelling, entertainment, dramaThis explains the popularity of Gossip GirlGiphy

Other guests brought stories of dramatic breakups and relationship scandal. Others brought their best watercooler gossip from work. Every single person in attendance was entertained. So were the viewers and commenters on TikTok:

"In this economy this is the best gift to bring"

"I can feel how HEAVY the tea is through the screen"

"You know it’s crazy tea when people have empty glasses but are INVESTED in the story"

"I LOVE this concept- this would make me want to go to a party ... just be messy and then go home to my drama free life"

Dozens of users claimed they would be stealing this idea for their own parties in the near future.

Why is the gossip party such a brilliant idea? It comes down to the power of storytelling.

It's really stressful and challenging to mingle with people you don't know well or at all, whether you're dragged along to a spouse's work event or attending a party where the guest of honor has several different friend groups. It can be tough to find enough to talk about beyond just surface level small talk.

But one thing all human beings have in common is that we love stories. Not only is a great story super entertaining (even one about mundane but juicy everyday drama), studies show our brain activity syncs up with others when they tell us a story. That's something small talk and get-to-know-you chat can't achieve. So, the genius of the Tea Party is that it offers every guest a perfect icebreaker with all the others, lots of laughs, and a feeling of having made great connections with the other guests by the end of the night.

I think most people on their birthdays just want everyone to have a great time celebrating them with no drama. Well, maybe just a little bit of drama.

Kat Stickler isn't happy about what happened to her daughter.

A mother on TikTok is livid after a perceived slight at a birthday party, and it kicked off a passionate discussion about proper parental etiquette. It all started when popular TikTok creator Kat Stickler, 28, took her 3-year-old daughter Mary-Katherine (MK) to a neighborhood park in Florida to play. While at the park, the young girl struck up a friendship with some children who were there for a birthday party.

“I’m going to mom shame. The only people I’ve ever mom-shamed are myself and my own mother. But one other mother is going to be added to the list," Stickler began her video with over 10 million views.

“It was us and this birthday group, right?” Stickler said, adding that her child played with the kids who were there for a party for about 30 minutes. “I thought they were welcoming her with open arms,” she added.

However, things changed after the cake came out.


When the parents at the birthday party began to serve cake, MK lined up with the rest of the kids because they had been playing together. Remember, she’s only 3 years old. So, Stickler approached the people cutting the cake to make sure that it was OK for her daughter to have a piece.

“So I, like, walk over to make sure it’s OK—as a formality. Honestly, I was like, obviously, it’s OK. It’s cake. It’s a massive cake. There’s lots of leftover pieces,” Stickler recalled.

@katstickler

No cake for me thanks, I’m full…of rage👹

But according to Stickler, it wasn’t OK, and after MK was served a piece, the mother of the child having the birthday took it away from her.

“The mother takes the plate away from MK, and gets down to her level, and says, ‘You can not eat this cake, OK? This is not your birthday party. These are not your friends. Where’s your mother?’” Stickler said. She couldn’t believe her eyes when a grown adult took her daughter’s cake out of her hands.

“I was right there,” Stickler told Today.com. “The mama bear in me was like, what just happened?"

Over 54,000 people took to TikTok to give their opinion on the story. Most thought the mother who took the cake was way out of line.

"I would be livid!!" Chelsea Campbell wrote. "I shared cake and cupcakes with all of the kids at the park for my daughter's first birthday. They became her and my other daughters' friends and I had plenty…the nerve she had to bend down and say that."

"Public park means you better be prepared for extra! Like how dare she even speak to her like that," Patience Swinford agreed.

"The cake didn’t get me… 'these are not your friends' is such a catty messed up thing to say to anyone, let alone a child," Hovago08 added.

But some people thought it was wrong for Stickler to allow her daughter to hang around during the cake-cutting.

"That is so sad BUT that wasn’t a party she was invited to so I would’ve grabbed my kid as soon as happy birthday started. It is a bit entitled," Josephine Mary wrote.

"Although it is VERY RUDE, it is the mom's right to tell MK no to cake bc she technically wasn’t invited," Abby wrote.

Some sat on the fence.

"I’m the mom that would call my kid away once they went over for cake, but I’m also the mom that’d offer cake to the 'extra' kid,'" Tessa Lewis wrote.

Brian Fike had a very practical response to the situation. “I'm inviting every kid in the park over because I'm not trying to bring all that cake home,” he said.

In the end, MK got over it because, after the party mishap, her mother took her to get some ice cream.

“She was totally fine,” Stickler said. “She was excited to go get ice cream with me!”

Aaron Alambat had a "Stranger Things" birthday party. It looked badass.

There was a cake made in honor of the Netflix series, Demogorgon blood (punch) to drink, and — of course — holiday lights strung up to communicate with those stuck in the Upside Down. (If none of that made sense to you, you really need to watch the show.)

The only thing the party could have used were more of Aaron's friends.

Aaron's sister, Ayen, pointed out in a disheartening tweet that, even though Aaron invited eight of his classmates, "none of their punk selves showed up."



Ugh.💔


The good news is that other Twitter users wanted to make sure Aaron still had a great birthday party. So they started replying to the tweet.

A radio DJ wanted to give him a shoutout on air.

Someone else said that his whole supportive "Twitter fam" will show up for a good time next year.

One encouraging user opened up about a similar experience they had as a kid, writing, "In 5th grade I made invitations to a laser tag party and none of my friends showed up. ... This past weekend I had a surprise birthday and it was laser tag."

Internet star Bretman Rock chimed in, too, noting how delicious all the Filipino food looked in the pics.

It didn't take long before the tweet made its way to the feeds of a few "Stranger Things" cast members.

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Netflix.

Actress Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven on the show, said she wants to come to Aaron's birthday party next year. "You can let them all know that everyone on behalf [of] 'Stranger Things' would’ve come! I think [you're] awesome and next year I would like an invite ... Please?"

Actor Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin, replied to Brown's tweet: "Count me in too! I'll bring the chocolate pudding."

All the positive vibes and well-wishes seemed to turn Aaron's birthday into an experience he'll never forget — in a good way!

In a tweet posted the following day, Ayen updated all those wondering how her brother was doing in the aftermath of her viral tweet.

Aaron is "chillin now" and doing just fine.

Sharing tough life experiences with complete strangers can actually bring out the best in humanity sometimes, it seems. And who knows? A few celebrities may even chime in to show their love and support for you, too.

Stranger things have happened.