Mum shares heartbreak after no-one turns up to son’s 6th birthday party

A mother has shared her utter devastation that not a single guest showed up to her son’s sixth birthday party.

The mum, who goes by @dawners86 on TikTok, posted footage of the heartbreaking scene, showing packets of cakes, favours and candles unopened on a table in the park.

She explained in a voiceover to the clip that she had invited more than 20 people to the outdoor gathering, which was permitted under local Covid rules.

Filming the deserted site, she told viewers: "So we’re sitting at the park for JJ’s birthday party, we got everything ready, his party started half an hour ago.

"He had literally zero people show up for his birthday. My poor little man."

In a caption, she added: "Out of 22 invites... no one came... I know it’s a pandemic, but it is a park, and we have reopened in my province.

"Sorry the video is shaky, I am so upset for this poor guy. He deserves better. He’s amazing."

In the distance a young boy, presumably JJ, can be seen playing on his own.

The little boy (left) can be seen playing alone in the deserted playgrounddawners86/TikTok

The clip was met with an outpouring of support, racking up more than two million views and 330,000 likes in just one day.

Fellow TikTokers responded by sharing their own similar experiences and requesting the family’s address so that they could send gifts to JJ.

One wrote: “This happened with my son’s eighth birthday party. I’m so sorry, I lied and told him that I must not have put stamps on the invitations.”

Dawners responded in a follow-up clip, admitting: “I kind of did the same thing. I didn’t want JJ knowing anything was up so I made a whole bunch of phone calls.”

She said she contacted family friends and fellow parents whose children she used to look after, explaining the situation and asking: “Can you get to the park real quick?”

And while it was, understandably, too last-minute for some people, she said “two families really showed up”, with one mother even bringing a homemade present for JJ.

“No school friends,” Dawners added. “But the back-up showed up. They understood the assignment.”

Dawners showed off the homemade gift made by a loyal family frienddawners86/TikTok

Asked what JJ is “into” so that appropriate presents could be sent, Dawners tearfully said both she and her son “greatly appreciated” the offers “but he doesn’t need any toys.”

“Instead, he has asked very politely if you guys would send any extra gifts to the children’s hospital closest to you,” she said.

“He has toys. He just wanted to spend some time with his friends.”

The mum requested that all donations from well-wishers be sent to local children’s hospitalsdawners86/TikTok

In a separate video she set out the six-year-old’s top interests, which are: ‘How to Train your Dragon’, dinosaurs, puzzles, books and colouring supplies.

However, she reiterated, this was not an invitation to send him anything, rather she stressed: “That would be a perfect donation for a children’s hospital near you.”