ARVADA, Colo. – A Colorado girl’s dream princess party turned out to be anything but because no one from the first-grader’s class came out to celebrate.
Leyana’s mother said she handed out birthday invitations at her daughter’s school a week before the party but was devastated when no one showed up to their apartment.
Leyana had been dreaming about the day for months. She wore her white ruffle dress on Saturday and counted down the minutes until her classmates would arrive for her birthday party, but no one showed up.
“It was horrible. It hurts. It hurts your heart,” her mother told KDVR.
Leyana never blew out her candles. The white chocolate cake is now in the fridge, untouched. The boxes of pizzas they ordered got cold.
“For her being at the age she is, she doesn’t understand why nobody came. I tried to tell her that it’s a holiday on Monday and people are on vacation. The flu is going around. People are sick. They have things going on,” the mother said.
Lindsay Robert, playing the role of Elsa from the film “Frozen” has been to countless birthday parties working for Royally Enchanted Princess & Character Parties, but she said she never witnessed anything like this.
“It was soul-crushing. When I open the door, I’m used to all the kids running up to me. But she was just all by herself. Just looking down. Just so sad and she just launched herself into my arms,” Robert said.
Elsa made the most of her time with Leyana. They sang and danced and made that tearful day a little brighter.
Elsa used the time to form a friendship and teach a lesson about finding happiness from within.
“I wasn’t kidding when I told you that every princess is smart, and brave and kind and you are all of those things,” Robert told Leyana.
Robert created a Facebook post about the situation in hopes of making things right.
“People get so busy, but to raise the expectations of a child and not deliver on that promise … just be there. Be there for the kids in your community. Be there for each other,” Robert said.