When you have a baby, those first few years are precious. And also hectic. But here’s the one piece of good news: Unless you want an excuse for a gigantic and chaotic birthday party, you don’t necessarily need to have one. All you need, really, is a birthday cake and a camera to catch that special moment.
And that’s what Melin Jones, of Bonne Terre, Missouri, did for her toddler Elizabeth. She ordered a cake from Walmart, just to discover that they made a hilarious mistake. To be fair, it’s a mistake anyone could have made. And according to People, she had a sense of humor about it.
When you have a baby, the pet names often follow. They always come from a good place, and often serve as nothing but a cute little monicker that you keep in the family. For Elizabeth, that nickname is “Lizard” — which is definitely a step up from Lizzie.
That’s what the birthday cake was supposed to say. “Happy Birthday Lizard.”
But, that’s not what the poor Walmart employee heard. They thought the cake was supposed to say “Happy Birthday Loser.” And of course, like with most cake fails, Jones forgot to take a peek at the cake before presenting it to her daughter.
This story is wonderful for two reasons. For one, Elizabeth is still a few years away from reading, so for her, it’s just cake.
Two-year-old gets birthday cake with VERY rude message after a Walmart employee misheard mother's request https://t.co/3K3cnE6O0u
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) July 23, 2019
But it’s also great because Jones feared that by going viral, she’d get the Walmart employee in trouble. She genuinely knew it was a mixup, and wasn’t looking for any sort of compensation or revenge. For the record, “lizard” and “loser” do sound pretty similar.
Looks like the kid has a new nickname.
— GRUMPY CHEF (@GrumpyChef) July 23, 2019
“I was a little shocked, but after a few seconds, I couldn’t stop laughing,” Jones said to People. She didn’t even think a mistake could be made. “I had no clue they got it wrong,” she continued. “I was in a hurry and it seemed like a simple enough request.”
It happened in September, but Jones was only confident enough to reshare the photo online last month, in a group called Sad Sales, Stolen Goods, and Sketchy Services Museum and Hall of Shame. She took some of the blame for the error.
“The picture of my daughter looking at the cake kills me every time,” she said in the caption. “She ended up getting a new cake and I ate every bit of that loser cake.”
I'M DYING. 😂🤣
— Stacy Buchanan (@StacyJJBuchanan) July 19, 2019
Hey, who knew that a mixup would be an excuse to eat a whole birthday cake? I mean, cake is cake.
The Loser cake was such a hit that a company called The Roving House, who’s connected with the Facebook group, made a pin out of it. That means that the cake can technically be celebrated forever.
Walmart probably decorated a few “Happy Birthday, Loser” cakes before. It’s a pretty funny cake to present to a friend who knows you’re joking.
But, this should go without saying. This isn’t the type of cake you’d normally present to kids on purpose, unless you were hoping to earn the title of “Bad Mom.”
What a great mom to not get upset over a misunderstanding. Hopefully the birthday girl had a great day.
— mattmcgrath (@mattmcgrath10) July 23, 2019
Elizabeth will only need to Google for her name when she’s a teenager to get the story behind her doomed birthday cake. But, chances are she’ll hear about the unfortunate mix-up straight from her mom for years to come.
The story of the loser cake brought a few other funny cake fail stories to the surface. They really are more common than you think.
So I ordered a cake for my son's playschool graduation class party...and...well....#yeg #cakefail pic.twitter.com/w16TvU8mA3
— Cassette 💫 (@CassKyle) June 22, 2018
But, they all have one thing in common. The person buying them really did mean well.
And, usually the cake fail isn’t because the employee or baker wanted to ruin your birthday. Usually, like in Jones’s case, it’s just a big miscommunication.
The cake fail might actually make the birthday even more memorable. Something tells me that Jones will never forget about the day her daughter turned two.
And, who knows? Maybe they’ll opt for cupcakes next year, or something with a smaller chance of disaster.
Next time you have your own cake fail, try to remember that it’s not the end of the world. Sure, the message may not say what you intended, but the cake will still taste fantastic.
