Kidnap breakfast? | TheaterFire

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I love when weird hyper-local things feel so normal to people. "What did Y'all do for Doodle days? Did you add your chicken to the soup or eat it separate?" "Did you guys keep your sock baskets? I still have the basket and a few pairs of socks."

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KBO_Winston@reddit

They day I found out the Personal Jesus dance was local, I was stunned.

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Cisru711@reddit

NE ohio?

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KBO_Winston@reddit

Yup. Lake county. You?

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Cisru711@reddit

Summit.

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PivotLeft@reddit

Whaaaat? I need details please.

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KBO_Winston@reddit

My freshman year of college - specifically, at the only dance they threw, the incoming freshman mixer dance - I learned the majority of the country does *not* do a dance to the song 'Personal Jesus.'

This was during the scourge of the The Macarena and you learned only your fellow mid-westerners knew what you were talking about when you said 'It's just a version of the Personal Jesus dance.'

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PickledPixie83@reddit

I’m definitely midwestern and have never heard of the Personal Jesus Dance and I would like step by step instructions.

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Cisru711@reddit

If you know the macarena moves (which stole the personal jesus dance that I had known since the early 90s), it should be pretty self-explanatory. Out out, over over, cross cross, up along side of head x2, waist waist, butt butt, then slow shimmy and jump while turn 90 degrees.

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KBO_Winston@reddit

So the problem I've now found in getting you a youtube vid of this is that so many people post so many of THEIR OWN dances to things (love that actually, big fan) that finding one, particular, NOT VERY IMPRESSIVE dance to a song becomes a difficult task even when it's one done at basically every wedding you went to for about a decade or more in your formative years.

Nevertheless, I persevered. Enjoy the dance in its natural habitat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr40sXYhOxk

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PickledPixie83@reddit

Thank you. This is precisely why I love being in the Midwest.

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strangerNstrangeland@reddit

This has not at all helped to shed light on what a “Personal Jesus Dance” is.

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KBO_Winston@reddit

So the problem I've now found in getting you a youtube vid of this is that so many people post so many of THEIR OWN dances to things (love that actually, big fan) that finding one, particular, NOT VERY IMPRESSIVE dance to a song becomes a difficult task even when it's one done at basically every wedding you went to for about a decade or more in your formative years.

Nevertheless, I persevered. Enjoy the dance in its natural habitat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr40sXYhOxk

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BarrelFullOfWeasels@reddit

Thanks for sharing! It does look a lot like the Macarena. Such a random song to be THE song everyone dances to on special occasions. 😁

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hacksawomission@reddit

Hwhat in the hell, Bobby?

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Snuggly_Chopin@reddit

Wow.

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Firm-Quote6187@reddit

It's personal, duh!

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TryTwiceAsHard@reddit

This description was terribly disappointing. I had something completely different in my mind. Thanks for ruining my entire day. 🤣

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KBO_Winston@reddit

See, I thought you were stunned other people didn't know of the dance. Not that you were asking about what it is. Took some YouTube digging past all the people posting actual dancers doing actual dancing to the song, but here you go. Welcome to every wedding from my family from back when 9-11 was just 7-11, spelled wrong:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr40sXYhOxk

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TryTwiceAsHard@reddit

Ha!!!! I just watched. That's awesome. No i totally thought you were going to say "We were dipped in water and then did a slow dance with the pastor to accept Jesus".

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KBO_Winston@reddit

Sorry it's not that wild! Though now I would like to see that, too.

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TryTwiceAsHard@reddit

I thought it was going to be done crazy religious person thing. I had no idea it was just to the song Personal Jesus.

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No_Today_4903@reddit

Umm wtf 🤣🤣 this sounds like napoleon dynamite!

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RJRoyalRules@reddit

My thought as well. I lived in Albuquerque as a kid and was shocked when I later discovered every town did not have an annual hot air balloon festival.

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papercranium@reddit

Former ABQ resident, I now live in a small town in Vermont that has a hot air balloon festival and I have to try very hard not to squash everyone's joy by telling people how much bigger and better Albuquerque's is. (Not the actual balloon people, of course. They all KNOW.)

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cobygirl517@reddit

I went to the one in Albuquerque a couple of years ago. It was amazing!

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JackBlackBowserSlaps@reddit

Man, I wish we did tho!

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RJRoyalRules@reddit

You're not wrong, that shit was cool as hell

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hacksawomission@reddit

We always came up from school for it during my undergrad years and it didn't disappoint.

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Squishy_Em@reddit

I grew up in Oklahoma and both our spring and harvest festivals/parades had pow wows or something similar. I really thought that happened everywhere.

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TryTwiceAsHard@reddit

My mother, born in 53 in Tulsa, talks about pow wows all the time. And how boys from her class and their dad's would perform.

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Common_Juggernaut724@reddit

A co-worker/friend once remarked about going to a hot air balloon festival. I was like "why?" To hear her tell it, they are impressive and colorful and beautiful and now I want to go to one

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ResurgentClusterfuck@reddit

We had the Pear Blossom festival

Fresh pears everywhere too

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koei19@reddit

"Where do you keep your poop knife?"

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sjp1980@reddit

Ha I felt like this when a colleague asked about "calf day" at school. I think she was asking us if we remember how much fun it was and whether some kids brought their animal (often a calf, goat or a lamb) in the family car to school. Then eventually some kids would find out their animals would go to their auntie's farm bilut others might know it got eaten later.

Every single one of our team just looked at her like she had gone completely mental. Turns out "calf day" is a regular event at rural schools (at least in New Zealand) but those of us in urban or suburban schools had no idea. At.all. We were fascinated.

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Primary-Strawberry-5@reddit

Who liked going out on cabbage night? You ever get to finger blast the head cheerleader behind the grange hall during old home days?

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Character_Ad_7038@reddit

I remember one, circa 1968, one Saturday morning in Austin, Minnesota. And all getting out of the station wagon at a light, in our pajamas, running around the car, exchanging seats. Fire Drill! Just because.

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Dizzly_313@reddit (OP)

Oh, ha! Yes, I just remembered the fire drill car seat switching at a red light!

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Miz_momo82@reddit

Where the fuck did you grow up?

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Dizzly_313@reddit (OP)

Southern California

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TryTwiceAsHard@reddit

They do this at my son's high school for basically every extra curricular. My son did choir. When he was accepted into the top jazz choir they kidnapped him for a breakfast. I live in southern California.

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Dizzly_313@reddit (OP)

Yup, Southern California here too!

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Serious_Tax_4212@reddit

Same, I got kidnapped for show choir. Late 90s in FL.

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bivo979@reddit

I've never heard of such a thing. Where did you grow up where this was a thing?

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Dizzly_313@reddit (OP)

Just north of Los Angeles

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Agreeable-Wing-8476@reddit

Like in jawbreaker?

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reallysucharandom@reddit

My youth group at church did this. It was so bizarre the night before when my mom suddenly had an opinion on which shirt I decided to sleep in.

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Interesting-Hawk-744@reddit

No thank god. A surprise birthday party... But only a surprise for the kids who it isn't their birthday... First thing in the morning. What the fuck. Why. Even as a kid waking me up to go to a party randomly would not be my cup of tea

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nickicole1977@reddit

Yes we did it all the time in high school! Band mates, cheerleaders, sweet 16, all different friend groups. We always let the parents know so they weren't surprised. I'm from Missouri

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mfm1723@reddit

We did this! Midwest in the 90s, we’d all go to breakfast in our pajamas. We called them “Come as you are” parties.

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TryTwiceAsHard@reddit

Oh I thought of another one. I grew up in Central Florida. For some reason we learned how to square dance in 5th grade in PE. All the schools did. It was a big deal. We worked on the dance for an entire semester, at least one day a week. Then at the end of the school year we had a square dance party and the parents were invited. It was a party with food and drinks and cake, for the entire 5th grade class and any parents who wanted to attend. When I found out all states didn't do this, my flabbers were gasted.

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ketamineburner@reddit

Lol this is fun, but never heard of it in my life.

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ooofish@reddit

I feel like it was called a Shang Hai or something kinda racist?

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Efficient-Comedian84@reddit

We absolutely had kidnap birthday breakfasts. But it was always the birthday girl/boy that got kidnapped by their friends the morning of their birthday. It usually also included breakfast at Denny’s, IHOP, or Lions

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Kellzy1212@reddit

Nope. Only thing I’ve ever heard like this is in the movie Jawbreaker and that didn’t end well.

gif

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No_Today_4903@reddit

Immediately where my mind went. lol we definitely did not kidnap each other, we’d have had heart attacks and I’m pretty sure none of our parents would’ve tolerated such insanity.

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Kellzy1212@reddit

If my friends tried to kidnap me, my parents probably would’ve used it as an excuse to ground me. 😂

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ConfidenceFragrant80@reddit

Came to say this lol

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numbersgal19@reddit

My mom threw a “come as you are party” at 7am on a Saturday, for adult friends. IDK who she enlisted to door knock and pick up the guests, exactly as they were dressed at that moment. But for the dozen or so adults enjoying breakfast buffet in my dining room, I do recall them loving seeing each other with bed head & no makeup.

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AmyGranite@reddit

I was so disappointed to be woken up early on my 16th birthday - it was a Saturday so I didn't have to get up early for school and swim! Then I had to go to breakfast in my pajamas and my friends were there all day and I couldn't find time to sneak away to poop. I do not recommend.

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TryTwiceAsHard@reddit

When like 4 boys jumped on top of my sophomore son in his bed at 5 am he freaked out. It was fine, no one was hurt but he really freaked. Then once he got up they all ran downstairs and jumped back in the cars and he had to pee so bad.

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actualthickcrust@reddit

Yeah my 18yr old daughter would hate this lol! We probably wouldn't be able to get her out of bed.

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HomemadeJambalaya@reddit

This was a church youth group trend when I was in middle/high school.

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TheL95@reddit

Our church youth group has done it for new members. The kiddos who were now old enough to be in the group would get woken up and “kidnapped” by everyone else and go to breakfast.

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CallidoraBlack@reddit

I have no idea what you're talking about, no. Lol

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CamachoBrawndo@reddit

Never heard of this one, but our town had drive your tractor to school day (one kid drove a good damn combine, it was epic), and now some 25 years and moving an hour and a half north, the local school has senior assassins week- and it's literally a public squirt gun fight and the whole county apparently is in on it? Sound fun but the amount of police calls and FB posts talking about leaving kids alone that are running around with squirt guns AND realistic air soft guns makes me think the schools should reconsider the practice. It sounds fun, but too many people are way too trigger happy with real guns. For birthdays as a kid, it was always surprise parties. Our parents had a directory of parent phone number movers and a class roster, so my mom would always take note of kids I talked about nicely or those that I disliked, and invited the ones she knew I liked. She would bake and get the whole party setup on a Friday (never on our actual birthday) and we would figure it out when everyone got on your school bus or walked home with you. Some parents did McDonalds parties. Full class birthdays were the thing back then.

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Intelligent-Extent42@reddit

We did this!!!!

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VikingLys@reddit

We had something like that where the 12th grade girls would kidnap the 9th grade girls, dress them up however they wanted and take them to breakfast before driving them to school. They were really good about balancing so some 12th graders got two girls because my class was bigger than the seniors, and my “big sister” didn’t drive so she partnered with a senior whose “little sister” lived nearby.

Through the year there were small activities and games we participated in, and the senior acted like something of a high school mentor for us.

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BaconPancakes_77@reddit

We did a kidnap breakfast for a friend of mine! Her parents were extremely protective/conservative and it was the only kind of birthday party I could think of that they'd agree to. It was fun!

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No-Hospital559@reddit

Never heard of this before and I know people from all parts of the US.

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LimeSalty4092@reddit

This was a thing for the popular girls

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illini02@reddit

Lol. I had the same thing.

My step dad, who I didn't get along with AT ALL, kept being like "and sleep in your pajamas tonight".

My house was all boys, so I basically just slept in underwear. So it was so fucking weird how adamant he was about me wearing pjs. I had no clue, but then the next day I understood.

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O_W_Liv@reddit

That was my sweet 16, sort of. My mom was too cheap to take us out (not broke, cheap) so she did it at home.

She bought me new PJ'S, and snuck all my "friends" in while I slept.

I hated it.

I woke up covered in blood and was cramping and cranky, but had to keep sweet and be gracious.

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violetstrainj@reddit

I never had friends that were that cool.

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LittleWing0802@reddit

Yes we definitely did this. Totally forgot about it!

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BridgeBeautiful5478@reddit

We use to all bring a balloon for our friends on their birthday so they walked around school all day with a bunch of balloons.

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Peanut083@reddit

Not really a thing I’ve heard of as such, but my mum’s side of the family loves surprise parties. I hate them, to the point where I told my husband many years ago that if my mum ever called him to get his assistance in coordinating one for me behind my back, that he needed to tell her not to do it. I would literally walk out and refuse to attend if anyone ever attempted to organise a surprise party for me. I have no issue with not knowing the venue, or having surprise guests turn up, but actual surprise parties are a hard no.

The back story to why I don’t like surprise parties is that my parents divorced when I was 3 years old. They’re civil enough when they have to be in the same space together, but the vibes are weird and I prefer to avoid it happening as much as possible. I also grew up around a 6 hour drive away from where my dad lives and usually only got to see him a couple of times a year. We spoke every Sunday on the phone, but I really valued getting to spend time with my dad. My mum and I happened to be staying with my grandparents, who were living about a 30 minute drive away from my dad’s place, around the time of my 11th birthday. From memory, my grandfather was having an operation, and mum had travelled to help both my grandparents out.

Seeing as I was in the area for my birthday, it was organised that I would spend that evening with my dad and grandmother on that side of the family. Dad came to pick me up, and I was really happy that I was getting to spend time with him for my birthday. It was in the middle of the school year, so it wasn’t a normal thing to have happen. Dad asked me what I wanted to have for my birthday dinner. Like any pre-teen kid in the mid-90s, the obvious answer was McDonald’s.

When we walked into the McDonald’s store, my mum, maternal grandparents, and several aunts and uncles were all there yelling out ‘Surprise!’ As a kid with undiagnosed autism, the whole situation just didn’t sit well with me. In hindsight, I know it was well-intentioned. As an 11 year old kid who only got to see her dad for a total of 2-3 weeks per year, I was pretty dirty that the very limited and precious time I was getting to spend with my dad (on my birthday, no less) was being infected with the weird vibes that happen when my mum’s family and dad’s family are both at the same social event.

And that is my story about why I don’t like surprise parties to the point where I would absolutely walk out on any surprise party anyone ever organised for me.

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Deep-Interest9947@reddit

We did it for the cheerleading squad in high school. They would come in the middle of the night and “kidnap” the new squad members then dress them in embarrassing outfits, go to breakfast and then go to school and make them do stupid things.

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mareimbrium53@reddit

Yes, I encountered this in marching band. I hate surprises so my mother woke me up in advance. She tried to convince me it was time for band camp even though it was dark outside. 😂

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camptastic_plastic@reddit

My dad also warned me the night before my church youth group did this. He knew I would hate the surprise. I got up early and took a shower, put clean pajamas on and pretended to go back to bed. 😊

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Deep-Interest9947@reddit

Yeah my mom warned me too so I wouldn’t be totally disgusting or naked or whatever.

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Aggravating_Finish_6@reddit

That is called hazing and it’s not allowed anymore lol

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Human-Put-6613@reddit

We did this for Girl Scouts. I’m pretty sure it was my mom’s idea. Never did it for a birthday though.

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shady-p1nes-ma@reddit

Yes, we also did this for Girl Scouts.

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justonemom14@reddit

Very similar to something at my high school. It was called sophomore initiation. (This school was grades 10-12, so the incoming students were sophomores.) I think it was just among the band members. They would come to your house very early in the morning, dress you funny, do some embarrassing things like make you sing for someone, then you had to spend all day in your mismatched clothes and crazy hair.

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KBO_Winston@reddit

Real quick, where is this magic land where mismatched clothes and crazy hair could conceivably be someone else's fault?

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Don_T_Blink@reddit

Hazing

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Sufficient_Turn_9209@reddit

We called it hazing. People started feeling a certain way about it though?

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Icy-Finance5042@reddit

As a kid, my birthdays were at Showbiz and Hardee's.

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dannict@reddit

The only place I heard of this was on Reba - not a birthday, but a cheerleader/football player thing

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ineffable_my_dear@reddit

I was kidnapped on my birthday senior year by a group of friends, only we didn’t call it “kidnap breakfast,” we used a probably racist word.

They made me wear a bunch of random goofy stuff and photos (of other “victims,” too) were featured in the yearbook.

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Global-Jury8810@reddit

The closest I came to that was watching the movie Jawbreaker…that was the plot…kidnap breakfasts…but Courtney gagged Liz Purr with the jawbreaker…

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snewchybewchies@reddit

That wasn't a thing beyond your little friend group

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sdavidson0819@reddit

The only time I got "kidnapped" was for a youth group called Campus Life or something equally as innocuous, but also vaguely adult-sounding to high schoolers. I had that same conversation with my mom about how I should wear sweatpants to bed.

Turns out they were just trying to indoctrinate us into thinking Christianity is cool -- It was real awkward.

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PeaOui1@reddit

I did this!!! And we would go to a breakfast place in our pajamas!

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mamaberry15@reddit

I was kidnapped a few times in middle school by a girls youth group I was involved in. My mom's insistence on matching pajamas was a good clue after the first time. This was in the Denver area in the late 80s/early 90s.

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Common_Juggernaut724@reddit

A co-worker/friend once remarked about going to a hot air balloon festival. I was like "why?" To hear her tell it, they are impressive and colorful and beautiful and now I want to go to one

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mwalker324@reddit

This happened to me when I made the dance team. They came and snatched us, made us wear ridiculous outfits, and do a football kick line across this crosswalk bridge thing where cars driving by could see. I hated it but also loved it. LOL

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Surlyllama23@reddit

I remember this! We called them Come as You Are parties.

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HealthAccording9957@reddit

This was a thing when I was growing up in So Cal. My poor sister looked like a dead prom queen for hers!

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KBO_Winston@reddit

My best friend was a year younger than me and was still a year away from going to college when I started. One day, in the weeks before I went, she and her mom 'kidnapped' me because they knew I hadn't done any clothes shopping for it.

They were right to do so.

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isitrealholoooo@reddit

We did this during a random day during Band Camp in the summer. The parents would get a heads up the day before. I was a driver/kidnapper my senior year. I had to go to these kids house at the ass crack of dawn and walk into their rooms to tell them they were getting kidnapped. I tried to be polite.

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Tinkerfan57912@reddit

Never heard of that.

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catjuggler@reddit

Never heard of that either but it sounds super fun

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KellyAnn3106@reddit

My choir did this for new members. My senior year, we had picked up all of our people and were heading to the meeting place for breakfast when we got pulled over. Apparently there was a curfew for under 18 and it was shortly before it expired for the morning. The state trooper yelled at us to go home for 15 minutes...at which point it was legal for us to be out.

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Tinyhulk27@reddit

We did something like that with an underclassmen friend but at night.

Went out all night partying, hanging out at arcade, roadies, bonfire etc. Then we rolled up to the highschool at 7:30am to drop him off for 1st hour while we took off to our respective homes to sleep the night off. We were were seniors and didn't have classes to attend anymore.

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Watergirl626@reddit

We did in middle school. All the 8th grade girls the wkd before graduation. MN based.

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Wicked_Morticia18@reddit

We did this for the day of for dances, like prom, but not birthdays.

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Possible-Tangelo9344@reddit

Y'all had friends?

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Vox_Mortem@reddit

I think this was like, a girl scout or youth group thing. I had friends into scouting and later I was part of a youth group, and they were always doing things like this. I was most definitely not a fan as I am not a morning person, and after one early morning kidnap I was apparently so mean they put me on the no kidnap list.

Honestly, I think they did stuff like this because one mom really active with the youth groups came from some small town where they did it when she was a kid. It definitely isn't a local tradition.

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AgentArtichoke@reddit

This happened to some of the popular girls, now that I've read some other comments, it might have been cheerleaders. Mid nineties high school in central California.

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weezie_lou@reddit

That happened where I grew up. I “kidnapped” my best friend and she “kidnapped” me. I don’t really remember many details, but I remember having fun. I didn’t have school on her birthday, so I went with her into her school while she was in her pajamas. It was pretty funny and everyone (including her) had a good laugh.

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rpmsm@reddit

gif

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Liathano_Fire@reddit

Um, all the no.

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queenofcaffeine76@reddit

I remember that trend. I think it was a twist on the old come-as-you-are parties from our parents' or grandparents' generations

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Expensive-Day-3551@reddit

This sounds like something rich kids would do

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Ok-Concert-6475@reddit

I'm in the PNW. I've never heard of this.

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gerardkimblefarthing@reddit

I slept in the nude, so if they busted in was on them. Marinate in your embarrassment while I'm living free

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Reasonable-Wave8093@reddit

No, but Uncle Buck pancakes are the best

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iputmytrustinyou@reddit

It wasn’t a birthday kidnapping with Rory. It was an induction to the secret society at Chilton.

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Reasonable-Wave8093@reddit

true, true

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MeanSam@reddit

You should see the toast!

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dixiebandit69@reddit

Did anything else happen at these "kidnap" parties that you should tell us about?

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kg51113@reddit

I never did it as a kid or for birthdays. It was a popular topic in Girl Scout groups a few years back. We did it with our troop when they were in middle school or early high school. Started at my house because I was the furthest away. The leader came over alone and woke up my daughter. Then they headed to get the rest. We went early on a Sunday to a local restaurant. Everyone enjoyed it and asked when the next one would be.

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bassman314@reddit

I've heard of it, but never saw it in action. I don't think my parents would have gone along with it. I have never been one to del with surprises well, and I think I would have likely fought back until I knew what was actually going on.

I've actually heard some pretty harrowing horror stories about how "real" it felt sometimes.

Sort of glad this is one of those "Great Ideas" that has mostly died off.

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orejo@reddit

We did this to a friend in HS for her birthday and she was pretty freaked out. Turned out fun, but there was a brief time where we thought it may have been too much for her. For sure a thing in Oklahoma in 93.

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16Shells@reddit

i was part of a youth group that would do this sometimes. for years i couldn’t get a good sleep on weekends because i was terrified of a bunch of people storming into my room at 5am while i slept naked.

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suddle@reddit

Our Brownie group did this every year. Our leaders would come round and kidnap all of the brownies in the morning. I never clued into why my mother would insist I wear particularly nice PJs once a year.

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the_amazing_jando@reddit

I used to do something like this in college with my friends on their birthdays. I would show up with a backpack full of beers and wake them up ~6am by cracking one open near their ear (Beast Ice back then). After we finished a beer I would attend all their classes with them (blowing off mine) and we’d drink another beer between each class until they ran out of classes or decided they didn’t want to go to anymore. It was pretty fun. Though I don’t know how I stomached that gutrot back then.

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