History Main / PartySchedulingGambit

* In ''Fanfic/LeaveForMendeleiev'', Chloe throws a party in an effort to cheer up Adrien, inviting the whole school. After an argument with Aurore over her harassing Marinette, she snaps that they can just ''leave''; Aurore happily takes her up on that offer, and as both girls are leaving, Kim shouts that they should all head to the pool. This triggers a mass exodus; even Adrien ditches Chloe despite how she [[UngratefulBastard organized the whole thing for his sake]] in the first place.

* Inverted in ''Film/{{Accepted}}'', in which the ones who make the gambit are the sympathetic protagonists, and their party is legitimately far more awesome than that of the dumb frat boys they are screwing over. Even after the frat tries to shut them down, they just party harder.

* Invoked in ''Literature/WaxAndWayne''. As [[CrazyPrepared Steris]] points out, the Yomen-Ostlin wedding invited ''almost'' every aristocrat in the city so that they could not only [[SnubByOmission insult everyone they didn't invite]], but stop them from starting their own party by preemptively stealing all the guests.

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* ''Series/CobraKai:'' This is the basis for the WildTeenParty Aisha plans at the very site Yasmine was planning hers. Yasmine is not impressed.

* On ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'', Brainy Smurf throws a "smarty party", but excludes the Smurflings for being too young, so they decide to throw their own party. Eventually, everyone goes to the Smurflings' party after being expelled from Brainy's party for breaking any of the myriad rules he set up.

Somebody, usually our CoolLoser heroine, is throwing a party. Perhaps it's her first "grown-up party", maybe it's a fairly major birthday, like her sweet 16th or her "now you're a teen!" 13th. However, someone else (usually the AlphaBitch) has found out about this and scheduled a bigger, better [[WildTeenParty and unsupervised]] party on the same day and time as the Cool Loser's party.

* It happened on ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'', although this time with TheBrainlessBeauty London, who in this case is also the CoolLoser's best friend who doesn't understand the concept of not getting her way. She learns her lesson in the end, though, and comes to the other party.

* [[ProfessionalWrestling/AllEliteWrestling AEW]] and [[ProfessionalWrestling/WWENXT NXT]] have had a couple run-ins where their shows fell on dates that coincided. Both sides have claimed this wasn't by any design. NXT also counter-programmed AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights for awhile, although NXT eventually shifted it to Tuesdays.

%%* Christmas, to pagan solstice celebrations. It worked.

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%%* ''Series/SisterSister'' does this at one point.
* ''Series/ThatsSoRaven'' has this happen in one episode. There, due to the scheming of the AlphaBitch, people turned up the week before the party instead and Raven had the misfortune to be wearing an embarrassing mud mask and her jammies at the time. Her parents were also in spandex workout suits. In the end Raven, Chelsea and Eddie plan to embarrass The AlphaBitch (Nikki) back, they manage to get her CoveredInGunge (well, hairspray, water and feathers) just before her party, but Raven had a last minute change of heart and decided not to force her to be seen that way by her party goers. Raven still lets the girl leave her house [[TroubleMagnetGambit carrying a bouquet of poison ivy]].
* ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'':
** Sabrina ends up making a clone of herself to attend one party, and she goes to the cooler one, because Libby requested it. It had already been demonstrated in that episode these clones have [[InsultToRocks brains of pudding]]. Sabrina gets back just slightly too late to stop the situation, but just in time to spin it. That Halloween, Sabrina actually goes to the ''lamer'' party - a family gathering.
** The next year, she competes with Libby by throwing a party at her own house and it's still not quite played straight, because Sabrina's {{Masquerade}} policing is keeping the guests annoyed and/or bored. It's when her efforts fail and everything starts breaking down that the party becomes fun (this ''is'' Halloween, after all).
* It happened on ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'', although this time with TheBrainlessBeauty London, who in this case is also the CoolLoser's best friend who doesn't understand the concept of not getting her way. She learns her lesson in the end, though, and comes to the other party.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}''

* ''Series/TheOC'' reverses this by having Kaitlin throw a party on the night of the AlphaBitch's scheduled Sweet 16 with kegs. Everyone prefers her party.
* Greendale ''Series/{{Community}}'' College decided to have a Sadie Hawkins dance. Britta, ever the activist, found it sexist, and decided to hold a Sophie B. Hawkins dance at the same time. She meant Susan B. Anthony, but refused to acknowledge her wrongness, and tried to hire a Sophie B. Hawkins look-a-like to attend. Someone (possibly Pierce) managed to get the real Sophie B. Hawkins to show and saved the dance.
* An episode of ''Series/LizzieMcGuire'' had this done impromptu as an inversion after Lizzie was banned from the school dance after being made to confess to breaking a statue ([[AlphaBitch Kate]] was the one who broke it) or else the dance would be cancelled. After, nearly everyone ditched the dance and headed over to Lizzie's house instead, leaving Kate alone at the school.
* Invoked in ''Series/TheGoodPlace'' episode "Existential Crisis". Tahani -- an accomplished socialite who took great pride in her events -- is asked to plan a party for a neighbor's birthday, except [[spoiler:it's all a setup by Vicky and the Bad Place demons to torture her by arranging a bigger, more extravagant party to overshadow hers. She gets wind of the scheme through Michael and goes along with her party anyway so they won't know she's clued in to the torture, but she takes it as a challenge to try and outshine the demons instead and puts her all into the preparations despite knowing that it's a setup. She gets so caught up believing she could beat them at their own petty game that she is is then legitimately crushed and miserable when the demons use their powers and control "the Good Place" to make their party an awesome spectacle that overshadows hers completely.]]
* In order to get back at Renata on ''Series/BigLittleLies'', Madeline invites a bunch of moms and their kids to Disney on Ice on the same day as Renata's daughter Amabella's birthday party, knowing that it will hurt Amabella because Madeline's own daughter Chloe and several of their friends will miss it. Madeline is right, and Renata calls and asks her to reconsider, but she smugly refuses.

* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' has a near perfect example of "schedule a party against the AlphaBitch". Arnold is one of the few kids in their class that gets invited to Rhonda's "cool kids" party. Even Gerald doesn't, as Rhonda was worried he'd out-cool her. However her party is dull and Arnold is annoyed that most of his friends haven't been invited. So he leaves and throws an impromptu "geeks party" at his house. Everyone heads there attracted by the more fun atmosphere, eventually Rhonda shows up but she isn't allowed in until she declares herself a "geek" (for that night at least).

* A variation happens in ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'' when Eric Raymond and The Misfits film and premiere a a big-budget movie, solely to upstage Jem's indy effort. The Misfit's movie is a dog and the premiere crowd moves en masse to the lower key theater holding Jem's premiere. (A later episode has Jem/Jerrica nominated for an Oscar for her effort.)
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'': Quinn gets roped into planning the school dance by Sandi, who then throws her own party, which turns out to be lame. Subverted in that Quinn is the more popular of the two; double subverted in that, once she realises the rest of the Fashion Club won't help her, Quinn foists planning off onto Daria and Jane.

* On ''TheSmurfs'', Brainy Smurf throws a "smarty party", but excludes the Smurflings for being too young, so they decide to throw their own party. Eventually, everyone goes to the Smurflings' party after being expelled from Brainy's party for breaking any of the myriad rules he set up.

* ''Series/SisterSister'' does this at one point.

* Also happened on ''WesternAnimation/TheProudFamily''; the Creator/DisneyChannel is fond of this trope.

* Christmas, to pagan solstice celebrations. It worked.

* Greendale ''Series/{{Community}}'' College decided to have a SadieHawkins dance. Britta, ever the activist, finds it sexist, and decides to hold a Sophie B. Hawkins dance at the same time. She meant Susan B Anthony, but refused to acknowledge her wrongness, and tried to hire a Sophie B Hawkins look-a-like to attend.

* Invoked in one episode of ''Series/TheGoodPlace''. Tahani -- an accomplished socialite who took great pride in her events -- is asked to plan a party for a neighbor's birthday, except [[spoiler:the demons torturing her plan a bigger, better party at the same time so nobody will show up to Tahani's. She goes along with it and plans her party anyway so they won't know she's clued in to the torture, but despite knowing that it's a setup, she is still miserable when no one attends.]]

* During [[Main/TheGildedAge]] (1880-1920ish) some of the richest men lived in New York City most of the time, but would move away from the summer. One place they tended to take their families was Newport, RI, where they built summer "cottages" with 30-88 rooms. Planning parties in order to draw the crowd away from another family's party was a tactic some society wives used in order to make sure everyone remembered their name.

* During [[TheGildedAge]] (1880-1920ish) some of the richest men lived in New York City most of the time, but would move away from the summer. One place they tended to take their families was Newport, RI, where they built summer "cottages" with 30-88 rooms. Planning parties in order to draw the crowd away from another family's party was a tactic some society wives used in order to make sure everyone remembered their name.

* During The Gilded Age (1880-1920ish) some of the richest men lived in New York City most of the time, but would move away from the summer. One place they tended to take their families was Newport, RI, where they built summer "cottages" with 30-88 rooms. Planning parties in order to draw the crowd away from another family's party was a tactic some society wives used in order to make sure everyone remembered their name.

* During [[The Gilded Age]] (1880-1920ish) some of the richest men lived in New York City most of the time, but would move away from the summer. One place they tended to take their families was Newport, RI, where they built summer "cottages" with 30-88 rooms. Planning parties in order to draw the crowd away from another family's party was a tactic some society wives used in order to make sure everyone remembered their name.

* During [The Gilded Age] (1880-1920ish) some of the richest men lived in New York City most of the time, but would move away from the summer. One place they tended to take their families was Newport, RI, where they built summer "cottages" with 30-88 rooms. Planning parties in order to draw the crowd away from another family's party was a tactic some society wives used in order to make sure everyone remembered their name.

* During "The Gilded Age" (1880-1920ish) some of the richest men lived in New York City most of the time, but would move away from the summer. One place they tended to take their families was Newport, RI, where they built summer "cottages" with 30-88 rooms. Planning parties in order to draw the crowd away from another family's party was a tactic some society wives used in order to make sure everyone remembered their name.

* During The Gilded Age (1880-1920ish) some of the richest men lived in New York City most of the time, but would move away from the summer. One place they tended to take their families was Newport, RI, where they built summer "cottages" with 30-88 rooms. Planning parties in order to draw the crowd away from another family's party was a tactic some society wives used in order to make sure everyone remembered their name.