Mother Gives Her Kid Expensive Present As Surprise At Friend's Birthday Party

Oct 01, 2021 by apost team

It’s common for parents to want to spoil their kids and give them everything they possibly can, especially on their birthdays or holidays. As kids get older they typically get more extravagant or expensive gifts since they’re considered mature enough to handle the responsibility of caring for these items. There’s also less of a chance that they’ll end up breaking their gifts or damaging them in some way.

While birthday celebrations are fun, it should be noted that your personal party has to end at some point, especially if someone else is celebrating their own birthday. It goes without saying that there’s a right place and right time to give someone a present. One mother didn’t seem to get this memo when she took her daughter to another child’s birthday party and decided to give her own daughter a present at the party.

She didn’t think there was anything wrong with doing this since the two children were friends and they could play together, but no one was on her side. Not only had she given her daughter a gift at someone else’s party, but she gave her daughter a pretty expensive toy in front of someone who couldn’t afford it. 

The mom went to Reddit on Sept. 27, 2021, to see if she handled the situation poorly, and she was met with plenty of harsh criticism. She titled her post “AITA for giving my baby girl a big birthday gift?”, and Reddit users were quick to call her out for her nonchalant attitude and overall rudeness to her daughter’s friend.

In her Reddit post, the original poster (OP) talked about how her daughter Stephie just turned 9 years old on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. She and her husband had planned on giving Stephie a Nintendo Switch for her birthday since she was “old enough and mature enough,” but they ended up not being able to pick up the present in time for her daughter’s party. Instead, they were able to grab it the following day, which just so happened to be the same day as another party the family was attending.

The OP explained, “See, Stephie was invited to her classmate Jolene’s party on Sunday. So I figured that since we were still in the party spirit, I would just give Stephie the Switch after cake at Jolene’s party. Nothing more than that.” The mother reasoned that since the girls were friends, it wouldn’t be a big deal, and she reiterated that they were “old enough” to understand the extenuating circumstance. She gave her daughter the present before Jolene opened any of her own gifts.

The OP continued, “Everything went as I had planned and I thought it went well, but after the party was over I got a call from Jolene’s mom.” Jolene’s mom explained that the OP was undermining her since she couldn’t afford such an expensive gift for her own child, and she proceeded to call her petty and a show-off. The OP didn’t see the issue though, as she thought that Jolene enjoyed playing with her own toys and even had the chance to play with Stephie’s new toy, too. 

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“It seems to me like everyone made out well,” the OP reasoned. Even though their daughters were friends, the OP and Jolene’s mom were not. “She and I do not like one another and I won’t sugarcoat it, but I put that aside for the kids because our issues aren’t their fault, which Jolene’s mom is definitely not doing,” the OP explained. 

The OP’s husband reasoned that it might have been a good idea to at least wait until Jolene’s presents were opened first, but the OP still didn’t think she did anything wrong. Reddit users were not on her side, though, and called her out for having such a nonchalant attitude about the entire situation. 

One user commented, “Why would you do this at another girl’s birthday party? Why couldn’t you do this at home with just your daughter? I can’t imagine bringing a gift to someone else’s party and making it about you and your daughter.” Another user agreed, saying, “Yeah, she just ‘borrowed’ the festive atmosphere… So self absorbed and entitled.”

A third user chimed in, talking about how the OP and Jolene’s mom didn’t get along and how the OP used that to her advantage. The user said, “Knowing this woman doesn’t like you I truly feel like you WERE trying to undermine her.”

It’s clear that this mother didn’t know how to read the room when she presented her own child with a gift at someone else’s birthday party, and Reddit users made sure to let her know that her behavior was completely unacceptable.

Do you think this mom was wrong to give her daughter a present at another child’s birthday party? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family members and friends, too.