‘I didn’t invite my neighbours to my daughter’s party, they showed up anyway’

“I asked why they were here and one of the kids just shrugged and said, My mummy said I could go,’” said frustrated Angie.

Alexandra Feiam

3 min read

April 5, 2024 - 7:18AM

Mum heartbroken after no one comes to son's party

Family Life

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A mum has hit out at her neighbours after they repeatedly crashed her daughter's birthday party.

It was *Wren’s 8th birthday, and her party was in full swing; the theme was “princesses” and everyone looked the part.

Even those who weren’t invited.

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Wren's birthday party was crashed. Picture: iStock

Neighbours repeatedly crash daughter’s 8th birthday party

The birthday party, Wren’s mum Angie* explained on Reddit, took place outside in the front yard “that is semi-fenced.”

“The only people incited were friends and family,” she said.

When the time came, Angie began handing out cupcakes to the guests before stopping in her tracks.

“When handing them out, I noticed that two kids were definitely not invited because they weren’t my nieces/nephews or a family friend,” she said.

She quickly realised the two children were her neighbour's kids, pausing and turning to them.

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“My relationship with my neighbours is meh,” the American mum clarified. “We wave if we see them, but otherwise we don’t talk to each other or anything really.”

Angie walked up to the neighbour’s children and asked them what they were doing at the party.

“One of the kids just shrugged and said, ‘My mummy said I could go,’” she explained.

“I told them it was inappropriate to just come here. My husband escorted them back to their parent’s house.”

A short while later, Angie decided to cut the cake for her daughter.

Once again, the entire family were standing outside with their loved ones when suddenly they saw the neighbour’s children again.

This time, they were with their parents.

“I asked what they were doing and they looked confused, saying they were joining the party,” Angie wrote.

At this point, the mum was becoming “a little agitated” and “sternly” told them they were not invited.

“This was a birthday party for my daughter and family/family friends were invited,” Angie said.

The neighbours looked at each other and walked away awkwardly, taking their “whining” kids with them.

But the next day, Angie was surprised to find a letter in their mailbox from the dejected neighbour telling her she “treated the neighbours rudely and it’s expected to share community events.”

“No gift, no guests at a birthday party”

The Reddit community singled out the neighbour’s “entitled” attitude towards the family gathering and told Angie she wasn’t to blame for the incident.

“First off, [Angie], it's your daughter's birthday party, not a neighbourhood block party,” a person defended.

“You invited who you wanted to invite, end of story. Your neighbors showing up uninvited and expecting to join in? That's just plain rude.”

Someone else asked a very important question: “Did they bring a gift? Guests bring gifts to a child’s party.”

“Good point,” another agreed. “No gift, no guests at a birthday party.”

Otters took issue with the neighbour's assumption that it was a “community event” rather than a private celebration.

“While it's nice to have a community feel, there's a clear line between public events and private gatherings, and your daughter's party falls into the latter category,’ read a comment.

“Your neighbours are quite entitled and incredibly rude to force their presence upon you,” said another. “They are even more rude to do so after you explicitly returned their children to them.”

*Names have been changed