‘I refused to help my wife make Halloween costumes - I just can’t be bothered’

“We have the money to buy stuff, so I don’t get why we have to do so much,” the confused dad says. 

For as long as Jason* can remember, his wife Marie* has been obsessed with Halloween. 

Sharing three kids together aged between five and nine, the family have followed the tradition of creating fun costumes and completing creative activities as a family in the lead-up to the big night. 

Marie, who didn’t have the best childhood, is set on making sure her kids don’t have the same experience, so she works extra hard to give them nothing but wonderful memories.

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Marie always goes above and beyond to create happy memories for her children.

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Dad “doesn’t feel like” helping his wife with Halloween costumes

The mum-of-three will always go above and beyond for her kids, Jason, explained to Reddit. 

“She home makes every birthday cake, DIYs the birthday decorations, makes pyjamas for every holiday and always home makes the Halloween costume,” he said. 

“She also does these theme monthly movie nights, where she creates this whole scene,” he added, explaining this month’s theme was “Coraline”, which included a “custom doll for each kid” and a homemade cake and “the whole food spread.” 

It’s safe to say she is working overtime to create life-long memories for her children.

But for Jason, this isn’t a priority. 

“The problem is she expects me to help,” he complained. “All are kids are in activities, we both have full-time careers, and I believe she stretches herself thin trying to do all this.”

According to the American dad, his wife “expects” him to put in as much effort as she does for the kids, but he argued they could just “go out and buy stuff” instead, as they could afford it. 

“She says these are the things the kids will remember,” Jason wrote. 

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For most of October, Jason has been out of town for work, leaving Marie to “shoulder the full responsibility of the kids.” 

“This caused her to be behind on making the costumes, and she’s stressed,” he said. 

In the hopes of reducing some of the strain, she asked Jason if he could help “create one of the costumes for her,” offering to help guide him through the process. 

“The problem is I just don’t feel like it,” he said. “I told her we can go get a cheap costume, it’s not a big deal.” 

It was certainly a big deal for Marie, though, who “refused” to opt for a cheap alternative and instead stayed up all night to finish the costumes. 

The next morning, Jason noticed she was acting “cold and distant.” 

“I told her this morning that they looked awesome, and she just rolled her eyes,” he said. “She was making coffee, and I asked if she’d make me a cup, she replied go buy one.” 

When Jason explained the situation to his co-workers, he expected them to be on his side. 

He was disappointed to learn he was wrong, with the colleague “saying my wife is right, my kids will remember the effort my wife put in and they’ll also remember how hard I made it for her.”

“Do you do anything to help her out?” 

As expected, Jason’s feelings were ripped to shreds by others on Reddit, who argued that even if he wasn’t up for the job, his actions came across as disrespectful. 

“She's working her hardest to show the kids they're a priority to her, and making really fun and special memories for them,” a person wrote. “And all you have to say about it is that it's a waste of time?”

“The fact that you don't appreciate and support her efforts is just really, really sad.” 

“Do you do anything to help her out?” asked another, who suggested he could have helped by buying “supplies for her so she doesn’t have to run to the store” and “shoulder more of the household chores so she can spend more time on the costumes.” 

“She's behind because she's been working a full-time career and parenting your kids by herself for a full month without any of your help,’ said another. “And she asks you to help with one thing, and you complain? Because you [didn’t feel like it]? Really?”

The “worst part” for some was the fact he had asked for a cup of coffee the morning after she stayed up to finish the costumes.

“Who asks their wife to make them a cup of coffee after the wife spent the night making costumes and the guy was having his Zzzs?” a shocked person wrote. “No, dude!”

“When he said the ‘problem’ is that he ‘just doesn't feel like it’, I felt so dumbfounded,” said another. “Dude, what kind of a s**t excuse is that.?Then the audacity to ask her to make his coffee?”

*Names have been changed

Originally published as ‘I refused to help my wife make Halloween costumes - I just can’t be bothered’