'Why bother with a party?' Mum lashes out at birthday 'without even cake'

"This is almost as bad as the Build a Bear Birthday scandal."  

There's a cost of living crisis but apparently that shouldn't stop parents from saving money when trying to give their kids joy.

According to one mum, anyway.

Posting under @olgainspired, the mum-of-two this week went on a viral rant about her child attending a birthday party that "without even cake."

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"I tried to act normal, but what was that?"

The mum wrote over footage at a skating rink:

"Recently attended a kid's birthday party. Turns out, everyone had to pay for their own entry ticket.

"No food, no drinks - not even cake.

"The kids played, then left. Everyone still brought gifts. I tried to act normal but honestly, what was that?"

A short clip, with a very pointed message. It was captioned, "People are weird. Why not just invite to the park? Or why not to add no gifts please if you literally don’t do anything."

The post attracted more than 4000 comments, and has been viewed more than 1.5 million times.

@olgainspired

People are weird. Why not just invite to the park? Or why not to add no gifts please if you literally don’t do anything #birthday #birthdayparty #momsoftiktok

♬ Murder On The Dancefloor - Sophie Ellis-Bextor

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"This is almost as bad as the Build a Bear Birthday scandal lol"

The top comment read: "This is almost as bad as the Build a Bear Birthday scandal lol," in reference to the recent story you can read here.

But many viewers of the clip were not happy with the mum's judgement.

"Maybe a mum with no money trying to give her kid a good birthday party, and maybe you people with money should have compassion," one said - to which the creator replied: "You don’t get anything you cannot afford."

Another suggested: "Consider for a moment that poor children also deserve parties, even if they don’t quite meet adult expectations."

And this mum made a valid point: "I don’t understand the alternative…one mom pays for 30 kids? Or what are you saying here?"

Image: TikTok

"Why are people defending this?"

But there was also many viewers who agreed with the creator.

"Why are people defending this? The parents didn’t put money or effort into organising a party, it’s so clearly a cash grab it’s not funny. You could have made box mix cupcakes for $1. Water is free. Come onnnnnnnn the bar is beneath the floor," one wrote.

And this person suggested a more tactful approach could have been taken: "I get that some people can’t afford parties. They’re expensive but you have to set clear expectations on the invite. Join us for birthday play date. Each kid responsible for admission. Gifts not required."

The poster came back into the comments to reply, "I was okay to pay for entrance. But no food or water was upsetting. This is not expensive at all. Any water/juice/cupcake and blowing the candles would completely change the atmosphere."

Originally published as 'Why bother with a party?' Mum lashes out at birthday 'without even cake'