Dad's controversial birthday present to mum raises eyebrows

"The bare minimum, seriously."

In a seemingly innocuous TikTok post, a mum expressed gratitude for an unconventional birthday gift from her husband. 

But the video has since sparked a heated debate online, as people weighed in with their thoughts on what constitutes a thoughtful gesture in a relationship.

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Image: TikTok

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"The effort and thought are so much more important to me than a gift"

In the seven-second-clip, the mum expressed her appreciation for her husband's effort to clean their house for her birthday.

She wrote, "We're broke and I didn't want him to spend any money on a gift, so he woke up at 6:30 and cleaned the house."

Her caption read: "I have such a sweet husband. Waking up to a clean house was perfect. The effort and thought are so much more important to me than a gift."

In the video, she pans around, showcasing her spotless kitchen, which includes a clean, large island bench with a single rose on it.

However, the reaction from viewers was less than impressed.

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The TikTok community's mixed reactions

"Does he not live there, too? That’s his house he is cleaning," one person wrote.

Another commenter added, "I know right! His gift was he helped clean their house… The bare minimum, seriously."

The original poster responded sarcastically, "Yeah, what was I thinking appreciating a nice gesture! So silly of me. I should have just been mad! I’m sure there’s something better he could have done that didn’t cost money."

The debate continued with another comment, "That's not a gift, that's an expectation."

But while some viewers criticised the husband’s gesture, others supported it.

"BEST GIFT EVER!" one fan praised.

"I'd rather that over anything else," another mum shared. 

Originally published as Dad's controversial birthday present to mum raises eyebrows