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MIXED BAG

Mum left ‘livid’ after daughter’s friend RETURNS her party bag with a note from mum slamming the contents… so who’s in the wrong?

The birthday girl's been left feeling 'really embarrassed'

A MUM was left "livid" and "fuming" when her daughter's friend RETURNED her party bag, with a note from her mum shaming the contents, leaving the birthday girl feeling "really embarrassed".

The woman's daughter celebrated her 11th birthday with four of her closest friends - who watched a film, played games, painted each other's nails and enjoyed a takeaway pizza, sweets and birthday cake.

 A mum was left 'fuming' after her daughter's friend RETURNED her party bag
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A mum was left 'fuming' after her daughter's friend RETURNED her party bagCredit: Getty - Contributor

Posting on , she said: "In total the 'party' cost less than £50".

But, if you're expecting the argument to be over a naff party bag, you're in for a surprise.

Because she'd saved on previous years of bigger parties, the mum decided to give proper gift bags for the party favours - filled with pens, a personalised notepad, a little nail varnish set, a book, a pair of novelty socks, some sweets and a piece of birthday cake.

She added: "DD (dear daughter) made some little thank you notes in advance to pop in too- the bags cost about £12.50 each so about £50 in total.

"But given the party was cheap in comparison to previous years (soft play, hall hire, pass the parcel..!) and DD and I had fun making them up I wasn't bothered."

 She took to Mumsnet to moan about what had happened
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She took to Mumsnet to moan about what had happenedCredit: Mumsnet

But all that changed when one of her daughter's friends returned her gift bag at school, with a note from her mum, leaving her daughter gutted.

She said: "The letter basically says the bag was too generous as a party bag and her daughter was returning it as she (the mum) couldn't let her accept it.

"DD is really embarrassed as her friend told her that her mum says I try too hard.

"I'm mortified but also livid- I don't do the school run so only know this mum to say hello to when dropping kids off at hobbies/parties/play dates etc- I definitely don't want to impress her or anyone else! I have been internally fuming!"

 The mum felt the gift bag was 'too generous' - and told the other mum so in a note
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The mum felt the gift bag was 'too generous' - and told the other mum so in a noteCredit: Getty - Contributor

Her fellow mums were outraged, with HumpHumpWhale writing: "That is so unbelievably rude of her. Omg. My jaw literally dropped."

While lulu12345 commented: "Wow.. some people!! What a knob. She is being very rude, try your hardest to forget all about it."

And Bitchywaitress added: "What a b**ch! I bet her DD is quite upset about having to give up her lovely party bag."

But others said they agreed the bags were OTT.

ItsNiceItsDifferentItsUnusual said: "I would have found the bags overgenerous, if I'm completely honest.

"The other mum sounds really f***ing rude though. What a slap in the face."

While BeyondThePage wrote: "I would feel absolutely mortified to receive a party bag that generous, presents were usually £5-£7, so to receive a party bag in return of twice that value would make me feel extremely uncomfortable.

"I would not have returned it - how ungracious, but would have probably avoided you for some time after...

"Your generous gesture may have made people uncomfortable with their value of gift choice."

But a shocked Oyesiam asked: "Do people really tot up the value of a party bag their child gets? It’s never occurred to me to do that, or compare it to the value of the present my child gave.

"Embarrassed or absolutely mortified as pp s have mentioned? It’s not a competition, it’s a birthday celebration for a child . Get a grip."

So where do you stand?

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While three women have debated if there's ever a 'good' time to deal with your parents divorcing.

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