‘That mom was 100% in the wrong’: Woman says her niece went to Build-A-Bear birthday party. Then the mom made a strange request

A woman's story about an awkward moment between her and the birthday girl's mother at a Build-A-Bear party she attended with her niece is once again going viral online.

In a video with over 7.6 million views, Reddit storyteller Unplugged Moments (@unpluggedmoments) retells a story from the subreddit r/Parenting. It was originally posted in 2019 by an aunt who took her niece to a birthday party, as both of the child's parents were working.

She says the invitation instructed the partygoers to meet at the mall food court for lunch before heading over to Build-A-Bear, where the children would each make a custom stuffed animal.

"Mind you, they did not book a party through Build-A-Bear. It's just as a regular customer coming in. There's eight kids, including the birthday girl," she explains. Build-A-Bear offers party packages, which include a party host and set itinerary, which includes a custom stuffed animal for each child.

An unexpected request

She says that on the invite it says, "Every child will be able to build a Build-A-Bear."

"I tell my niece, 'Be mindful. We're going to keep it at $35. Anything else, auntie will chip in for,'" she says.

She continues that the birthday girl's mother paid for the dolls, and she purchased extra accessories at her own expense.

But soon, she says the mother made an unexpected request: Hand over all the dolls to the birthday girl as a gift.

"Call me entitled, but I thought they were going to keep the bear," she says.

She says she took her niece back to the birthday girl's house for cake, still thinking the mother may give the Build-A-Bear dolls back to the children.

"I tapped the mom and said, 'Excuse me, maybe I have a misunderstanding, but on the invite, it said that the kids would be able to build a bear,'" she says. But the mother allegedly responded, "Yes, for my child to keep."

She says she told the mother that she spent an extra $35 on accessories, thinking her niece would keep the doll.

"She goes, 'Oh, I can look into getting that back for you,'" she recalls the mother saying.

After the conversation with the mother, she says she left the party and took her niece back to Build-A-Bear to build a doll for herself.

What do viewers think of the aunt's response?

In the comments, viewers agree with the aunt's response, calling out the birthday girl's mother.

"As a parent, I would have assumed the same as you," one wrote.

"NAH the parent embarrassed herself by doing that bs...no way she did all that. Why put it on the invite ??" another said.

"You’re not wrong. That’s super weird," a third added.

Others discussed how the mother's party planning could compromise her daughter's friendships.

"That mom singled-handedly ended all of her daughter’s friendships," a viewer suggested.

"Sarah is ganna be having a lot of family only parties for a while," another wrote.

An update from the original Redditor

In a second post on Reddit, the original poster shares an update following a conversation between another parent and the birthday girl's mother.

She shared that another parent told the mother, "The kids were forced to give away their new creations, obviously they are going to be upset about it. I also don’t see why your daughter needs all these animals."

She says the mother responded, "I didn’t have enough money for each of the guests to make their own, that would get pretty expensive! If you want your money back I’ll see about getting it back to you. I don’t really see the problem though." Then, the mother walked away from the conversation.

The aunt wrote, "What bothers me is she said she 'didn’t have enough money for all the kids to have one,' but she did have enough for her daughter to get like 8 bears. Just doesn’t really make sense."

@unpluggedmoments Niece didn’t get to keep the Build Better from Sarah’s 7th Birthday party. Reddit storyteller. Reddit stories. #birthday #birthdayparty #reddit #birthdaygirl #buildabear #birthdaycake #birthdaygift #birthdaysurprise ♬ original sound - Unplugged Moments

The Daily Dot reached out to Unplugged Moments for further comment. We also emailed Build-A-Bear. The Redditor could not be reached for comment.

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The post ‘That mom was 100% in the wrong’: Woman says her niece went to Build-A-Bear birthday party. Then the mom made a strange request appeared first on The Daily Dot.