Planning a birthday party for his daughters at a local kids’ museum sounded like a great idea—until the cost became a point of contention.

While he’s willing to pay for his own family, his wife insists they also cover tickets for extended family.

Now, he’s caught between wanting a fun day for his kids and not wanting to foot the bill for everyone else.

AITA for not paying for whole families tickets to my children’s birthday party?

My wife and I were discussing the birthday party ideas we had for our girls who are turning 4 and 5. I suggested we have it at a local kids museum in our city.

It’s a great place and would be a killer time for everyone.

We’re a family of 5, myself, wife, son, and our 2 daughters.

I looked up the prices and it’ll be roughly 250 for the 5 of us to goto the museum, that doesn’t include the food for the party or anything else, just admission.

Tbh that’s a little more than I want to pay but for my babies it worth it.

When I suggested it and as I was looking at tickets pricing, my wife said it’d be over 500 for us to goto the museum for everyone, and I said “what no way? I’m looking right now and it’s 250.”

This isn’t going to end well.

She proceeded to tell me that’s for just us but we need to include the other guests and kids as well, meaning my 2 little brothers, my dad, his wife, my mother, my wife’s mother and her sister and husband.

I recoiled and said “well I think they can get their own tickets if they’d like to come.”

I fully expected the extended family to come, I have no problem with that. I think they’re all great and I have no problem with them.

However I don’t think it’s my responsibility to pay for their admission to the museum.

Especially when we will be having a standard party at our home as well.

Money doesn’t grow on trees, ya know.

This became an issue between us as she says she thinks I’m trying to leave people out (she really just means her side of the family) which I’m absolutely not as I don’t want to pay for anyone not under my roof.

For context my wife and I are middle class, but still not middle class enough to drop over 500 dollars on a day for everyone.

We do make more money than her mother, sister and her husband but none of them have any kids or responsibilities, it’d be much easier for them to buy their own single ticket than it would be for us to buy for everyone.

No kidding.

It’s basically we pay for ourselves and only ourselves or we don’t go.

I think that’s wrong and is taking away a good time for our family because other people outside our family don’t want to pony up.

I’m pretty ready to put my foot down and tell her they pay themselves or they don’t come but I don’t want to be a piece of s**t either, just seems like a lot on us, when it doesn’t need to be.

AITA?

Never Miss a Story

Sign up to get our BEST stories of the week straight to your inbox.

Trying to balance party fun and budget constraints can be tricky, but expecting one family to cover everyone’s entry seems over the top.

Reddit has some mixed opinions on the matter.

This person says OP is NTA.

But this person says he kinda is.

And this person can understand the confusion.

That’s one pricey party dilemma!

When did celebrating birthdays turn into paying for a small army, anyway?

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.