A thoughtful gift turned into a heated argument when a woman decided to buy a small craft set for her friend’s stepdaughter.

The girl, often overlooked by the adults around her, had formed a bond with the gift-giver over their shared love of arts and crafts.

However, the woman’s husband objected, claiming the gift was unnecessary and a waste of money.

AITA for buying my friends stepdaughter a gift?

I just had an argument with my husband about this and just wanted to know if I’m in the wrong.

For some background, my friend recently had a baby with her boyfriend, and also has a stepdaughter (11f) from his previous relationship, I’ll call the stepdaughter ‘Eve’, who stays with them every other weekend.

I’ve met Eve a few times, and she’s a sweet girl. She’s quiet and shy, but is also creative and tries to join in and interact with others. She likes talking to me because I also like arts and crafts, and I try to make a real effort in asking about how’s she’s been, and she likes showing me her drawings and latest creations.

What a lovely relationship.

Unfortunately, when she comes over the adults tend to ignore her or talk to her for 30 seconds then stop. Which is why she likes talking to me so much.

Eve is also having some trouble adjusting to having a new sibling. She used to have her own room at her dad’s house (2 bedroom), but it’s now been turned into a nursery for the baby with a loft bed for her when she stays over, so she now shares with the baby.

She’s also made comments that the baby had “replaced” her, and that everyone loves the baby more than her. I’ve told my friend about this, but she just said Eve is being a “brat” and will get over it eventually.

Well that’s not right.

Before anyone says anything, Eve loves the baby. She knows it’s not their fault, and is just trying to adjust to the new normal. My friend also tries with Eve, but she’s started that pre-teen phase where she occasionally pushes back against her parents and my friend.

I went shopping for Christmas gifts with my husband, and saw a small craft set that I thought Eve would like. It wasn’t expensive, so I put it in the trolley.

My husband asked who it was for, and when I said Eve, he started arguing with me in the middle of the shop.

He said Eve had nothing to do with me and that it was a waste of money. That it was a stupid thing to do and her parents should get her gifts, not me.

What’s so “stupid” about kindness?

I argued that I think it’s unfair to give 1 child a gift and not the other, that I know Eve, and that it’s none of his business who I buy gifts for with my own money. He kept arguing with me, so I just said I wanted to go home and put all the gifts back because I didn’t want to do gift shopping anymore. He got angry with me for over reacting and we went home.

Am I in the wrong?

I know Eve isn’t my responsibility, but I feel Christmas is for kids, and thought I was doing something nice. The gift cost less than £15, we have separate accounts and both make decent money.

No one on Reddit thought buying a gift for a child was unreasonable…

This person has a lot of questions.

This person thinks Hubs is a bit mean.

This person has a good point on why to buy presents anyhow.

A craft set for a kid or a recipe for marital drama?

Hmmmm…

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