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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be furious with DH over party

336 replies

SilverBirchTree · 03/01/2018 10:43

Been with DH for over 4 years and currently in the middle of our first ever fight.

We have 3 month old DS and it’s been a rocky few months. Massive trouble breast feeding, and health scares with the baby including an ER visit. In the same period of time we moved house and we now live in an area that is completely new to me and 30-45 minutes drive from family.

I have been looking forward to having him baptised. I was so worried and unwell myself at the time of his birth, so missed the initial joyful ‘the baby is here’ time. I saw his baptism as the event for me to quietly celebrate my beautiful baby and how far he’s come.

My mother lives down the street from our family church. We’ve had family weddings, funerals, baptisms there for decades. Mum offered to organise the baptism then serve tea and cake at her house afterwards. Perfect.

DH said no. He wanted the baptism to take place in our new community. He made a little speech about how we’re adults and we need to throw our own events, how his parents shouldn’t have to drive so far to get to it etc. He said he’d do most of the work. I very very reluctantly agreed to have it in our new area and host our parents and siblings at our new home.

Once it was booked DH tells me that actually he needs to invite all his aunts, uncles and cousins. A week later he says that tea and cake isn’t enough- it has to be a cooked lunch. And his grandparents are too old to eat on their laps so it has to be a sit down lunch. Plastic cups are no good, we have to rent glasses etc etc etc. meanwhile he has done sweet FA to make it happen. I even had to repeatedly remind him to tell his grandparents the time.

Then at Christmas he took to bed with a migraine. The reason - he is so stressed about the party, he won’t be able to ‘help’ anymore. It’s up to me. Oh, but his mother (a whole other story) will ‘help’ instead.

I’ve spent the week beside myself with stress (made worse by Baby induced lack of sleep). I am furious that he insisted we turn down my mum’s offer to host and then left me high and dry with his family’s demands and the mental load of trying to please them all.

Today I finally cracked and accused him ruining something that was important to me. We had a full argument with raised voices and me crying. He continued to spout his views about hosting our own events like a broken record, seemingly not caring that I’m the one doing to heavy lifting to meet his directives.

He’s now off sulking and probably texting his mother about how mean I am.

AIBU? Any advice on what to do now? I’m new to arguing with a spouse and not sure what happens when neither party is willing to apologise.

OP posts:
steppemum · 03/01/2018 11:37

also, next week make a list of jobs that needed doing, make it as LOOONG as you like,
eg
put away random stuff in lounge
dust lounge
hoover lounge
collect drinks from shop
order sanwiches on-line
collect cake

etc etc. Then as this is all done, make a note next to each item about WHO did it.
make a similar list about clearing up after the party.

next week, sit down with him and show him the list. circle the jobs he did. Let him see how little he did for this party.
Explain your concerns about the traditional wife role, and how at the very first hurdle, that is what happened.

Don't throw that list away. It is the basis for how you negotiate the devision of labour from now on.

SilverBirchTree · 03/01/2018 11:38

@allthegoodusernamesaregone yes- first in 4 Years! It was a real challenge to stay on topic when you have 4 years of annoyances to draw on. I’m just so glad the whole argument came and went without me yelling ‘and BTW your mother is a huge pain in my arse!’ Grin

OP posts:
SilverBirchTree · 03/01/2018 11:40

@nocampinghere inspired! Booking a cleaner now. What a brilliant suggestion, I wish I could buy you a drink!

OP posts:
MammaTJ · 03/01/2018 11:41

If you were inclined to actually provide a hot meal, I would say, stew in a slow cooker, a couple of bags of frozen roast potatoes to stick in the oven when you all get back from church and some chunky rolls to go with it. Job done!

I would actually find that easier than buffet food.

If you are not inclined to do that then tell him he will have to host a rubbish party or sort it out!

ny20005 · 03/01/2018 11:42

He probably did think he'd organise it & probably thought how hard could it be !

As soon as he realised & factored in everything his mother wanted, he cried off with a migraine 🙄

Sit him down & explain that if he wants all of this, he's going to have to arrange it all himself - not his mother

Otherwise, it goes back to family church & tea & cake at your mums

FrivolouslyFancifulFannie · 03/01/2018 11:45

do his side like a drink

is it not as simple as he wants it closer to home so his side can have a party and a drink

tea and cake at your mams after the family church sounded lovely tbh

Wishingandwaiting · 03/01/2018 11:46

Given his behaviour, I’m gob smacked this is your first argument

kaytee87 · 03/01/2018 11:52

God what an arse!! I'm actually gobsmacked at his behaviour.
What exactly is his mother doing to help?

Blackteadrinker77 · 03/01/2018 11:54

Remind him that he sucks at hosting the next time he suggests it.

Enjoy your little ones day x

50ShadesOfEarlGrey · 03/01/2018 11:55

Buttered Parsn1ps has got it right. COOK do fabulous desserts, and superb frozen salads, along with quiches, veggie and meat sausage rolls, and even (the best ever according to my teenagers) slabs of chocolate brownie and millionaires shortbread, which you cut up into tiny pieces. Then order crisps, platters of sandwiches, cheeses, crackers, breads from a supermarket. Or if you are outwith their order dates then approach a local catering company or gastro pub for the sandwiches. Get both lots of parents in early to help. Fizz on sale or return, along with the glasses. Decent paper plates, decent plastic cutlery (Amazon has some fantastic stuff). Then you do a toast to yourself and parents. DH pays the bill and clears up!

RhiannonOHara · 03/01/2018 12:03

A big fear of mine when I got pregnant was that we were going to fall into a pattern of me doing all the traditional ‘wife’ work while on parental leave and that would set a dynamic for our lives.

In the nicest possible way, I think you have. You're looking into sandwich platters, ordering things, and even getting your mum involved asking her for ideas.

Meanwhile he lies on his fucking fainting couch like a southern belle.

My advice would have been to tell him he needs to cancel the party if he can't/won't organise it.

Agerbilatemycardigan · 03/01/2018 12:05

I agree with Cantuccit I think he's testing his boundaries here. He knows that you're tired and vulnerable and should be pleased that your mother is trying to ease some of your pressure. Instead of at least offering a compromise he's just added to your stress levels.

Please don't put up with it. Do whatever's easiest for you at this point.

OMGWTFLMFAO · 03/01/2018 12:07

I find it interesting that he wanted to call all the shots based on not doing things in the traditional manner that you always had done (thus kowtowing to you and your family's wishes). And then made a big fuss about you both standing on your own two feet and hosting it all yourselves.

Because this situation as looks as clear as daylight to me; he's actually kowtowing to his families wishes, isn't he? He's not standing on his own two feet AT ALL! They've complained about you/your mum always organising things so he's "taken over". They've complained about the travelling so he's made it closer for them. They've requested hot food/proper glassware so he's requested it too (but not booked it 🙄). They've demanded that all his aunts and uncles and any distant family are invited so he's just bent over. He texts him mummy to slag you off to her and wants her to save the day, when in reality it will be you saving the day, won't it? And how much money will his folks be chucking at this big party they want? The square root of fuck all I'd imagine.

It looks as clear as daylight to me; he's been getting grief from them, tried to appease them and then realised he can't hack it leaving you to pick up the pieces.

I think you have three choices.

  1. let the whole thing fail. Don't do anything. Tell him it's his problem. After the ceremony, take your baby upstairs and let him explain to guests why there's nothing to eat and nowhere to sit. Yeah you'll get the blame too but at least he knows he won't be able to pull this shit on you again in a crisis of his own making.

  2. book your sarnies and save this party by the skin of its teeth. Don't know what happens afterwards. He'll think he can get you to sort out his shit and you'll still probably be judged by his family for not giving them silver service (fuck what they think however). But at least it's all done and out the way by next week.

  3. cancel it last minute due to "illness" (a neverending migraine is an illness right)?! Hmm Find out when your sis is planning her first visit back here after moving overseas and the rebook everything at your mums church/house to coincide with that visit. If he complains tell him to fuck off. If his family complains, tell them that their precious son kicked off and then failed to actually book anything last time so either they accept this hospitality or fuck off as well.

I don't envy you OP Thanks good luck with whatever you decide. However I suspect this will be the first fight of many if your husband doesn't start backing you over his birth family. Just a hunch.

SilverBirchTree · 03/01/2018 12:07

@Rhiannon yep, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. He runs a whole division of his company but is for some reason incapable of googling ‘sandwich platter’ himself.

Will fetch his smelling salts and see if we can revive the delicate flower

OP posts:
SilverBirchTree · 03/01/2018 12:10

My mum just texted suggesting we order white cake with blue writing that reads:

‘Now eat this then fuck off’

So many good ideas coming in!

OP posts:
RhiannonOHara · 03/01/2018 12:10

PS all those on here with 'helpful' tips about where to source things/how to make things are just enabling him too.

Oldraver · 03/01/2018 12:12

Hang on... this 'migraine' was at Christmas ? What the fuck is he doing now ?

RJnomore1 · 03/01/2018 12:13

Hang on

It's this Sunday? And he's done nothing?

Do you still have to order the cake??? Because even if you wanted to you'll be bloody lucky getting one now.

Please please don't fix this for him.

He never intended to do anything and he's just realised you haven't so he's trying to force your hand.

The baptism can still go ahead.

SilverBirchTree · 03/01/2018 12:13

His mother bizarrely keeps texting me saying she is bringing trays of chicken nuggets and will need the oven. That’s all she is doing, bringing chicken nuggets.

I am a vegetarian BTW, hence her making such a fuss over bringing chicken nuggets, she wants to make sure there is lots of meat at the party. Which I am now throwing. Tempting to make it all vegan just to annoy her but won’t.

OP posts:
SilverBirchTree · 03/01/2018 12:14

@RJ yep this Sunday.

OP posts:
Cantuccit · 03/01/2018 12:15

Tell her to get her son to sort the chicken nuggets.

SilverBirchTree · 03/01/2018 12:15

@Oldraver - the stress of the party caused the migraine. The rationale now being we have to protect him from the party logistics in case he gets another migraine.

OP posts:
timeisnotaline · 03/01/2018 12:16

I like your mum! Tea and cake, disposable plates, no hot food, no sit down except for chairs for the grandparents, do something manageable and no more. And a long talk with your dh. Mine did this once - insisted we host our bridal party for an event 10 years ago. He was all we can just take them out to a nice restaurant, so i had to point out we couldn’t afford it. Ended up being at my place with me doing all the work and he fucked off all day and lied about where he’d been. Massive why would I even marry a selfish man child like you blow up.It was nearly ten years ago and ive never taken on similar again.

Capelin · 03/01/2018 12:17

Your mum sounds ace!

Get through this as best you can OP - it sounds like you’re doing a fab job. But don’t forget the debrief afterwards. Your DH has acted like a complete twat. He needs to acknowledge this, apologise and promise to behave differently another time.

SingSam · 03/01/2018 12:17

LOL at your mum

I'd just call in a caterer. And make sure it goes on his credit card!