Mom refuses to change her daughter's costume at kid's princess-themed birthday party, sparks debate

Kid parties are no joke. These are the first opportunities for social engagement for children. Therefore, parents try their level best to put their best foot forward. This is exactly what u/ThrwayAurorasMom wanted to do when her daughter was invited to a princess-themed birthday party. Her daughter's name was Aurora and the mother felt she would feel more comfortable wearing her favorite princess' dress on the occasion of her friend's birthday. The moment they reached the venue, the mother realized that the costume might have been somewhat of a popular choice. The mother, though was not disappointed, as no one's feelings were hurt. Therefore, when she received a request from the birthday girl's mom to get her daughter out of the costume, she refused. 

This has led to a raging conflict, as the other mother did not take this kindly. Receiving contrasting reactions to her decisions, the mother came to Reddit to gain some clarity. Though the mother and her partner never named their daughter in honor of Princess Aurora from 'Sleeping Beauty,' the character eventually meant a lot to them. She wrote, "Ever since my daughter realized that she shared names with a Disney character, Princess Aurora has been her favorite." Therefore, when they received an invitation for a princess theme birthday, the choice was obvious. They already had a Princess Aurora costume in stock, which the daughter adored.

The moment the pair entered the party, they were welcomed by the birthday girl. To the mother's shock, both she and her daughter were wearing the same costume. But she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that the birthday girl was excited at this coincidence. The mother added, "She said that they looked like twins. It was adorable. They ran off to play and I forgot about the costumes for a while." Everything was going smoothly until the birthday girl's mother decided to intervene.

She came and asked the mother "to change my daughter into the spare clothes and out of her costume." Her reasoning was that it was her daughter's birthday and she had hired a photographer who was to take a group picture at the end. Therefore, she wanted her daughter's dress to stand out and be special. The woman also added that having the same dress as her friend may incite jealousy in the birthday girl, which she didn't want on the occasion of her birthday. Aurora's mother did not find the reason to be authentic. The birthday girl was "genuinely excited" and this just seemed like an excuse for the woman to get her way. Hence, she flat-out refused. The woman continued to pester, but other mothers came in support, which led her to back out. The rest of the party was a piece of cake and everyone enjoyed their hearts out.

A few days later, both women met each other and the conflict reignited. Aurora's mother was accused of ruining the party because of the costume mix-up and the woman informed her that she would never be able to look at the photographs happily because of the memories attached to them. It reached the mom group chat, where they both were members and people were taking different sides.

The comment section was on Aurora and her mother's side. u/theworldisonfire8377 commented that if the birthday girl's mother wanted things a particular way she should have informed her prior to the party, "If she was so insistent that no one else be dressed as Aurora, why wouldn't she specify that when she sent out invites? NTA, it sounds to me like another example of a mom wanting her little angel to be the only special one. I mean, I get that it's the kid's birthday party. But it was a princess party. Your daughter dressed up as a princess. If there was nothing indicated not to dress as that specific princess, then you did nothing wrong. This is on that mother and her own expectations."

u/pensaha wrote how the situation was unnecessarily complicated, "Nothing was known ahead that the mom had such a rule. NTA. And have to wonder if, had there been other princess twins, it was expected no duplicate outfits, period. The woman is the one with the problem. Doesn’t take much to ruin things for such people. Suspect they try to have things set up to be ruined."

In an update, the woman mentioned that the birthday girl's mother manipulated others in the group by telling them that she knew about the costume weeks before the party. Now, most of them are on her side, as they have realized nothing was intentional. The birthday girl and Aurora are still friends, but the former's mother refuses to apologize.