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By Lucy Notarantonio
Senior Reporter
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A woman has given TikTok users the "shock of their lives" after finding out that not all parents pay for their children's parties.
Racking up over 883,000 views, Lucky Magezi (@letsjustberealx) explained that her daughters recently received an invitation to a party, but they could only attend if Magezi paid. The party cost £21 ($27) per child, and Magezi says in the video that she was "shocked" but willing to pay.
However, when the 29-year-old mom-of-two from London requested the parent's bank information, she instead received a birthday wish list featuring gifts priced between £30 and £40 ($38 and $51), which was the last straw.
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The hairstylist, who usually spends around £1,000 ($1,287) to celebrate her daughter's birthday, she told Newsweek: "I was enraged to hear the parent was charging."
After considering the costs, Magezi confirmed that her daughters didn't attend the party. During the clip, she states that she would have had to pay for both of her daughters, a present, and a cab, which would have totaled more than £100 ($128).
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She concluded the clip by asking about the unwritten rules of throwing a kid's birthday party. Magezi pointed out that she is happy to foot the bill for her children's friends as long as it is reciprocated when her daughters attend their parties.
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"Despite this experience, it will not change how I throw parties, and I would never feel comfortable charging parents," she said.
With the cost of living still high, research has revealed that British parents are looking at ways to stay within birthday budgets. In September 2023, supermarket retailer Sainsbury's revealed the average parent in the United Kingdom spends £278.70 (about $358) on a birthday party for their child.
Over half (56 percent) of parents find trying to stay within budget to be the most stressful thing about planning a kid's party, and 62 percent said they are considering cooking at home instead of eating out to help save money, according to the study.
However, the clip does not mention dividing the cost with the guests' parents, a topic also absent from the comments section. At the time of writing, the clip has received 88,700 likes and over 5,500 comments.
"My issue is if you CANT afford to pay for your child's birthday party then DONT have it!!" said a comment with 15,800 likes.
"My son is having a bday party for his bday I've paid for the children as I've invited them I thought thats the rules?" asked one TikTok user.
"The cheek. Trust me you been following the rules. She's tryna make new ones," a commenter wrote.
"I've had some years where I can't afford a party for my son and the result of that is ... no party! Would never have the audacity to try and pass that cost on to other parents!!" shared another parent.
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