Aunt blindsided when her SIL pressures her to buy an extra concert ticket for her niece for Christmas so she can tag along on their mother-daughter bonding trip: 'I just want this to be me and [my daughter]'

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Dec 25, 2025 4:00 PM EST

Christmas is an expensive time of the year. 

With familial obligations and mountains of gifts piling up under the tree, it's no wonder overused credit cards start to steam in the fresh wintery air. For this aunt, a businesswoman whose husband ran his own company, money wasn't usually the issue during the holiday season; it was the family's expectations. Knowing that they had a successful branch in their family tree, the holiday season turned into a generous time of the year, but in a rather one-sided way. While nobody should ever feel the burning heat of guilt and pressure when imagining the gifts underneath the tree, this woman's sister-in-law felt no shame in it. 

Squeezing out a few crocodile tears over the phone, this mom tried to swindle her sister-in-law into giving an expensive gift to her niece, all because she didn't feel like forking out the cash to get her own kid something special. As if piggybacking off of her gift for her own daughter wasn't bad enough, she expected her to front the costs and derail her mother-daughter bonding trip in the process. 

'Tis the season of giving for some, but for this sister-in-law, 'twas the season of taking. 

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  • Gift giving can be such a fun experience, so it's frustrating when something so pure and wholesome gets ruined for selfish reasons. Although money is oftentimes an issue when it comes to gifts and presents, a good gift doesn't necessarily have to be expensive; it just needs to be thoughtful. Understandably, gift giving can be challenging for many people, and it's a talent that not many possess. However, when you show that you care about someone, sometimes that's the greatest gift of all. 

    For this family, gifts became all about the price tag, measuring wealth against one another, and the sheer volume of wrapped boxes under the tree. But that's not the reason for the season, and this mom wasn't about to let the thoughtful gift she purchased for her daughter get stolen, especially by the likes of her sister-in-law, who clearly hadn't thought about her niece's Christmas experience for longer than 3 seconds.

  • Mother and her teenaged daughter spending quality time together.
    via Pablo Merchan

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • AITA for not buying my niece a concert ticket for Christmas?
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  • Hi, I need a quick judgement, since theres still tickets available on the website. So in addition to our regular presents we've gotten our daughter a ticket to a concert happening on the 30th. I'm going too, primarily
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  • because I need to take her, but also I like that band's music and I want to go with her it'll be a nice experience.
    via Neat_Copy_7062
  • Mother and her teenaged daughter spending quality time together.
    via Pablo Merchan

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Today, my sister in law (my husband's sister) called me and asked what we were doing on New Year's Eve (we're having a Christmas family dinner as it is). I said
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  • I'm not sure I'll probably be super tired from the drive back(the concert is on the 30th and so we're staying there overnight before driving back) and told her
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  • we'd gotten our daughter a surprise concert ticket. She seemed a bit disappointed and said her daughter would have loved to go too, asked if tickets were available, I said I
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  • didn't know, and she reiterated her daughter would have loved to go too. I hate saying it, and please don't take this the wrong way but my husband has his
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  • business and I'm a working professional too, and our daughter is an only child, so I understand the difference in spending constraints.
    via Neat_Copy_7062
  • Anyway we hung up later and I felt terrible. I looked it up and there are still tickets available. But also if I get her a ticket for her with the confirmation wrapped up like I'm doing for my daughter,
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  • and give it to her to be opened at the dinner, my husband's brother's daughter would then be the one feeling left out. So AITA for not buying her a concert ticket?
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  • Edit: To clarify I meant if I get my niece the ticket I'd have to give it to her at dinner in front of my other niece. The gifts we're getting our daughter will be opened by her on Christmas morning.
    via Neat_Copy_7062
  • Edit: Thought about it some more after reading the comments and I'm not going to do it. It just won't be the kind of experience I wanted
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  • us to have if I do. And I really do adore my nieces and its not even really about the cost I just want this to be me and her. Thank you for the help!
    via Neat_Copy_7062
  • KiriYogi NTA- are your daughter and her cousins particularly close? Do they bond over the music? Yes- it might suck that your niece can't go, but frankly her parents could also buy the ticket. She asked if there were more instead of looking it up. If you're going to get tickets for one niece- then get for the other too. But also realize that this is setting the precedent- that you will be expected to provide other nice things for your nieces- so plan to be guilt tripped about vacations, a car, a
    via KiriYogi
  • OP Neat_Copy_7062 Yeah, both my nieces and my daughter have a couple of years between them, and they are close, they do enjoy each other's company. And yeah thats the thing I just can't get it for only one neice right?
    via Neat_Copy_7062
  • PsyOrg Gotta be honest I hope you take the time with your kid, 3 years till college feels sooo close to me. But Im invested now Did you decide what your going to do?
    via PsyOrg
  • OP Neat_Copy_7062 I'm not going to do it. It just won't be the kind of experience I wanted us to have if I do. And I really do adore my nieces and its not even really about the cost | just want this to be me and her.
    via Neat_Copy_7062
  • throwawayboomer27 Girl no this is a gift for your child, if her daughter would've loved to go she could've saved up. NTA.
    via throwawayboomer27
  • StarCaptain7733 NTA, your sister in law expecting you to buy her daughter a concert ticket out of nowhere is crazy
    via StarCaptain7733
  • Historical_Carpet262 NTA. Tell your SIL if she ends up buying tickets for her and her daughter to let you know and you'd love to meet up at the concert. Then you aren't excluding anyone but you also aren't taking on any additional burden besides coordinating a meetup. Which again, should be inside the concert.
    via Historical_Carpet262

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christmas family drama mother gift niece aunt family daughter mom entitled people
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