42-year-old wife's birthday party facing complications after her sister got mad at her for supposedly not accommodating her husband's nut allergy: 'She went on a complete guilt trip, saying how "surprised and hurt" she was by our lack of consideration'

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My wife is turning 42, and for her birthday, she came up with a fun, low- key idea: our family (me, my wife, our 15-year-old daughter, and our 11-year- old son) would stay home and each build our own themed board charcuterie, fruit, candy, dessert, chocolate, etc. She wanted to include her older sister (SIL) and SIL's fiancé (together 20+ years, engaged for a little over a year), so we invited them to come over and make/bring their own platters too. For context: SIL's fiancé has a severe nut all
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Food served on the table for a birthday dinner.
can be in the same room as them (airborne isn't an issue; I've seen him around nuts at numerous larger family gatherings over the years). My wife's family is of Lebanese descent, so traditional holiday spreads for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter regularly include nuts, and he handles being around those meals just fine. However, whenever the two of them come over to our place, our food options are strictly limited to Domino's or McDonald's because those are the only two places he trusts regar
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My daughter texted them explaining the theme so they knew what to expect, noting that while not everything would have nuts, a few things on our personal platters might contain them or traces of them (like certain chocolates or trail mixes). SIL got very upset, she called my wife to say they won't be attending because we "clearly don't care about potentially putting him in harm's way." She went on a complete guilt trip, saying how "surprised and hurt" she was by our lack of consideration. While s
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that this time they'd rather just take my wife out separately another day and "let us do our thing." Now my wife feels guilty, hurt, and stressed on her own birthday. My daughter also feels bad because she sent the text. I'm angry. This was my wife's idea for her day, in our house. He doesn't have an airborne allergy, they were invited to bring their own safe boards, and nobody was forcing him to eat from ours. I feel like after nearly two decades of catering every single family meal to his rest
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allowed to have the exact birthday dinner she wants in her own home without being guilt-tripped.
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A table full of different foods.
wreck_it_ralph NTA it's your WIFE's birthday If she wanted to slather everything in peanut butter in her house she could. Talk about entitled
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ReversedFrog OK, so that's what the sister thinks. What does the guy with the actual allergy think? She might be getting upset for him, with him not caring one wit. NTA
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letifera NTA. If keeping the platters separate is an option that was offered, it's their choice whether or not to come. I think going out for a separate birthday meal with them is fair, but what makes them TA is the blame- filled text to your young daughter over just one day that your wife wanted to do a theme for (her own birthday!) He could always eat in advance, then come over and participate in just the activity with some safe products. Also, McDonald's is a very interesting choice as a "saf
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in all their restaurants and on their site saying they can't guarantee that there is no cross contamination for allergens. I have a nut allergy and used to be able to eat there, and now I can't any more.
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Used Clock_4627 NTA. Why didn't they just say no thanks? That they appreciated the invite but didn't want to risk it? And just be gracious about it all. An invite isn't a summons.
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ArtVandelay99999 Can you explain why he's comfortable to be in big gatherings where there are dishes with nuts? Does he bring his own food to those gatherings?
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Phnerfable2004 NTA. Allergies s k, but BIL needs to accept that the world does not revolve around him, especially on someone else's birthday. Sometimes if your allergies are that bad you cannot attend every event in life. He and his wife need to learn that and get a grip.
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Warrior_Princess_1 NTA but your sister is. It is your wife's special day, so enjoy is and do not worry about the sister and the fiance - they are behaving poorly.
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Jeffin Vancouver NTA. But I'm curious if SIL explained why this is different than every other time he's been in the presence of nuts at a family function?
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Realistic_History220 Sounds like the sister doesn't like your wife being the center of attention. "We're sorry you won't be able to make it. We hope to see you soon."
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