AITAH for refusing to let my cousin’s kids come to my Halloween party because they ruined last year’s party?

A Reddit user (21F) hosted a Halloween party the previous year that turned chaotic when her cousin Jenna (32F) insisted on bringing her two kids (6M and 9F), despite the event being mostly for adults. The kids caused disruptions, broke decorations, and ultimately drove some guests away, ruining the atmosphere the user had worked hard to create.

This year, she decided to have an adults-only party and clearly stated this in the invitations. However, when Jenna asked to bring her kids again, claiming they had fun last year, the user refused, explaining her need for a different vibe.

Jenna reacted negatively, calling her mean and threatening not to attend if her kids weren’t invited. The user is now questioning whether she is being unreasonable for wanting to exclude the kids after last year’s experience. Read the original story below for more details.

‘ AITAH for refusing to let my cousin’s kids come to my Halloween party because they ruined last year’s party?’

So last year, I (21F) hosted a Halloween party at my house. It was a mix of adults and a few kids because my cousin “Jenna” (32F) insisted on bringing her two kids (6M and 9F) despite me saying it was mostly an adult event. I didn’t want to cause drama, so I let her bring them.

Well, it turned into a disaster. The kids were running around all night, knocking things over, messing with the decorations, and even breaking a few things. The 6-year-old threw a tantrum when he didn’t win a game, and the 9-year-old dumped candy all over the floor when she didn’t like her costume.

It was chaos. Several people left early because the vibe was just off with all the kid drama, and I didn’t enjoy the party I had spent weeks planning. This year, I’m planning another Halloween party, and I made it clear that it’s adults-only. I even put it on the invitations that the event is 18+.

Well, Jenna reached out a few days ago and asked if she could bring her kids again, saying they “had so much fun last year” and that they’d be “better this time.” I told her no, explaining that last year was really stressful and this time I want it to be just for adults.

Jenna got really upset and said I was “being mean” by excluding her kids and that it wasn’t fair to punish them for being kids. I explained again that I just want a different vibe this year, but she’s still mad, saying I’m being rude and making her feel unwelcome.

Now she’s threatening not to come at all unless the kids are invited. I honestly don’t care if she doesn’t come, but some of my family thinks I’m being harsh, saying it’s just a Halloween party and that I should let it go.

My husband is 100% on my side, though, and agrees that it’s our party and we should set the rules. So, AITAH for telling her she can’t bring her kids after what happened last year?.

Take a look at the comments from fellow users:

RevolutionaryDiet686 −  NTA Stop inviting Jenna so this will not be a problem.

According-Kiwi6403 −  NTA; your party, your rules. it’s entirely normal to want a party with no kids, especially when you had such a hard time with them prior. your cousin can get a babysitter or stay home.

EnvironmentOk5610 −  NTA. But mentally get yourself ready for her to just show up with the kids. Since you have family members pressuring you, I think she’ll count on you giving in. Maybe make 2 to-go bags with treats and put them by the door so you can hand them over the threshold & say “This is a grown ups party, bye guys, have fun trick or treating!” and just close the door on them.

MohawkJones69 −  NTA. She wants to go to your party because it’s more fun than whatever kid-appropriate s**t her kids have going on, but she doesn’t want to pay a babysitter so she can go without them.

Time-Improvement6653 −  She belongs at a kids’ party with her kids, making macaroni art with guests of equal social awareness. 🙄 NTA.

Accomplished-Emu-591 −  Uninvite your cousin. Don’t use silly comments like it doesn’t fit the vibe. Tell her straight up it is an adult party for practicing adults. You are absolutely right to make it child free. Listen to your husband.

It IS your party and you get to set the rules. Tell everyone the children won’t be there this time. Tell the flying monkeys they are free to have a party for Jenna’s mini monsters at their house.

Terrible_Unit_7931 −  NTA. It’s an adult party. End of story. None of the activities or events planned are geared towards kids so they are going to be bored anyway. And being bored is probably why they acted out last year.

Your cousin is right that they are just being kids, and as the PARENT of those kids she should freaking know better. She is just too cheap or lazy to get a sitter and wants to get some free babysitting where she can ignore her kids and enjoy the party.

phyrsis −  NTA, but why on earth did you invite her this year?

shammy_dammy −  You invited her again? Why?

TeacherWithOpinions −  NTA. When the hell did everything start having to be kid friendly? When my brother and I were kids mom and dad would often leave us at grandma or auntie’s house so they could go out and do adult things.

It was never an issue. We were told directly ‘this is for adults only, see you tomorrow morning’ and that was it. Kids do not belong everywhere and adults – even parents of babies – need adult time.