Dear Prudence,
Yesterday was my son’s birthday. On Saturday, I took him and two friends to a preseason pro football game, including a tailgate before the game and pizza afterward, as his birthday gift. When my ex-husband heard about the football game, he declared that I hadn’t given our son “a real gift,” as in something tangible to open. He apparently talked all day about how I’d ruined our son’s birthday by not giving him a proper gift. When my son got home, he was upset about not having received a real gift from me to open for his birthday. When I reminded him that his gift was an awesome experience watching his favorite team win a ball game, he got upset that his dad had made him get upset with me. What do I do now?
—How to Fix a Kid’s Ruined Birthday?