0 1. Both parties are at fault. In fact, there are many possibilities for this matter. Of course, from your point of view, you may unilaterally feel that the mother-in-law and brother-in-law are at fault, and it is really inappropriate for so many people to bring only a small cake. 、
A small cake, divided among a dozen people, is definitely not enough. If there are children, maybe a few children will eat them. If so, then your mother-in-law and brother-in-law must have done it on purpose. Generally, people who know a little about human feelings will not take such a small cake. To put it bluntly, it is stingy, and there is suspicion of coming over for dinner. This is the wrong place and premise of your mother-in-law and brother-in-law
But the world is not black and white. That doesn't mean they are wrong, you are right. You may make mistakes, of course, depending on the specific situation. Since your question is one-sided, please allow me to make a classified guess.
If you are wrong, then there are two situations. In the first case, knowing that your mother-in-law and brother-in-law are coming, you only cooked four dishes. Obviously, you made the same mistake as your mother-in-law and brother-in-law. You are too stingy.
The second is a continuation of the first. If you see these people with such a small cake, you are not satisfied and think they are stingy, so just cook four dishes. Although this can reassure you, it makes people look a little narrow-minded and not atmospheric enough.
Besides, it's good that someone else can come to celebrate your husband's birthday anyway. They are all guests, and it is obviously not good for the host to treat the guests like this. At the same time, you didn't consider your husband. After all, these people are relatives of your husband. If you do this, your husband will be the last one to do so, which will also make your husband lose face.
There's nothing wrong with you. Seeing what I said above, we should all know that both sides may be right as long as we draw inferences. This may be a misunderstanding. Your mother-in-law and brother-in-law only mentioned a cupcake. Maybe there are other reasons, not because she is stingy.
I'll just give you a few other reasons. Is it because they don't eat cakes very much, and you and your family don't like cakes very much, so they think it will be a waste to buy a cake that is too big, so they buy a small cake and waste it unnecessarily? Or this cake is really expensive. Nowadays, the price of cupcakes often depends on the style and materials. Some cupcakes are expensive in raw materials, fashionable and beautiful, and may be expensive.
As for what you said, or which question, you didn't make it clear. If you didn't know they were coming, it was reasonable to cook only four dishes. After all, four dishes can be eaten by your family.
In fact, such a thing depends on how we look at it. Take me for example, if my relatives or friends are like this, I won't feel angry. I will try my best to treat them well, because a cake is just a small problem and not worth my anger. But this is just my personal mentality. If you think it's helpful, you can try it.