That's a mean thing to do, OP. Some kids really do believe it. From what you've written, seems that you haven't told your daughter that Harry Potter books are fiction and aren't real. Meanie head. On my cousin's 11th birthday, she didn't go out, because she wanted to wait for her acceptence letter from Hogwarts. Waited all day. Lol, it's fun to laugh at, but she was totally serious about it...

You know, I'm 16 years old and I love Harry Potter. I would be completely offended if someone did that to me. But, OP, I'm willing to laugh it off. I understand you were just trying to make your kid happy on her birthday. Just know, your daughter isn't going to hate you forever :)

The OP's daughter needs to reread the books for a refresher: • I'm guessing her mother did not write it on parchment or put a wax seal on the front • Since she would be considered muggle born they would have to send someone to explain it to her. • It doesn't have to come exactly on your birthday, it comes around early/mid July. Harry doesn't get it until his birthday but that's because the Dursleys kept him from reading them for weeks until Hagrid ambushed them. Now *if* the HP universe was real: • She would get an acceptance letter from a school of magic in Spain (she would still have the option to go elsewhere, however) • The Ministry of Magic wouldn't let J.K. Rowling write a book series about them, because then every muggle born witch or wizard would overcrowd the place in hopes of having some big magical adventure only to discover it's a plain ol' boarding school (albeit in a magic castle) YDI for giving a child false hope and then crushing it on her birthday. I started reading the books when I was 5 and would describe to my parents with fervor about how I would become a world-famous Quidditch chaser and then retire and custom design top-quality broomsticks for professional Quidditch players. By the time I was 11 I knew it wasn't real but if I had gotten that letter I would have been so incredibly excited. Because the world of Harry Potter, a world where the laws of physics are turned on their head with a wave of a 10 inch unicorn hair Yew wand, where you can eat chocolate frogs that actually move, and where you go to school in a castle filled with secret rooms and passageways, is SO much more appealing than reality and all the limitations that go with it to an 11 year old who fears losing the magic and innocence of childhood as they approach adolescence.

Anyone who calls the eleven year old daughter a retard, obviously hasn't been 11 when the series came out. All of my friends and I share stories of how we wanted to receive a Hogwarts acceptance letter and waited for one when we were young, so I honestly don't blame the daughter. The parent's "gift" was cruel in my opinion. That poor child.

I would've loved that my mom did that for me. That's so sweet, but I definitely would've known Hogwarts wasn't real and would've thought it was a very creative way of saying Happy Birthday.

WOOOOOWWWW. The mom was trying to do something nice for her kid, and everyone has to turn it around and make it seem like she's the antichrist for "lying to children." STFU! I don't think she did anything wrong, and maybe her daughter was just PMSing. It happens. Again, just shut the hell up and laugh!

Aww, I wish my mum would've done that for me - I really wanted to get one of those when I turned 11 too. Although i don't think I would have reacted so strongly to hearing that it was fake - anyway, don't worry, she'll get over it in a few days.

that would be fine if she was 5...

well you did make her think that she got into it! that's sort of a cruel joke to play on your 11 year old especially on her birthday..

I would hope that by the age off 11, a child would be able to tell the difference between what's real and what's fiction. Or was she upset that you wrote it and it wasn't a purchased collector's item? Either way, it's a nice gesture what you did for her...unless you know she thought it was all read, in that case it was mean. I think perhaps though that you should make sure she understands that Hogwarts isn't real...and teach her that it's unacceptable to stomp on anyones foot because she's mad. Good luck as she reaches teenage years!