Hi there! Welcome to IPS. As an advice: I would definitely explain the pros and cons of having such a reaction because that kind of attitude might backfire badly. Very badly. And very quickly. So OP may as well be aware, don't you think? That would also prevent your answer from attracting DV and CV (even if I didn't). — OldPadawan 47 secs ago

@EmC why did you delete my comment? It was critique to this answer (I cannot -1 yet) which only states what they think could work (which did not for me). Unfortunately, I didn't find a solution, I just failed using this one. — Iris 1 min ago

Have you tried "Maybe you shouldn't go and let people mourn in peace?". — SZCZERZO KŁY 1 min ago

whole-heartedly agree going into any detailed explanation of why this date didn't work for you is generally a recipe for disaster — BKlassen 44 secs ago

This seems to be a good answer when directly addressing the person who asked. But OP asked about a parent saying that to a 3rd party. Not sure you can deal with it that way though... — OldPadawan 1 min ago

1. As a native born Brit, I don't know where you get the idea that we don't say "Happy New Year" after 25th December! I would certainly do so a) at a New Year's Eve party b) the first time I met someone in the new year provided it was early in the new year. (I am not sure how early, but end of January feels late.) — Martin Bonner supports Monica 11 secs ago

I agree, though I do think that there are very few things that justify ending a date within the first 2 minutes. It's easy (especially on reddit) for people to argue that "oh you're just saving everyone some time by ending it quickly," but that does have to be balanced with giving people a chance t show themselves. — pip install Monica 2 mins ago

Thanks for clarifying ;) — OldPadawan 2 mins ago

This is very interesting, thank you! — ConfusedHuman 16 secs ago