Social etiquette advice needed please
Hi all. This is very much a grey area and I really don't know the correct etiquette for this situation.
Last night was my husbands work Christmas party. It was an informal BBQ at his boss's home. It was pre-arranged last week that the wives would each bring 2 salads and 1 dessert. The boss also told the wives to keep their supermarket receipts for re-imbursement for the cost of the food by the company. The boss was paying for the bbq meat and alcohol from the company's petty cash.
Hubby and I caught a taxi to the party. There was a massive amount of food left over, with only about 30% eaten. On leaving at the end of the night, the taxi arrived earlier than expected and I told the hostess we would be back tomorrow to pick up our salad bowls.
On our return the next day to pick up our things, the boss's wife handed me back all the bowls - empty. She had kept all the left-over food for themselves. Also the boss said he wouldn't be able to re-imburse us for the cost of what we brought, as he'd spent all the budget on the meat and drinks.
Am I justified in feeling just a little used? I'm thinking that all the workers contributed financially to the party, the boss used the petty cash to pay for some, and then the boss and his wife kept what was left. This is not the first time this has happened.
Just curious about others opinions?