Your XH is a bonehead, so not to make excuses for him, but I have yet to meet a dad who can keep up with the kids' schedules.
Momboss and I had talked about getting Princess a Halloween costume, so I bought her a Minnie dress at the
Disney Store and put it on the table so they could look at it. In a separate conversation I talked to Dadboss about a Christmas dress for Princess. I bought 3 formal dresses and hung them in her closet so Momboss could choose one (she was out of town when I bought them). Well, Dadboss saw the Minnie dress and thought it was her Christmas dress. He didn't ask me about it though, because he didn't want to hurt my feelings by telling me he didn't like the dress for Christmas.

I can't imagine why he wouldn't want her to wear a dress with big polka dots and black sequins to the formal dinner at his parents' house.

Momboss finally realized what he thought and she pulled out the Christmas dresses for him to see. Now he feels much better.