We all love giving presents at Christmas and we don’t mind spoiling the ones we love for just one day.
But, of course, Christmas is also a lesson in kindness, caring, family and gratitude.
Which is why this mum has shaken the internet after posting a picture of her Christmas tree which, due to the massive heap of presents in front of it, you can only see the top of.
A British mom criticized for a picture showing her family’s Christmas tree nearly buried under a mountain of presents has fired back at those who have called her too materialistic and said her children are spoiled.
Emma Tapping, 35, a mother of three from Isle of Man, posted a picture on Instagram Dec. 3 showing about 300 presents piled high enough to nearly obscure the tree.
When asked how many gifts each child received, Emma stated that each of her girls gets around 85 apiece, while her son gets about 30. That’s nearly one present per day for three months for her daughters, and one per day for one month for her son. Wow! But not all those gifts were for her kids, however; some actually went to her husband, too.
The photo was tagged on Facebook Dec. 7 and was shared more than 100,000 times with a message about “materialistic parents” showing off how many presents their children are getting.
Some of the criticism Emma faced called her out for spoiling her children,
and pointed out that she could have made donations to charity. Others wondered about what types of lessons she was teaching her kids about money and helping others. And some resorted to calling her disgusting or abusive. Her response? Very simple: “It’s my money.”
Emma, however, disagrees completely.
‘You can buy your children two presents or 200 but it is the way you bring them up. They could have two presents and still be a little terror,’ Emma told This Morning.
Emma emphasises the point that her family are ‘not rich at all’ and that she started this year’s Christmas shopping in last year’s Boxing Day sales.
Tapping had a strong response to those saying she missed the point of the holidays and made an ostentatious display while some can barely afford anything for Christmas.
“I LOVE christmas (sic) I LOVE spoiling my kids in the festive season and I work damn hard to make sure it is every bit as amazing as it can be,” she wrote on Facebook before issuing an expletive-laden kiss-off to those “judgmental” people.
Emma also made a point that she can spend it how she pleases, as she earns and saves every penny of it without outside aid. She said because of that, people shouldn’t judge what she does for her family. We can’t exactly fault her for that.
So, let’s fast forward to this year. What do you think Emma’s been up to this Christmas?
If you guessed even bigger, then you’ve guessed right! According to a story with the Huffington Post UK, the stockpile is a whopping 350 gifts for 2016. A new year of Emma’s Facebook posts has of course brought a new year of internet opinions, but she is defending her position:
“Another year of my family making me proud every day. They deserve a great Christmas. The haters will hate but nothing and no one will change how I do Christmas.”
To find out what she buys and how much she spends, check out Emma in the video below. Even if you don’t agree with her methods, you can still marvel at all the time it took to wrap those gifts individually. Sheesh! What do you think of this parent’s Christmas spirit? Are you a “hater” hating or a neutral Nelly? Tell us in the comments!
Source:tiphero.com, goodhousekeeping.com, today.com