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He claims he has no money for Christmas gifts—but has plenty for himself.
By John Sundholm — Written on Dec 27, 2022
A woman is at odds with her dad after calling him a "bad parent" because of his Christmas gift-giving.
In a post to the subreddit "r/AmItheA--hole" (AITA), where users try to figure out if they were wrong or not in an argument, she described how the conflict came about.
In her Reddit post, the woman described how her father decided to "cancel Christmas" because "he couldn't afford it this year."
But a few weeks later she walked into her father's room and saw a brand-new Sony PlayStation 5.
The woman explained that her father has been in a difficult financial situation lately due to recently switching jobs.
She offered to handle the Christmas dinner for the family and told her dad not to worry about anything else.
She writes that she "spent all of the money I had to buy presents" for her younger siblings and nieces and nephews, so that at least the kids "would have something to open on Christmas."
She even bought her dad a Christmas tree and decorations. But when she went to drop them off, she got quite a surprise—"when I walked in he was in his room setting up a ps5."
Understandably, the Redditor was "confused" by the sight, especially since her father seemed "very excited to show it off."
She confronted him about it, sparking a huge argument in which she "told him that he was a bad parent and that he is selfish and childish."
He countered that "he can do what he wants with his money," and that he didn't need to get his kids gifts because "he bought one of my brothers a pair of shoes a few weeks ago" and his 15-year-old daughter "is too old for gifts."
Her father also has children aged 12, 10, 6, 3, and 2, however, who she says "deserve a better Christmas than just what I can provide."
After their blow-up, she wondered if she had crossed a line by calling her dad a "bad parent."
But most people agreed that her father was the one in the wrong in this situation.
One commenter was in disbelief, writing, "so he has money for his shiny toy buy not for his children? Sounds childish and selfish to me."
And "bad parent" certainly seemed to be how most commenters felt, like one Redditor who also has a father who is similarly irresponsible with money.
The commenter wrote about her father who "bought two expensive power boats for himself (over 100k total) because he needed 'motivation to work'," but refused to pay for her children's college and blamed their lack of money on his wife.
Another was shocked by the woman's father thinking that buying shoes for his kid amounted to a gift.
They wrote, "you are supposed to put shoes on your kids' feet...You don't get a medal or a cookie for doing what you are 'supposed to do.' WTH?"
As for solutions to the woman's problem, one commenter had an idea sure to teach her farther a lesson.
"Take all the gifts back home and have Christmas at your place, sounds like he's going to be busy with his games anyway and probably won't care."
And several Redditors felt like the woman's father seemed not to understand what parenting means.
One summed it up perfectly: "As a parent you need to put your children’s needs above yours and sometimes it stings."
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.