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She refuses to spend money on him.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Dec 20, 2022
With Christmas steadily approaching, adults are already starting to purchase gifts for the younger children in their lives.
It's usually a time of pure excitement for children to run downstairs and look underneath the tree for that special present with their name on it.
One woman, though, explained that her Christmas list is a bit shorter since she isn't buying presents for one particular child in her family.
She refuses to buy her 5-year-old nephew a Christmas gift despite buying gifts for her other nieces and nephews.
In her Reddit post, the woman wrote that she has six siblings in total and is the second oldest.
She and her older brother aren't close and haven't been in contact for the last eight years.
"He lived in another country with his wife and 5-year-old son. This year they moved back to our country," she wrote, adding that her brother usually spends Christmas with his wife's family, and goes to their parent's house the next day when she's not there.
A few years ago, the woman said that she had gotten into a horrendous car accident that left her unable to walk for some time.
Due to the accident, she received a great deal of compensation, which she put into investments, and now has a sizable income because of it.
She explained that because of her income, for the past three years she's bought her nieces and nephews all of their Christmas gifts.
"My siblings give me their letters for Santa and I go all out. I absolutely love seeing them when they open the gifts," she remarked, noting that the creation of a "Santa letter' had been her mother's idea.
She's already received all of the letters and has purchased all of the gifts to give to her nieces and nephews.
"Then last week my mother wanted to give me another letter. She said it's from my nephew from my oldest brother."
While the woman was surprised, she ultimately told her mother that she wouldn't be purchasing any gifts for her nephew.
She pointed out that she barely even knows her nephew, and doesn't want to spend money on a child that is basically a "stranger."
"My parents then told me that we can't single him out. That he would be very sad seeing other kids opening gifts and him not getting anything."
In response, she told her mother that if they care so much, they can purchase his Christmas gifts themselves, which saddened her mother.
Despite her mother begging for her to reconsider, the woman refused, arguing that she's hurt because she's just found out her older brother will be spending Christmas with her and her family.
"Now [my family is] text-bombing me that I'm ruining Christmas. My partner said that maybe we should buy gifts for my nephew. That he is innocent and one more smile won't hurt," she concluded.
Most people who commented on the woman's post agreed that she is in the wrong for not buying her nephew a gift.
"He is a child, you are intentionally singling him out as not worth as much as the others," one user wrote. "You stated that you can afford it so do it. Use this as an opportunity to get to know the kid."
Another user added, "You are wrong to punish a child for an issue you have with your brother. Your parents are wrong to expect you to fully fund another full Christmas for an extra kid after you have already bought all the other gifts."
However, other users pointed out that the woman shouldn't have to buy presents for a child she doesn't know.
"It's not their money to spend the way they want. They are not paying for the rest of the family, if they feel bad about it, they should buy the presents themselves, instead of trying to guilt trip you into it," a third user chimed in.
A fourth user wrote, "you are not responsible for his child, and your mother trying to manipulate you and invalidate your feelings is a red flag…"
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.