Mom Judged For Buying Christmas Gifts For Her 4 Kids On A $100 Budget
The mom-of-four insisted that she was strictly thrifting for Christmas presents this year.
BearFotos | Shutterstock With the holiday season approaching, many people, especially parents, are preparing to shell out money for their kids' Christmas gifts. Given the cost-of-living crisis, which is very real and affecting thousands upon thousands of Americans, holiday shopping is a bit more complex. Parents still want to give their kids a magical experience, but they also don't want to spend an unnecessary amount of money.
Such was the case for a mom named Jade, who insisted in a TikTok video that she refused to put herself into debt this Christmas season. Because of that, she came up with a budget for her four children's Christmas gifts, much to the criticism of viewers who claimed it wasn't enough.
A mom was judged for buying Christmas gifts for her 4 kids on a $100 budget.
"We have budgeted $100 for Christmas for four children. Is that insane? Probably," Jade began in her video. "We really wanna go on a nice vacation next year, and I feel like with how expensive everything is, you almost can't have both, and we would rather travel."
Jade explained that because she wants to go on a family vacation next year, she's turning to the thrift store and shopping secondhand for her kids' Christmas gifts. After taking a trip to the thrift store, Jade showed off some of the gifts that she managed to find.
Some of the gifts she found included an alphabet set that would go to either her 4-year-old or 2-year-old, a jewelry box for her 10-year-old that plays music and has a ballerina who spins around when you open it, some books, and even some clothes that were still in pretty good condition. All in all, she only spent close to $15 on all of the thrifted gifts, meaning she still has a good amount of money left over to find other things.
While Jade's decision to thrift for gifts this year was definitely a good financial choice, she still got a bunch of criticism in the comments. Many people pointed out that she had all year to save for gifts, while others argued that people need to stop having kids if they can't afford to provide these meaningful Christmas moments.
Frankly, Christmas presents shouldn't even be about the money at all. The whole point of Christmas is to spend time with your loved ones and make these cherished memories, which can still be achieved when you've thrifted for gifts. She's still making sure her kids have presents under the tree, and she's doing it in a way that makes sense for her family.
Many holiday shoppers plan to spend frugally this year.
Tina_photo | Shutterstock
According to a survey from Gallup, consumers are expected to spend an average of $1,007 on gifts this season. Americans in households earning less than $50,000 now expect to spend $651 on holiday gifts, down more than $100 from last year’s $776.
During last year's Christmas shopping, a survey from LendingTree found that holiday debt reached alarming new heights. An estimated 35% of Americans took on holiday debt in 2022, about the same percentage as last year (36%). But the average debt jumped to $1,549, up 24% from last year’s $1,249.
Prices are high, and that means people are incredibly stressed about the amount of money they're spending this holiday season. The least we can do is have some understanding and, more importantly, some empathy.
All parents everywhere are doing their best to ensure they can still provide a good, memorable experience for their kids, and the last thing they need are strangers on the internet claiming they're not doing it right.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
