Christmas traditions vary from household to household.
Although millions of us celebrate Christmas annually, our customs differ based on our upbringing and what we’ve chosen to continue into adulthood. Perhaps you have a special Christmas Eve meal each year, or maybe there’s a specific gift you always buy for family members.
Some traditions are considered universal, like leaving milk and mince pies out for Father Christmas or simply enjoying a roast turkey dinner on Christmas Day – but not all families adhere to these customs. One mum has stated that there are certain things she won’t do with her son as he grows older, regardless of how many other families do them.
In a TikTok video, Samantha revealed a few traditions she doesn’t want to follow in her home, but the one that sparked the most conversation was the rule she plans to establish for her son. She explained that since he’s only two years old, he doesn’t yet write a Christmas list for Santa – but when he does, she has a particular rule she intends to implement.
She stated: “When he does write a Christmas list, we will absolutely encourage it and send it off, I think that’s a really nice tradition. But what we will not be doing is buying him every single thing off of his Christmas list.
“We will definitely make sure he has one thing off the list but it’s not going to be everything. He will just be told that Santa has lots of presents to buy for lots of children so you don’t get everything off you list.”
She also revealed she won’t be partaking in the Elf on the Shelf tradition with her kids, stating she doesn’t like the idea of having a “naughty elf” in the house. The mum also expressed her disinterest in the trend of “December boxes” or “Christmas Eve boxes”, arguing they were unnecessary.
However, she clarified that she wasn’t judging anyone who follows these traditions, emphasising that everyone should do what makes them happy.
Commenters on her video largely empathised with her stance on various Christmas customs. Yet, some labelled the single-gift Christmas list as “cruel” questioning the purpose of making her son pen a list for just one item.
One individual remarked: “What’s the point of doing a Christmas list then if they can’t have the things they would like? ” Another chimed in: “This is probably controversial to most people but we personally won’t be telling our son about Santa and all that.”
Other users were quick to clarify to the perplexed commenters that a letter to Santa ought to be seen more as a “list of ideas” rather than an expectation to receive everything written down, particularly when the list includes several high-priced items.