'Save your money': Mum says parents should skip 'new' Xmas tradition

"Why would you do this for young kids and even babies?"

Laura Aubsson

3 min read

November 21, 2024 - 10:15AM

Parenting

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Every year a Christmas tradition sneaks up on me I knew nothing about until I had kids.

Those without children mightn’t even know it exists, because it's relatively new.

But on December 1, in homes around the country, kids wake up to a box filled with gifts, under the tree.

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December 1st box TikTok craze

The December 1st box is given to kids to kick off the holiday season. For some, it is a bundle of items they would have purchased during December, like ornaments and matching pyjamas.

While others go big, with a tower of summer clothes, plush toys, different craft activities and kitchenware – some for babies as young as five months.

As the oversharing of hauls grows, so has the division between parents on social media, with one mum telling parents to “save your money” from activities you’ll put in the bin.

“You can save your money”

One TikTok user has called out the consumerism, calling on parents to reign it in.

“I'm going to hold your hand when I say this, your kids don’t need a first of December box... Putting the Christmas tree up is enough,” TikTok user @Taylacespedes says of pre-Christmas gifts.

“They don't need another crappy f**king plate with a Santa on it, or a cup, or Christmas activity they are going to do for two minutes and then it’s going to go in the bin."

“They don’t need it. I promise you; you can save your money.”

She clarifies she is a big fan of Christmas traditions but feels for parents who are burdened by what they see online.

“I do Advent Calendars, we do the matching pyjamas, but we don’t do a first of December box,” she says.

“If you’re a mum that does it, good on you, amazing… but this is a reminder to the mums… who might not have the funds to do so… you don’t need to. Your children will still have a magical Christmas.”

Image: TikTok @taylacespedes

Another Aussie mum asked in a Facebook group, “anyone else not do the following? Or just me? 1st December Box, Elf on a Shelf and Christmas Eve Box.”

One mum replied, “Each to their own but presents are for Christmas day … this is an expensive extravagance I don't have the time or money for.”

A second commented, “we just decorate. I can't afford these new trends.”

The Dec 1 box made by @belinda.519. Image: TikTok

“Stop shaming mums”

Other mums have defended the tradition, suggesting people who don’t like it delete social media apps.

A mum on TikTok, Amelie, said she knew her overstuffed boxes for her three kids, “looks like a lot of stuff” but she reused items, and shopped clearance for her aprons, painting activities, pillowcases and Crocs jibbetz.

An influencer, Bronte, known as The Mindful Mumma, was quick to shut down the shaming of mums.

“I have been seeing a little bit of hate on this app against mums for doing Christmas and December boxes,” she starts a TikTok video.

“You need to remember; everybody does what works for them. Whether it is dependent on morals, or their budget… there is no need to spread hate, or shame mums for what they do and don’t do for their kids.

“How your children feel about you, is not based on if you give them a December box… But if you want to… f**king do it.

“If I want to spoil my kids, I’m going to fucking do it…If you are feeling guilty, or triggered, unfollow those creators… or maybe TikTok isn’t the app for you.”

After being flooding with comments on her own December 1st box video, TikTok mum, Mikaela Ladocki, had to remind her followers to “calm down”.

“Let everyone do their own thing. If you want to go overboard at Christmas – go for it,” she captioned a response video. “If you don't want to do all the extra "stuff" - then don’t.

“What someone else does will never take away from how much your baby loves you.

“The beauty of motherhood is that there are no rules.”