A mum-of-two has shared the important reason she has chosen not to buy her children any Christmas presents, as she said she wants them to learn that the true meaning of Christmas is making memories with your loved ones.
Makenzy Smith shared in a viral video that she wants her children, aged two and four, to appreciate the value of family around the festive season, so she and her husband have decided not to buy gifts for their kids, and have even chosen to be honest with them about Father Christmas.
The mum stressed in her video that she doesn't judge other parents who do Christmas differently as every family has their own way of navigating the annual holiday, but said the commercialism around Christmas - as well as the "pressure" that buying presents can cause - just isn't for her.
Warning: The below video contains strong language.
In a video posted to her @makenzyksmith account on TikTok, she said: "I am big on Christmas, I f***ing love Christmas, but one of the main things I don't want to do for my kids is I don't want them to think Christmas is all about gifts, so we don't buy gifts for Christmas.
"We watch a lot of Santa Claus movies, but we don't play Santa Claus with the children. It's a story like other kinds of stories that we find magical and exciting, and we will go and sit on Santa's lap for photos, but I don't trick my children into thinking something's real.
"I don't care if people do, like if you're doing Christmas stuff with your kids, my kids know not to say to other kids that Santa's not real, they know that might be something that someone else is interested in or excited about.
"So we don't do gifts, we don't do Santa Claus, but we do a lot of trees and lights and magic and experiences, but I just want my kids to look back on their Christmases and I want them to think about their families surrounding them, these wonderful magical meals together, going and looking at Christmas lights with me and my husband.
"I want to make all of the moments but I don't want to revolve things around gifts. I don't like the pressure of getting everyone gifts."
Makenzy, who is from the US, insisted she doesn't have a blanket ban on gifts for her children, but instead of buying them at a specific time of year, she simply buys things for her kids periodically throughout the year.
The mum-of-two captioned the video: "No judgement to those who do it differently, but I won't let today's Christmas culture pressure me into doing things I don't think are good for my family."
Since posting the clip, Makenzy has turned the comments for her video off, but has responded to some negative feedback in a separate video, in which she said she didn't want to conform to the "consumerism idea" that every holiday in the calendar has to involve spending money.
And although she has received some backlash, many people in the comments of her follow-up clip are in support of her parenting decision, with some suggesting others should "take notes".
One person said: "I think what your doing is great, girl! It's very meaningful and helps with overconsumption. We should all take notes."
While another added: "You are actually a very smart woman, more parents should think this way!"
And a third wrote: "You do you, they're your children, you raise them your way. Good for you!"
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