While it is lovely to have friends and family members give your children toys for holidays and birthdays, they can pile up and take over entire rooms of the house. Plus, many parents are mindful of their kids having too many playthings because they don’t want them to be spoiled.
Elizabeth, an actress and popular TikTokker, accidentally came across a Christmas regifting hack that prevents toy pile-up and she’s not sure whether it makes her the hero or the villain in her story.
“I’m doing something super controversial for my kids’ birthday and Christmas presents this year,” she said in a post with over 1.5 million views. “Half of me is like, ‘You’re a terrible person, you’re crossing the line,’ and the other half is like, ‘You are a literal genius.'”
For her daughter’s recent birthday, she received “a lot” of gifts from the 10 kids at her party, parents, their friends and relatives. After Elizabeth’s daughter opened them, they wrote “thank you cards” to everyone who gave them gifts and then the mom took half of the presents and hid them in a bin in the basement.
@elizabethacting Whats your take? #christmasgiftingideas #christmasgifting2022 #christmasgiftsforkids #kidsgifting #contreversialopinions
The gifts were mixed in with items they had bought for the daughter that they found on sale to give her later, whether for her birthday or Christmas. It was an easy way for the family to save money and make her daughter’s big days less stressful for everyone involved.
Now, with the gifts all mixed in the same bin, Elizabeth and her husband have no idea what they bought their daughter and which toys she received on her birthday. “I don’t remember,” Elizabeth admits.
“I’m gonna wrap up this gift and put ‘from mom and dad,’ and it might not be from us,” she said while holding up a puzzle. “What do you think? Does this make me a terrible person, or is this such a genius gifting hack for kids who just get way too much?”
She then positioned her decision as a way to avoid giving her kids too many gifts.
“My kids are spoiled; they get everything; they have way too many gifts,” Elizabeth said. “I’m trying to do less this year while still making it a magical Christmas. It’s a very fine line!”
Is Elizabeth right or wrong to put her and her husband’s names on gifts that someone else bought? What if her daughter realizes she’s getting gifts she received her birthday?
The commenters overwhelmingly supported Elizabeth and her husband’s “hack,” especially when living in economically uncertain times.
“I think if she hasn’t asked where anything is, then she doesn’t remember,” C wrote. “In this economy, a win is a win,” Ava Rae Wilson added.
Evidently, a lot of parents knew all about the regifting hack.
“My sisters have been doing this for years, but instead she will just grab the presents before her kid opens them and hide them for Christmas,” Gigi Russo wrote. “My husband and I do the same thing. Our girl is 7 and she has never remembered seeing one of the gifts before,” Kels added.