Christmas presents: Tiktok mum gets abuse for setting £100 budget for each child

A mum was trolled for spending just £100 budget on each child's Christmas presents - but says she doesn’t want to 'over spoil' them.

Samantha Mary, 35, decided to set a budget for main presents and stocking gifts for this Christmas for her one-year-old son, Jack, and nine-year-old step-daughter, Isabella.

She spent £20 on stocking presents – filling them with items including scrunchies, car toys, and shower gel – and £80 on main presents. She bought her son a railway set and toys for his kitchen set and found her step-daughter an art set and Lilo and Stitch vest and pants.

The mum said some parents on TikTok labelled her presents as “essentials” not gifts. But Samantha says they are things she knows her children will love and doesn’t want to “spoil” them.

Samantha, a primary school teacher from Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, said: “We thought about how much we wanted to spend. I felt £100 was a realistic figure. Christmas is getting out of control. There is pressure to do Christmas Eve boxes and elf on the shelf.

“It gets bigger and bigger. We want the children to be grateful for what they have. Less is more. We don’t want to over-spoil the children.”