There are several reasons why the holiday season is a happy time of year. It’s a time when friends and family can get together to spend some quality time together, enjoy some delectable food, and give and receive presents. There are countless reasons to enjoy throughout the Christmas season, including dressing warmly and listening to festive music.
Most kids anticipate getting a gift around the holidays, whether it’s a pile of elegantly wrapped presents under the tree, tickets to a new release, or a concert by their favorite band. Every culture and nation has its own traditions and customs, however many nations commemorate this holiday by exchanging gifts.
An eight-child mother’s posting of her family’s holiday custom has gone viral online. Unexpectedly, the parents don’t buy presents for their kids. In September 2021, a mother by the name of Angie Wipf, who was 35 at the time, posted on Instagram to discuss why she initially wanted to start this new tradition as well as how her children have responded. The family’s new normal has been this for the past two years.
Wipf’s film has spread across numerous social media platforms, reaching people all over the world, and has left many people in awe of this family’s unique perspective on how to spend the holidays. Continue reading to learn more about the festive traditions of one Canadian family.
Wipf, a decluttering coach and social media celebrity, has faced criticism for failing to purchase her children Christmas presents. She found herself purchasing more than 40 gifts for her eight children during the holiday season. Not only did maintaining this chore become incredibly expensive, but she also discovered that she was having trouble deciding exactly what to get her children each year.
Wipf consequently felt it was time for a shift. On September 20, 2021, she posted a photo of her family’s two-year-old holiday custom on Instagram. She claimed in her video that even though she doesn’t buy her children Christmas presents, they still become very excited about the holiday and talk about it all year long. Present and upcoming Christmases.
Wipf provided more information in the caption of the video. She penned:
“Two years ago, I modified the Christmas traditions in our household. Due to the abundance of birthdays in the fall and winter as well as two birthdays that fell around Christmas, I experienced clutter. Additionally, I’m not the best at giving gifts. I choose to discontinue my gift-buying.
Instead, Wipf said, she let each child draw the name of one of their siblings and “purchase” a present for that person. Wipf still made the purchase, but she made her children adhere to a strict spending limit and gave them complete discretion over the gifts they chose for their siblings. She clarified that she will likely require her children to contribute once they are old enough to have their own money.
They enjoy what they receive more because there are fewer things available, and they anticipate and wonder who will receive whom throughout the year, according to Wipf. Everyone like it, and it significantly reduced my Christmas stress.
According to Wipf, who was speaking with The Sun, “I just noticed that when kids would open a bunch of presents, they would only notice the one they truly wanted and forget about the rest. It was quite disappointing to witness them forget about and not care about the things. The majority of the gifts were purchased by the family online, with each youngster sitting down with their parents to choose the ideal present. The family intends to switch to in-person shopping in the future, though.
According to reports the mother of eight now only spends $75 on gifts, saving her roughly $700 year as a result. She has been able to intermittently throughout the year utilize that extra money to pay for family visits to the zoo or museum. We spend more time enjoying experiences than buying things, she claimed.
The kids have fully embraced the shift and actually appreciate the new tradition, even though they may not have as many things to open as they formerly did. Wipf provides each child a white sack on Christmas Eve that they may design with washable fabric inks, which makes wrapping presents much simpler.
According to Wipf, who spoke to The Sun, her family has been concentrating on making memories, so they continue to bake cookies, watch holiday movies, and travel to see Christmas light displays.