A MUM has hit back at cruel trolls who slammed her for not buying her kids any toys this Christmas – instead opting for socks and pants.
Samantha Mary, who has a son and a nine-year-old stepdaughter, explained how for her family, Christmas is about so much more than presents – and that's why she's going to be purchasing her kids socks and pants to unwrap on December 25.
But the revelation caused quite the stir online, with the primary school teacher addressing a comment with read: "Pants and socks for Christmas? That's harsh!"
In a clip posted to TikTok (@samanthamary1989), she explains: "I was totally not prepared for the number of comments I got like this, and my mind is, honestly, completely and utterly blown.
"Like, for me, getting pants and socks and stuff like that for Christmas has always been quite normal."
Samantha goes on to point out that her children obviously get socks and pants and vests throughout the year when they need them, too.
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"Yes, they are essentials," she continues.
"The reason I sometimes get little bits like that is just to kind of bulk up the things that they've got to unwrap.
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"And I got those ones in particular because they were Lilo and stitch, and she's obsessed with that, so she will absolutely love them."
"For us, Christmas isn't about spending significant amounts of money, it's about spending a sensible about amount of money having bits to unwrap and it's just like, extra bits to unwrap.
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"That's literally it."
Samantha goes on to point out that she also had loads of comments about the fact that there are no toys.
"Christmas is not all about toys," she explains.
"And if we put this into context here, my stepdaughter has a lot of family.
"She has her mum's family, her dad's family, my husband, my family, her stepdad's family.
"She gets a lot of gifts at Christmas.
"She's incredibly lucky and within that, she will get some toys."
Samantha continues: "We're aware of the kind of things that different relatives are getting, so there's no point overloading the children with toys at Christmas.
"So we've got her other bits that she's kind of requested and those happen not to be toys, but she's 9 years old now.
"As children get older, toys start to become less important to them and other things are more important."
Samantha adds: "She's incredibly crafty, she's really imaginative.
"She's been asking for a new art set for a while, which is why we got that as her main present…by the way, the pants are not her main present.
The baffled mum concludes: "For us, Christmas is about so much more than spending loads of money.
"And to me, it blows my mind that some people spend hundreds of pounds buying their kids Playstations, laptops and all of those things
for Christmas…for me, that's a big no no.
"We have in the past bought big things, but to be honest, we tend to buy that for a birthday.
"Because for me, Christmas is for everybody, and I feel like it's really,
actually unfair and a lot of children from families that can't afford an awful lot.
"So to see other kids getting Apple MacBook Pros and mobile phones…that blows my mind because that to me feels a little bit unfair.
"Christmas for us is about a nice family day, having fun, lots of games.
"It's the build up for Christmas, the putting up the tree, all of those little things."
She captioned the post: "Blown away by how many people were offended by this video!!! Thank you for all the lovely comments. So much appreciated.
"Let’s not put pressure on parents to spend extravagantly on their children at Christmas. Christmas on a budget should be normalised."
It wasn't long before the post went viral, racking up a whopping 40k views and several comments from social media users – with very mixed responses.
"I think it was more the lack of toys as well as the clothes," wrote one.
Samantha replied: "Jeeeeeezzzz I’m sick of hearing this. Not every child wants/needs toys!"
A second penned: "But who wants underwear?"
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A thrid commented: "Toys are not necessary"
However, a fourth argued: "Yes they are. I’m not saying get loads. But toys are a part of being kids."
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