‘Tis the season to spread joy and show your loved ones how much they mean to you. How do you do that? With Christmas gifts, of course! The best one that I have ever received is a subscription to a library near my house, and the bookworm within me went gaga!
Speaking of Christmas gifts, Reddit user No-Elevator3324 simply can't afford to give them to almost 40 of her relatives this year as she is struggling with a financial crisis. However, they were deaf to her protests, so she said she would gift everyone ramen noodles, which irked them like crazy.
More info: Reddit
Gifts are also part of the Christmas spirit as you can make the people you love happy by giving them one
Image credits: Thirdman / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The poster can no longer afford to give gifts to almost 40 of her close family members like she had every other year, as money was a little tight for her this time around
Image credits: No-Elevator3324
Image credits: kues1 / Freepik (not the actual photo)
In the past, she has tried to protest over it and suggested an alternative, but they have always brushed her off
Image credits: No-Elevator3324
Image credits: Gera Cejas / Pexels (not the actual photo)
When they ignored her protest this year, she said she would gift them all ramen noodles, which angered them so much that they removed her from the group
Image credits: No-Elevator3324
She is sad that she can't give her child a big Christmas like every other year but also doesn't care what her family thinks as they removed her from the group
In today’s story, the original poster (OP) is the mom of a 4-year-old boy, and she just got her first apartment after saving for four years while working three jobs. Wow, what a determined young lady! Although her hard work finally paid off, she’s now in a pretty tight spot and can’t really afford to buy Christmas presents for her almost 40 close relatives like every other year.
According to a 2023 study by LendingTree, the nationwide average for the cost of raising a child in the US is $21,681 per year. Research also shows that house prices in the US recorded the biggest annual increase in 35 years with a 20.6% rise in 2022.
No wonder the woman is experiencing a financial crisis—and she’s a single mother. In the past, she has tried to come up with an alternative, like Secret Santa, but they wanted to do a gift exchange later on which didn’t really work for her.
This year as well, she asked that she be left out of all of it, but they simply refused to listen to her. Their reason was that it was “only $5,” but she tells us that actually, the limit comes to around $100, which honestly sounds absurd.
According to the National Retail Federation, American consumers spend an average of $997.73 on gifts and other holiday items each Christmas. Meanwhile, a report states that over 60% of the average American’s holiday budget is dedicated to gifts and presents. Woah! That’s a lot of money that the poster just cannot indulge in.
Image credits: RDNE Stock project / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Well, fed up with their ignorance, she posted in the family group that she would just be gifting everyone ramen noodles and that they should tell her which flavor they wanted or she would simply give them one of her choice. Lo and behold, in just moments, she was removed from the group!
She also received texts from her family calling her names for her suggestion. They said that she should’ve simply kept quiet and not said anything at all, but she was put in a tough spot and didn’t know what else to do.
She also told us that she didn’t really care what they thought about her anymore because she was really sad that she couldn’t give her son a big Christmas like she had every year. Many people online suggested joining sale and discount groups, an idea she liked and said she would give a try.
In general, folks found her entitled family unreasonable as they had a lack of empathy for her situation. Some folks even came up with hilarious suggestions for things she could’ve used as “gifts” for her family, like "coal" and whatnot.
When people asked her how she managed last year, she replied that she had been buying the gifts since July, which did not put a lot of financial pressure on her at the last minute. Looks like she couldn’t do that this year due to the money invested in the new apartment.
Many people advised OP to talk with her family and see if they would listen, and she commented that she would give it a try. If you were in her shoes, what would you have done? Feel free to jot down your thoughts in the comments below!
Folks online were surprised by how entitled her family was to think that she could afford gifts every year; they suggested multiple solutions to cheer her up
