I’m a single mum & took my Christmas tree down as I’ll have nothing for the kids to open – folk say it’s a pity party
THERE’S no doubt that being a single parent is difficult, especially around this time of year.
But one single mum has been slammed for cancelling Christmas altogether because she has no presents for her children.
Erica, from the US, took to social media as she got rid of her Christmas tree.
She said: “Take my Christmas tree down with me because there’s no point, my kids don’t have anything to open under my tree for Christmas morning.”
In the clip, she began to remove the decorations hanging on the tree as her toddler looked on.
She added that she didn’t need sympathy but wanted to highlight what a single mum go through.
Despite working full-time she said she made barely enough to make ends meet, let alone buy presents.
She went on to ask people to watch the whole video and to follow her so she could get on the TikTok creator fund to boost her income.
TikTok bosses say: “The funds that each creator can earn are worked out by a combination of factors – including the number of views and the authenticity of those views, the level of engagement on the content, as well as making sure content is in line with our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.
No two creators or videos are the same, and there is no limit to the different kinds of content we will support with the fund.
“The Creator Fund total varies daily and is dependent on the amount of videos published by our community that day – so this will fluctuate based on the amount of content being published.”
While her kids played around in the front room the mum took the Christmas tree and put it back in storage.
She captioned the post: “This one is for the single mummas.”
The clip went viral on her TikTok account @electricerica with over 2 million views and 55k likes.
Plenty of parents were quick to take to the comments including single mums, who claimed Erica was just throwing herself a ‘pity party’.
One person wrote: “When you finish your pity party, but the tree back up for your kids to enjoy and make homemade gifts for one another.”
How to save money on Christmas shopping
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save money on your Christmas shopping.
Limit the amount of presents – buying presents for all your family and friends can cost a bomb.
Instead, why not organise a Secret Santa between your inner circles so you’re not having to buy multiple presents.
Plan ahead – if you’ve got the stamina and budget, it’s worth buying your Christmas presents for the following year in the January sales.
Make sure you shop around for the best deals by using price comparison sites so you’re not forking out more than you should though.
Buy in Boxing Day sales – some retailers start their main Christmas sales early so you can actually snap up a bargain before December 25.
Delivery may cost you a bit more, but it can be worth it if the savings are decent.
Shop via outlet stores – you can save loads of money shopping via outlet stores like Amazon Warehouse or Office Offcuts.
They work by selling returned or slightly damaged products at a discounted rate, but usually any wear and tear is minor.
Another commented: “I shopped at the dollar tree this year, took my 2 month old door dashing to make it happen. Don’t say you can’t, because you can. You just didn’t want too.”
“As a single mum I definitely don’t understand. My kids love having the Christmas tree up whether there are presents or not!” penned a third.
Meanwhile a fourth said: “Single mom here and I DO NOT RELATE! I will always put a Christmas tree up! Because presents are NOT the reason for the season! There is a lot more to do with them like bake, watch movies, hot chocolate.”
“This is only about you what you’re doing right now,” claimed a fifth.
Someone else added: “Single mum of 4 here, Christmas is the same date every single year. You have a year to prepare, there’s no excuse! Doesn’t have to be big or expensive just something for our babies to open. People these days expect to post a video and have a bunch of strangers buy everything for them.”
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