“I love spoiling my kids in the festive season and I work damn hard to make sure it is every bit as amazing as it can be,” the 27-year-old mother, from England’s Isle of Man, wrote on Facebook after an Instagram photo of her family’s Christmas tree — packed with 300 gifts for her and her husband’s daughters 13 and 9, and son, 19 months — went viral.The views she scored weren’t from admirers, though. The photo caught fire on Facebook when someone posted it last week with a caption condemning Tapping for the lavish display. “Nearly time for all the materialistic parents to compete and broadcast how many presents their kids have on Facebook!!” reads the rant, shared widely by media and radio station Facebook pages. “Just remember there’s some children who don’t get much!”
Critics immediately commented on the image declaring Tapping “delusional” and “bragging.” Haters described the mountain of presents as “ridiculous” and possibly damaging to her “spoilt” children. “[Her kids] will have no appreciation for little things in life,” slammed one writer.
“I was shocked how judgmental people were,” Tapping told British talk show This Morning on Thursday. “My attitude is what I buy my kids is my business, no one else’s.” Christmas, the mother continued, “to me is about kids and it is the one day you can spoil your kids. I don’t care if you have got [$1] or a million in the bank, make it what you can make it.”
Emma Tapping (right) appeared on This Morning via Skype (Photo: ITV)
Tapping revealed that she bargain hunts for the holidays starting in January each year and never pays retail. “I love the fact I can work hard all year to give my kids and my family this kind of Christmas,” the vacation property manager added. “It is what we have always done and what we will continue to do.”
As for the effect her lavish gift giving will have on her kids, Tapping isn’t sweating it. “They could have two presents and still be a little terror,” she said. “My kids know the difference between right and wrong [and] they appreciate everything they get.”
Credits: Emma Tapping, Skype, Facebook, Yahoo News