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Last Christmas, my teenage daughter didn’t write out her Christmas list like I kept asking her to do. Instead, she sent me an adorable and quirky video containing photos of the items she wanted, accompanied by notes revealing the specifics (“these in pink, but if they’re out of pink, black is cool”) and video clips of herself. She included a “thank you for stopping by my Christmas list” slide, too, and I was instructed to text the video to her grandparents, aunt, and anyone else who might be getting her a gift.
The idea was cute, I thought at the time, marinating on Gen Z’s inventive nature. But it was also practical. I could easily forward the list to everyone who asked about what she wanted for Christmas, and there would be virtually zero confusion about which pair of Crocs to buy, or which style of jeans (wide leg, obviously—skinny jeans are over, I hear). But I didn’t realize until this year, as I was scrolling through TikTok, that video lists were being played in other houses, too.
In 2023, the trend has really picked up steam. On TikTok, there are hundreds of posts tagged “ChristmasWishList,” along with “inspo” posts of items to add to your own lists. And if kids aren’t sharing their lists, their impressed—or annoyed—parents are. Posts show children sitting their parents down for a family meeting in the living room, then treating them to a PowerPoint presentation. In a clip shared by her mother, one young girl prefaced her slideshow with an on-screen disclaimer: “Please don’t get mad at me. I get good grades. I do not expect all of this.”
Similar disclaimers appear in many of the popular videos. And honestly, they make sense, because these days it seems like many kids are asking for a ton of pricey presents in their video presentations. From Lululemon jackets to Nike kicks that are anything but cheap, the cutesy video wish lists come with big expectations.
Commenters have been quick to call out the absurdity of some of the kids’ requests as being “entitled.” Still, it’s not hard to see why they’re asking for so much—they’re essentially overwhelmed with their favorite products on social media, where influencers flaunt Stanley water bottles and Taylor Swift merch. Suddenly, uber-expensive swag starts to look like standard must-haves, which leaves some parents with the task of telling their kids that the video lists are starting to remind them of an episode of MTV’s Cribs.
Today, it’s more true than ever that kids’ perceptions are shaped by more than just their neighbors and classmates. Children’s worlds, and their wish lists, get a lot bigger when they spend so much time on social media looking at people’s lives that probably look nothing like their own. While their video presentations might be practical, the price points might be the opposite—but hopefully, parents can reign in the madness before Christmas morning.
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