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Video of husband realizing his wife's stocking went unfilled for 10 years has moms talking

What was meant as a joke felt all too real to moms responsible for creating holiday magic.

@whataboutaub/TikTok

It took ten years for a husband to realize his wife received and empty stocking every year

Back in 2021, wife and mom Aubree Jones posted a video to her TikTok that she thought would provide a relatable chuckle among other moms.

Instead, other moms found it heartbreaking.

In the clip, titled “PSA for husbands everywhere,” Aubree’s husband, Josh, is filming their family unwrapping presents on Christmas morning. He goes around to each of the family members’ stockings, until he comes upon an empty one.

“Whose is this?” Josh asks. “Is this an extra one?”

Aubree answers, “No, that’s mine,” with a smile.

Josh then asks why the stocking is empty, to which Aubree quips, “I don’t know. Santa didn’t come for me.”

“It took him 10 years to notice it’s been empty this whole time,” Aubree captioned, adding “your wife’s stocking is your responsibility."

Considering Aubree meant for the video to be a “lighthearted thing to show what moms go through," as she told TODAY.com, she was totally taken aback by the visceral, negative reactions to it.

Many noted it wasn’t just Josh’s act of forgetting to fill his wife’s stocking that was hurtful, but then simply laughing it off after realizing the neglect.

“She laughs. But I knew inside it hurt,”the top comment read.

Another person wrote, “all of us women felt that in our stomach. It hurt.”

@whataboutaub It took him 10 years to notice it’s been empty this whole time. @Josh Jones #marriedlife #marriage #husbandsoftiktok #fail #ohno #christmas #psa #pregnant ♬ Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee

Here are a few more:

“I got a bit teary.. you can tell there is some pain behind the ‘that’s mine.’”

"The little girl in her felt so left out."

“Not just the lack of gifts. The lack of thought…”

“Believe me, she wanted to cry, not laugh.”

"This is a good example that mom does all the stuff and nobody notices."

"I would’ve been divorced.

"This literally broke my heart."

Though Aubree assured TODAY.com that her marriage dynamic was nowhere near as unhealthy as the video made it seem (she even went so far so to send a follow-up video showing how he actually did give her thoughtful Christmas gifts) her video highlighted a sad reality many moms face during the holidays.

When creating all the magic of the season—the decor, the gifts, the foods, the social plans, the outfits for the Christmas card, coming up with bigger and better Elf on the Shelf position etc., etc, etc., etc., etc., all the etc. 's—fall solely on their shoulders, many moms are robbed of the chance to actually enjoy it themselves.

So much has improved in terms of marriage equality, but it would be naive to think that there aren’t still ways that moms are often expected to pull off herculean feats in order for their families to enjoy the fruits of their labor, all the while juggling multiple other responsibilities, and still not fully being seen.

If moms are moving heaven and earth to make sure their families feel loved this holiday season, let’s make sure we are doing the same for them. The way everyone gets some Christmas joy.


This article originally appeared on 12.21.23

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Joy

7th graders are asked what 30-year-olds want for Christmas and their answers are hysterical

Who doesn't love soup?

@7thgradechronicles/TikTok

According to 7th graders, 30-year-olds want soup for Christmas.

Seventh grade teacher Mr. Frakes routinely asks his students to give their observations on various aspects of adulthood to post on his TikTok.—everything from “things parents love to say” to reactions to old school songs to guessing the “worst parts about adulting." The answers are always hilarious…if not a little brutal to us olds.

His Christmas edition is no different. Recently Mr. Frakes asked his students “what do you buy someone in their 30s for the holidays?” And the adults who saw the video can’t help but commend the accuracy.

The list is as follows, verbatim.

“Measuring cups…bwahaha.”“

"Signs that say ‘Bless The Home.’”

“A Dyson vacuum.”

“A bottle of wine and hip implants.”

“Panera bread gift card. People in their 30s love soup!”

“Bingo cards.”

“You give them Bath & Body Works stuff. That’s what my mom wants!”

“Expensive meats.”

“Hard Candies.”

“Candy Crush Premium.”

“You get them old people candles that smell like ‘home’ or ‘back then.’”

“T.J. Maxx gift card.”

“The wrinkle creams.”

“Heated blanket cause their muscles be hurtin.”

“A coffee mug that says ‘don’t talk to me til I’ve had my coffee’ because they’re all coffee obsessed millennials.”

“A lawyer for the divorce attorney. (fight for the kids).”

@7thgradechronicles Its me. I’m 30s. 😂🫣😬#teachersoftiktok #teacher #teacherlife #teachertok #middleschool #middleschoolteacher #middleschoolteacher #middleschoollife #dyson #panerabread #tjmaxx ♬ Holly Jolly Christmas - Michael Bublé

Obviously, adults who saw this joked about feeling personally attacked. But also seen.

Case and point: one person wrote, “Okay the ‘they’re all coffee obsessed millennials’ was personal” as another admitted, “I watched this while drinking coffee out of my ‘dont’ talk to me til I’ve had my coffee’ mug.”

Meanwhile, another added, “ But are they wrong? Because I honestly love soup and candles. I’m 36.”

Echoing that sentiment, someone commented, “not me thinking all those gifts sound amazing.”

And of course, everyone was eyeing that Dyson vacuum.

Growing older might mean muscles that “be hurtin’” and some judgement from the younger generation, but it clearly also comes with a deep felt appreciation for the simple, practical things in life, as indicated by this list. Nothing wrong with that.

(After all, the young ones might balk now, but it won’t be long til they become coffee obsessed as well.)

May we all get a bit of holiday joy this year, in whatever form we can.

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Joy

SNL hilariously nailed reality for parents with its Macy's holiday ad spoof

This is the realest fake ad ever.

Saturday Night Live/YouTube

Saturday Night Live's fake Macy's ad is all too real for parents.

The holidays are supposed to be a magical and cozy time of joy and togetherness, when families gather for annual Christmas card photos and dress up for holiday events, with everything feeling merry and bright…right?

Tell that to parents trying to wrangle their little cherubs into scratchy sweaters, uncomfortable dress pants and inexplicably difficult-to-put-on snow boots.

The ideal vs. the reality of the holiday season is the premise of an Saturday Night Live spoof ad that aired in 2019 and is making the rounds on social media. It starts as a normal Macy's holiday sale commercial would—seriously merry and bright—then devolves into a hilarious representation of the behind-the-scenes reality parents deal with every year.

"Tis the season for wrestling your wiggly little monster into thick winter clothes," a woman says in an upbeat, sing-songy tone, before announcing sale prices on "hard, shiny shoes that hurt" and "holiday rompers she'll never get off in time."

Watch how SNL nails it:

"The romper one is real. I damn near had to get cut out of one of them things," wrote one commenter on TikTok.

"Now that I'm the parent of a young child, this made my night," wrote another.

"The couple arguing about the boots is the most relatable thing," shared another. "Nothing tests a marriage more than getting your kids ready to leave for something."

"'You don't wear jeans to church' is ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND PERCENT my dad," shared another.

Several commenters loved how the little girl was laughing while the parents were arguing over the boots, which others had to go back and watch again to catch.

"Clothes they'll hate create the memories you'll love." That about sums up dressing kids up for the holidays, doesn't it? Fabulous job on this one, SNL.

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Family

Mom isn't sure whether her Christmas regifting gift hack makes her 'terrible' or a 'genius'

"My kids are spoiled."

via Olia Danilevich/Pexels and Elizabethacting/TikTok

Elizabeth wants to know if she's "terrible" or a "genius."

While it is lovely to have friends and family members give your children toys for holidays and birthdays, they can pile up and take over entire rooms of the house. Plus, many parents are mindful of their kids having too many playthings because they don’t want them to be spoiled.

Elizabeth, an actress and popular TikTokker, accidentally came across a Christmas regifting hack that prevents toy pile-up and she’s not sure whether it makes her the hero or the villain in her story.

“I'm doing something super controversial for my kids’ birthday and Christmas presents this year,” she said in a post with over 1.5 million views. “Half of me is like, 'You're a terrible person, you're crossing the line,' and the other half is like, 'You are a literal genius.'"

For her daughter's recent birthday, she received "a lot" of gifts from the 10 kids at her party, parents, their friends and relatives. After Elizabeth’s daughter opened them, they wrote “thank you cards” to everyone who gave them gifts and then the mom took half of the presents and hid them in a bin in the basement.

@elizabethacting

Whats your take? #christmasgiftingideas #christmasgifting2022 #christmasgiftsforkids #kidsgifting #contreversialopinions

The gifts were mixed in with items they had bought for the daughter that they found on sale to give her later, whether for her birthday or Christmas. It was an easy way for the family to save money and make her daughter’s big days less stressful for everyone involved.

Now, with the gifts all mixed in the same bin, Elizabeth and her husband have no idea what they bought their daughter and which toys she received on her birthday. "I don't remember," Elizabeth admits.

"I'm gonna wrap up this gift and put 'from mom and dad,' and it might not be from us,” she said while holding up a puzzle. “What do you think? Does this make me a terrible person, or is this such a genius gifting hack for kids who just get way too much?"

She then positioned her decision as a way to avoid giving her kids too many gifts.

"My kids are spoiled; they get everything; they have way too many gifts,” Elizabeth said. “I'm trying to do less this year while still making it a magical Christmas. It's a very fine line!"

Is Elizabeth right or wrong to put her and her husband's names on gifts that someone else bought? What if her daughter realizes she’s getting gifts she received her birthday?

The commenters overwhelmingly supported Elizabeth and her husband’s “hack,” especially when living in economically uncertain times.

"I think if she hasn’t asked where anything is, then she doesn’t remember," C wrote. "In this economy, a win is a win," Ava Rae Wilson added.

Evidently, a lot of parents knew all about the regifting hack.

"My sisters have been doing this for years, but instead she will just grab the presents before her kid opens them and hide them for Christmas," Gigi Russo wrote. "My husband and I do the same thing. Our girl is 7 and she has never remembered seeing one of the gifts before," Kels added.

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