Moms Show Off Their Family's Christmas Stockings Filled With Goodies — And How The 'Mom' Stocking Is Always Empty
A mom's empty stocking is an example of how she's underappreciated.
Any Lane / Pexels Christmas morning is a time to revel in the sweet joys of family, when parents watch their kids’ faces light up as they go through their stockings and open presents left under the tree. Yet not all gifts are given equally, as revealed by a series of TikTok posts from moms during the holidays.
Moms showed off their family’s Christmas stockings full of goodies — yet their own ‘mom’ stockings were empty.
Moms across TikTok have been sharing their experience of Christmas morning, and judging by the comments, the lack of presents is sadly relatable.
A mother named Belinda Lopez posted a TikTok featuring her family’s mantle, lined with full stockings, except for her own, which sat crumpled and empty. The caption on the post read, “When you are the mom of the family, no one fills up your stocking.”
She punctuated her statement with an emoji crying tears of laughter, only the reality of the oversight doesn’t actually seem like a laughing matter. The hashtags she used her equally telling, including #momlife and #momduties.
Another mom named Lauri Ward shared a TikTok of herself standing by a sparkling Christmas tree, looking disappointed. The text overlaid on her post declared that the “most useless Christmas decoration [is] the mom stocking.”
“It’s the saddest decoration,” echoed another woman in the comments. “Just shows where we rank on the important list.” Someone else commented, "No one ever thinks of mom. She's just part of existence."
Other moms noted that they fill up their own stockings, which could be framed as an example of self-care, yet the act of giving yourself a gift pales when you've worked hard to give the rest of your family what they want, only to be overlooked.
Ward shared another post that touched on the experience of “all moms on Christmas morning.”
She filmed herself checking her family’s stockings, looking excited as she noticed how full they were, until she reached her own stocking, and her face fell. She shook the empty stocking, as though something might appear, yet even Ward noted “Yep, every year” in her caption.
The fact that moms carry the weight of the mental load to keep their households running is well-worn territory by now, yet there’s something markedly melancholic that they’re overlooked, especially during the holiday season.
Moms who work overtime to fulfill everyone’s Christmas wishes having their own wishes ignored captures just how unappreciated their parental labor is.
One unnamed mom commented on the trend of empty mom stockings, saying, “I’ve been married 20 years and my husband has always remembered. Moms work so hard to make Christmas special, let’s not forget them this year.”
She noted that “even a handwritten note goes a long way.” Her comment shed light on what moms really want for the holidays: To feel seen and acknowledged, to be noticed for all they contribute to their families.
Not everyone has the means to give massive gifts at Christmas, yet moms of the world would surely welcome practical support from their family — like help prepping meals or doing chores, or getting a day off to themselves.
The holiday spirit is about love and generosity, which don’t actually cost a thing.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers parenting, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.