Holiday gift giving is supposed to spread joy, not spark fears of favoritism.

One concerned parent watched their children receive noticeably less from their grandparents than their cousins year after year, all under the justification that they “already have enough.”

But when the parent quietly tried to even the scales, it sparked a family conflict that dulled the Christmas spirit.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITA for buying nicer gifts for my kids?

Every year, my parents give my siblings’ kids better gifts because, according to them, my kids have everything they want and need, which is true.

But my kids still feel upset and feel like their cousins are favored.

So this parent has decided to take it upon themselves to even the scales.

I will never ask someone for more gifts or money, and if I want to provide something for my kids, I do it myself.

So this year, we wanted to buy scooters for the kids and figured we could pretend it’s a gift from my parents.

But their parents weren’t a fan of this plan.

My parents, however, refuse to give them to my kids, saying the gifts they bought for the other kids aren’t as nice.

This wasn’t a problem when my kids were the ones getting less nice gifts, though.

This parent can’t understand why they’re unwilling to play along.

I don’t see why this is such a problem.

I mean, I’m not taking anything away from the other kids.

AITA?

In this parent’s eyes, the issue wasn’t the scooters, it was the double standard.

What did Reddit think?

At this point, this parent should just be honest with their kids.

This commenter doesn’t think there’s any need to get the other kids involved at all.

This commenter thinks the parent’s bad attitude is the biggest culprit here.

On the other hand, maybe the grandparent’s gift buying habits really are problematic.

It may just be easier to buy the scooters and not worry so much about who gets the credit.

After all, these kids need to learn that Christmas isn’t all about getting gifts.

If you liked that story, check out this post about a group of employees who got together and why working from home was a good financial decision.