Despite the stress that Christmas entails, it is worth it to see the look of excitement on our kids’ faces when they wake up to see what Santa left them.

 

But what if your child didn’t understand what it was all about because of learning difficulties? Or you had to open their presents alone because they couldn’t?

 

Sadly, this is a reality for one mum in Ireland, whose letter to Ryan Tubridy’s RTÉ Radio One show has made us all look at our own Christmases a little differently.

 

The single mum, who has not been named, wrote to the radio show after buying a toddler toy for her 22-year-old son.

 

She writes:

 

"I’m a single parent, I’ve a son with learning difficulties. He would not know Christmas if Santa’s sleigh ran over him. When all I see is happy excited children, and the parents giving out about what they all want, all I think is ‘aren’t you lucky?’. I always had great family Christmas so the tradition is well instilled in me.But will I tell you what I did yesterday? I had to look in the toddlers’ toy department for a noisy yoke that my 22-year-old son might like I’ve been doing this for 22 years. No computers, no games, no books. Just basically a rattle if it makes the right noise."

 

Buying a toy for her son which she opens herself, she continued: 

 

“So I sat here and wrapped a present that I bought for myself from my son, which I will open on my own. Surprise. I even brought a present from my dog to my son. I’m not a poor mouth giving out. Sometimes, well a lot of the time, parents should be thankful for what they have."

 

 

Sharing some very important advice, she finished by writing:

 

“Don’t get into debt over Christmas, be thankful your child will talk to you. Feel lucky that you can enjoy that smile of Santa arriving on Christmas morning. I never had those things with my child. We struggle to get through this time of year but we do."

 

“It’s just a little but harder when you’re on your own. Christmas day is not really our day. But the pressure to have the Christmas day which is sold to us in the movies and the ads is too much pressure.”

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