With Christmas comes the inevitability of Christmas haul videos: videos displaying gifts received on Christmas. Some people love them and find them entertaining. Some are offended, claiming it comes off as bragging. Christmas haul videos are sent privately to friends and family, posted on social media, saved, and more — raising questions about whether they are harmless fun or reflective of a deeper social issue.
Zoe Vecchiato Winemiller, a junior at Berkeley High School, gets Christmas haul videos on her TikTok feed every year. She started making her own in freshman year, because she saw other people doing it on her TikTok feed. “My favorite thing about Christmas hauls is to see what everyone got, and then to see what I got,” Vecchiato Winemiller said. She likes to compare her gifts with her friends, but not in a competitive way. According to Vecchiato Winemiller, gifts can be reflective of one’s interests, and provide opportunity for connection. “I make my Christmas list on Go Wish, and then I make my video after Christmas and I send it to my friends on TikTok,” Vecchiato Winemiller stated.
“I like Christmas hauls because I get to see the joy that gifts give people,” BHS junior Anisa Hackett said, who also likes to make Christmas haul videos. “I like to see the generosity of different people,” she said. Unlike Vecchiato Winemiller, Hackett usually doesn’t post her videos online, she likes to make them so she can look back on them in the future. “I like to make my videos on the camera app, then text them to my friends sometimes,” Hackett said.
Both Hackett and Vecchiato Winemiller get most of their gifts by making a wish list on Go Wish. “My parents usually just get things on my list because it's easier. And then my grandparents usually get whatever they would want,” Vecchiato Winemiller said. “My parents usually get a little bit of a mix, because they'll get me some things I want and they'll get me some books and other things,” Hackett said.
Another junior who gets Christmas haul videos on her TikTok feed is Nadya Landes. “Around December, every other video will be a Christmas haul,” Landes said. She thinks one positive of Christmas hauls is that they're entertaining. “I think they're intriguing to watch, and I like to see what other people get for Christmas.” Landes stated. However, according to Landes, there are more negative aspects to Christmas hauls than positive. “I think that people sometimes come across as bragging, or being ungrateful, especially if they seem wealthy. And then people who are watching who are less wealthy might feel bad,” Landes said.
Vecchiato Winemiller added that Christmas haul videos add to consumerism culture. “It teaches you that you always can have more things,” she said, “It leads to mass consumption, which is bad for the Earth.”