A PREGNANT mum-of-11 has revealed how STRANGERS bought her kids fancy Christmas presents.
Veronica Merritt, from New York, shared the news on her Instagram page.
She previously revealed to Fabulous how she was planning a bigger Christmas than ever before, spending an estimated £4,425 on her brood.
But now she has told how actually - via her Amazon gift wish list - people she has never even met bought her kids lovely goodies.
"Thank you to the amazing follower who got Andrew this gaming chair from our wish list," she said in a video posted on Christmas Day. "Adam got the VR (virtual reality) headset he wanted."
Her Amazon wish list - where members of the public can anonymously buy her and her family items they desire - includes Harry Potter wands and lipgloss.
But not everyone was happy for her.
"Kind of odd and slimy that you rely on us to buy your kids presents, and then attempt to rub it in peoples faces," said one person.
READ MORE REAL LIFE STORIES
But Veronica said she sent love to her fans "and haters".
Veronica, 36, who had her first child at 14, says that she wants to make up for the times when she was struggling for money.
Most read in Fabulous
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, Veronica, who admitted she doesn't use contraception, says: “This year I am in a much better position and have been able to spend a lot more on my kids than I have previously.
“My teens and older children can expect to find gifts worth £525 under the tree while my younger ones will cost me about £150 a piece.
“I am happy to spend the money, there have been years where I have had to sign up for free gift programmes for people who are poor.”
But even when Veronica was strapped for cash she still found ways to give her 11 kids the perfect Christmas.
“Even when I am really struggling for money, I made sure my kids had a fantastic Christmas, even if that meant buying their presents at the charity shop,” she says.
“I have a tendency to shop years in advance and keep presents in storage, I wouldn’t say I am a hoarder so much as I am a saver.
“When you find a good deal on something you’ll never know when you might see it again and you never know when you might have the money.
“That is how I have always been able to provide for my kids throughout the holidays.”
While she’s not religious Veronica is a huge lover of Christmas, and says that she wants to give her children the festivities that she missed out on as a child.
She explains: “As a child my mum didn’t really care about holidays, so I tried to keep all the things I had liked about Christmas and take out anything that I didn’t like.
“When I was younger I didn’t get very many gifts, and those that I did get from my mum were not often things that I wanted.
“My mum would put cans of fruit from the cupboard in our stockings and then once we had opened them tell us to put them back.
“Every year I try to make Christmas better than the year before so this Christmas is going to be the best that they’ve ever had.”
With 11 kids in tow it’s fair to say that Veronica has her hands full when it comes to prepping everything for the big day.
“The wrapping takes an enormous amount of time,” she says.
“I am a horrible procrastinator so there have been occasions where I have been up until 5am on Christmas Eve night wrapping up presents.”
On the big day, the Merrit celebrations are not dissimilar to your typical family-of-four, however, the clear-up is on another level.
Veronica says: “Come Christmas morning, the kids are allowed to open their stockings while they wait for everyone to wake up.
“And then it’s a bit of a free for all, there is no structure to our day whatsoever and our house is left covered in wrapping paper for about two weeks before we finally get it all.
“This year I am planning to put the three trash cans in the living room so we can toss the paper as we go.
“My oldest daughter, who is also expecting, is self conscious and doesn’t like opening presents in front of people, so I bought a tree just for her so that I can put the presents in her room.
“We’ll always sit down and have a big meal with turkey and all the trimmings.
“I don’t like making dinner but I want to make sure that no matter what the kids have those good memories.
“I do like cooking but it is quite stressful trying to get everything ready when I don’t usually have a lot of help.
“I’m hoping that since I am pregnant this year that I might get to put my feet up a little more.”
But while Veronica’s Christmas takes a typically traditional route, there is one tradition she refuses to indulge.
“I have never told my kids that Santa was real because I don’t want to lie to them,” she says.
“If you perpetuate the lie then Christmas will get ruined for your kids when you eventually tell them the truth.”
Expecting her 12th child Veronica is already mum to Victoria, 21, Andrew, 16, Adam, 15, Mara, 13, Dash, 12, Darla, 10, Marvelous, eight, Martalya, six, Amelia, four, Delilah, three, and Donovan, one.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous earlier this year, Veronica explained how she married and then subsequently divorced the father of her eldest two children.
The mum then married second husband Marty, 37, and the couple have gone on to have seven more children. Marty and Veronica are currently going through a divorce.
Veronica, who shares details of her massive family on Instagram and TikTok, says she never uses contraception due to her health conditions.
In more parenting news, this new mum shamed her ex for leaving her for a 16-year-old – but people say SHE’S the ‘trashy’ one.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
And this mum was praised for ‘brilliant’ parenting hack to stop the kids being naughty and all you need is some lolly sticks.
Plus this mum hit back after people slam her for using processed meat in her kids’ sandwiches.