Mum-of-three who last year splashed out £1,500 on her children’s gifts is spending even MORE this Christmas

MANY will remember mum-of-three Emma Tapping, who caused a media storm last year after posting a photo of her Christmas tree swamped by a tower of presents.

The 36-year-old from the Isle of Man was accused of ‘abusing’ her children after the social media snap went viral.

Now Emma and her family are the stars of a new Channel 5 documentary – Xmas Excess: Parents Splash The Cash - and she reveals 2016's present mountain is even BIGGER.

Last year Emma bought around 300 gifts for her three kids Mia, 14, Ella, ten, and baby Tatum, splashing out around £1,500.

And she hasn’t let the backlash she received put her off going overboard again this festive season - she told The Sun she's bought 350 gifts and spent £2,000.

Emma explains: “What I love about Christmas is the magic of it, and it’s family time for me, it’s about being with my loved ones and I love seeing their faces when I give them gifts.

“I do go overboard at Christmas, definitely. It’s loads of pressies, loads of food, stuffing your face and just relaxing, having a good old day.

“I think they had about 85 presents each last year. This year they’ve got about 96 each, so they’ve got a few more bits.”

While the average Brit purchases 14 presents in the run-up to Christmas, Emma buys around 300 - so many her Christmas tree has yet again almost disappeared under the mountain of gifts.

She joked: “It’s a bit like Jenga – if you pull the wrong one out you might lose a child for a few hours.”

Speaking about last year’s social media storm and the hurtful backlash she received, Emma explained: “A friend of mine tagged me in the picture and was like, ‘Isn’t this your tree?’

“I didn’t think anything of it, and then within a couple of days it had been shared 100,000 times.”

“I’d gone from being a normal mum to being in the papers, being talked about, being on TV.

“If you ask me do I spoil my kids, I would say at Christmas yeah I do, but I don’t spoil them throughout the year.

“They get their necessities, their school uniforms, the things that they need, but we don’t go on holidays abroad, they don’t go on big shopping sprees – anything they want they get it for Christmas.”

“When it first happened I felt like I had to stick up for the kids. I felt like I had to justify what I was doing.

“Now I couldn’t give a toss what anyone thinks. It’s not going to change the way I do things, and if they don’t like it, it’s a good job I’m not their mum.”

Part of the documentary was filmed last year, shortly after Emma’s photo went viral.

It follows the family in the run-up to Christmas, where the thrifty mum reveals how she keeps track of everything she buys.

Emma told how she numbers each gift and writes down what everything is.

She explains: “I like the girls to have exactly the same, even if it’s not the same money-wise, I like them to have the same amount.

“Mia’s up to 87, and I’ve got two more to wrap.”

Emma also does Christmas Eve bags every year - and that night Santa adds an extra sack of gifts to the bulging pile under the tree.

On Christmas morning, once the kids get underway opening up the presents, the room descends into chaos.

Emma jokes: “You can’t see the floor for presents and wrapping.”

Reflecting on the whirlwind few weeks last December, Emma recalls: “For all that’s been said about us and what we’ve been through, this morning made it all worth it.

“Just seeing their little faces, and everyone was happy – it was great.”