KATIE HIND: The perils (and joys) of having ten nieces and nephews who all think their aunt is a Fairy Godmother

During a phone conversation with my seven-year-old niece Luna three weeks ago, she cleverly maneuvered our conversation toward Christmas—and specifically the topic of presents.

“Aunt Kate, have you ever been to Sephora?” she asked. ‘I went the other day. Dad took me. I loved it.’

She then pulled up a list of expensive Sephora skin care products that she wanted me to buy for her.

Then I heard her older sister, Ruby, in the background suggesting that a £50 voucher to use on the online beauty and make-up store – currently all the rage on TikTok – could be a nice festive gift for them both .

There was then a polite negotiation about the exact amount Aunt Kate would spend.

Since it’s an aunt’s prerogative to spoil her nieces and nephews, I inevitably headed to London’s Westfield shopping center (and one of Sephora’s seven real stores in the country) to buy their gift cards.

Ruby, nine, and Luna are just two of my six nieces and four nephews. Yes, Christmas as an aunt is an expensive affair.

Ottie, six, likes to say to her friends, “My Aunt Kate has a lot of money in her bank account.”

Don’t get me wrong. I love spoiling them all. Nothing makes me happier than buying them birthday and Christmas presents, or, honestly, anything they ask me for.

But this time of year, think about it for those of us aunts, uncles and godparents who are seen as ever-reliable Santa Clauses with bottomless bank accounts.

In addition to Luna, Ruby and Ottie, William, 17, would like some money for new trainers; Harry, 12, and Frankie, ten, look at JD Sports vouchers; Alba, seven, wants a pair of sparkly boots, and I have heard from reliable sources that Jaxon, two, wants a police outfit.

Then there’s little Kitty, who hasn’t made a request yet at age two – but I suspect she’ll have her own wish list in a year or two.

After thirteen-year-old Olivia asked for an expensive mirror as a gift this year, I remembered ten years ago that I once picked her up from kindergarten and heard her say to her teacher, “This is Aunt Katie.” She buys us stuff, so we love her.”

All of this is in stark contrast to my own Christmases as a child, which were much more modest. Back then, kids were reminded that December 25 wasn’t just about presents. I remember being dragged to midnight mass in protest one year – even though we behaved so badly that it didn’t happen again.

Instead of creating gift lists based on what’s popular on TikTok, we’d peruse the Argos catalogue. My favorite gift ever was a Queen’s Park Rangers shell suit.

The contents of our Christmas stockings were scarce, although they always included a satsuma and a chocolate mint. A year ago, a Boyzone CD was released with their first single, a cover of The Osmonds’ hit Love Me For A Reason. I don’t think I stopped playing all day. Hours were spent playing the Game Of Life board game before sitting down to watch Coronation Street and EastEnders.

Another central part of this past Christmas was the seemingly endless phone calls to family members. How different now. There will be countless FaceTime calls this year.

My nieces Olivia, 13, Kitty, two, and Ottie, six, in front of a Christmas tree. At this time of year, aunts, uncles and godparents are seen as ever-reliable Santa Clauses with bottomless bank accounts

I can already imagine my niece Ottie happily telling all her friends about her pile of presents.

Yesterday she called me in advance to tell me she couldn’t wait for me to attend the family gathering this weekend. When she informed me of her plans (we usually play ‘hotels’), she said she and I would share her older sister’s room.

“We’re going to make it a real girls night,” she said.

“We’re doing skin care, makeup, having a feast (before Santa comes) and watching The Grinch,” she told me excitedly.

It brought a tear to my eye. And it almost made me want to buy her another gift.