A well-meaning Christmas display at Greensborough Plaza has been spectacularly accused of not supporting local parents in the ongoing struggle of getting children to behave during the festive season. The diorama-style display depicts a typically chaotic Christmas scene, with enough movement and merriment to keep visiting kids entertained while their parents take a quick breather during another demanding trip to the local shopping centre.

However, one aspect of the display has come under fire from local parents, and the outrage is threatening to spiral out of control. Parents have been contacting The Watsonia Bugle all week to highlight the fact that the three stockings individually labelled “Very Nice”, “Nice” and “Naughty”, all appear to have the same quantity of gifts in them.

One anonymous dad has said, “What kind of message is that sending to the kids? I’m spending big hours trying to cultivate a culture of incentivism, and here’s Greensy Plaza basically telling thousands of kids that they can do whatever they want and still get the same amount of presents! It’s like when a magician breaks the code. It’s just not on!”

But not all parents are vehemently against the display, with local mum Lisa Danielson telling us, “It looks like the stockings are different sizes, so the ‘Very Nice’ is getting more. Plus you don’t know what’s in the wrapping paper. When my kids asked me, I just said the ‘Naughty’ stocking had gift-wrapped coal and potatoes. You know, the usual cliched stuff.”

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