According to 7th graders, 30-year-olds want soup for Christmas.
As a kid, we want fun stuff for Christmas—and we can't fathom a day where we'll grow up and starting asking for boring things like vacuums and new dish towels. But the day inevitably comes when your wish list changes. As we get older, way may want video games, make up or skincare, clothes, or whatever water bottle all the kids are using (anything to fit in, right?) But even still, it's almost impossible to wrap your head around the mindset of a true grown up. Sweaters? Gift cards to Home Goods? Candles? Boooooooring!
Seventh grade teacher Mr. Frakes routinely asks his students to give their observations on various aspects of adulthood to post on his TikTok—everything from “things parents love to say” to reactions to old school songs to guessing the “worst parts about adulting." The answers are always hilarious…if not a little brutal to us olds. His Christmas edition from 2023 is no different.
Middle schoolersCanva Photos
Mr. Frakes asked his students, “What do you buy someone in their 30s for the holidays?” And the adults who saw the video can’t help but commend the accuracy.
Frakes had the kids write their ideas on green sticky notes and edited together a TikTok video showing them all in succession. The list is as follows, verbatim:
“Measuring cups…bwahaha.”“
"Signs that say ‘Bless The Home.’”
“A Dyson vacuum.”
“A bottle of wine and hip implants.”
“Panera bread gift card. People in their 30s love soup!”
“Bingo cards.”
“You give them Bath & Body Works stuff. That’s what my mom wants!”
“Expensive meats.”
“Hard Candies.”
“Candy Crush Premium.”
“You get them old people candles that smell like ‘home’ or ‘back then.’”
“T.J. Maxx gift card.”
“The wrinkle creams.”
“Heated blanket cause their muscles be hurtin.”
“A coffee mug that says ‘don’t talk to me til I’ve had my coffee’ because they’re all coffee obsessed millennials.”
“A lawyer for the divorce attorney. (fight for the kids).”
The entire video is a worth a watch:
@7thgradechronicles Its me. I’m 30s. 😂🫣😬#teachersoftiktok #teacher #teacherlife #teachertok #middleschool #middleschoolteacher #middleschoolteacher #middleschoollife #dyson #panerabread #tjmaxx
Obviously, adults who saw this joked about feeling personally attacked. But also seen.
Case in point: one person wrote, “Okay the ‘they’re all coffee obsessed millennials’ was personal” as another admitted, “I watched this while drinking coffee out of my ‘don't talk to me til I’ve had my coffee’ mug.”
Hip implants? Hard candies? How old do these kids think 30 is?! Probably the most upsetting thing about the list, however, is how accurate most of it is.
Another user added, “But are they wrong? Because I honestly love soup and candles. I’m 36.”
Echoing that sentiment, someone commented, “not me thinking all those gifts sound amazing.”
Even Mr. Frakes himself responded saying, "I would be happy with most of these."
Millennial woman happily eating soup. Canva Photos
And of course, everyone was eyeing that Dyson vacuum. That is a legitimately good gift and the kids need to step off. They also have a lot of nerve teasing us for "the wrinkle creams" when every 10-year-old girl is obsessed with skincare and Ulta. But, hey, we're Millennials—we can take a little good-natured ribbing.
Millennials can take a good-natured ribbing. Canva Photos
Growing older might mean muscles that “be hurtin’” and some judgement from the younger generation, but it clearly also comes with a deep felt appreciation for the simple, practical things in life, as indicated by this list. And there's nothing wrong with that.
(After all, the young ones might balk now, but it won’t be long 'til they become coffee obsessed as well. After all, time waits for no one.)
But maybe this can be a wake-up call, or just some gentle inspiration, for all us to find a little more fun in the holidays and all year round. We might really want that heated blanket, but maybe we can also ask for our family or spouse to surprise us with a fun adventure, a new game, or just something that'll make us laugh.
As for Mr. Frakes, he's still at it providing hilarious content at us Millennials' expense. For Christmas 2025, Frakes posted the next installment in what is now sure to be a series. He asked his students "what 40 somethings want for the holidays this year, and his class did not disappoint. With answers like a "charcooterie board" to "perfumes that smell like old people," it's no wonder the video earned over 31k likes and affirming comments like, "I wanted to be mad but..."
Watch and be amused:
@7thgradechronicles It’s Back! I asked my students what 40 something’s want for the holidays this year. 🤣😆 #teachersoftiktok #teacher #teacherlife #middleschool #christmasideas
Here's hoping Mr. Frakes continues the tradition this year!
This article originally appeared three years ago. It had been updated.