Mom of three CANCELS all Christmas presents for her 'entitled' and 'ungrateful' kids to teach them a lesson

·        Lisa Henderson, from Hurricane, Utah, is using this coming holiday season to teach her boys that it is better to give than receive

·        She and husband John have canceled presents, Santa and stockings for Caleb, 11, Davis, 8, and Beckham, 5

·        'They had been acting up quite a bit, and weren't very grateful for the things they had,' she said

·        Although the boys were initially very upset, Lisa says she is proud at how they have quickly learned to embrace the joy of giving

A mother-of-three has taken the drastic step of cancelling Christmas for her young sons after becoming exasperated by their disrespectful behavior and unchecked sense of entitlement.

Lisa Henderson, from Hurricane, Utah, is using this coming holiday season to teach her boys - Caleb, 11, Davis, 8, and Beckham, 5 – that it is better to give than receive.

The stay-at-home-mom, 36, recently wrote about the plan on her Over the Big Moon blog and says it was really her husband, 34-year-old John, who came up with the idea.

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Lisa Henderson's sons Caleb, 11, Davis, 8, and Beckham, 5, are going without ‘presents, Santa, and stockings’ this year in bid to learn that it is better to give than receive

‘They had been acting up quite a bit, and weren't very grateful for the things they had,’ she told GMA.

On her blog she explained that while the family weren't cancelling ‘putting up decorations, celebrating the birth of our Savior, or any of our other heart-warming traditions’, but they would be going without ‘presents, Santa, and stockings.’ 

Lisa and John felt their kids had lost sight of the fact that gifts aren’t an automatic entitlement and should be earned through good behavior.

‘Our kids have been acting so ungrateful lately. They expect so much even when their behavior is extremely disrespectful,’ she wrote.

‘We gave them good warning, either it was time for their behavior to change or there would be consequences. 

'We patiently worked with them for several months and guess what, very little changed.’

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On her blog Lisa Henderson explained that while the family weren't cancelling ‘putting up decorations, celebrating the birth of our Savior, or any of our other heart-warming traditions’, but they would be going without ‘presents, Santa, and stockings’

With Christmas now canceled, the money the parents would have spent on their three sons will instead be put towards gifts for others.

‘We are trying to teach them the pleasure of giving rather than continuing to feed their childhood desire for more,’ she wrote.

Although the boys were initially very upset by the decision, Lisa says she is proud at how they have quickly learned to embrace the joy of giving - which was the original purpose of the exercise.

They have reacted by making gifts for each other and sneaking them into each others stockings,' she wrote in an update to her original November 24 entitled ‘Why My Husband and I Cancelled Christmas’. 

'They are learning exactly what we wanted them to learn, because they are not moping around feeling sorry for themselves. They are thinking of others.' 

The kids will also still receive parents from their grandparents and other family members.

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Lisa and John Henderson have taken the drastic step of canceling Christmas for her young sons after becoming exasperated by their disrespectful behavior and unchecked sense of entitlement

'These will be more cherished because the quantity will be less.They can enjoy what they get rather than feel overstimulated with so much,' wrote their mom.

Some of the good deeds the family are doing instead include sending used clothing and Halloween candy to a village in the Philippines that was hit by Typhoon Haiyan last year. 

The Henderson's are also looking into an Adopt a Grandparent program and will be joined for Christmas dinner by several older widows and couples near them who would otherwise be on their own.

Lisa's post has also generated much discussion by readers of her blog and has received more than 600 comments.

Some commenters have been outraged and accused Lisa of being 'mean' and 'a lazy parent,' while others have told her they think it is an excellent way to teach her children about the true meaning of Christmas.