Amazon accused of ruining Christmas by disappointed parents

Amazon has come under fire in the run up to Christmas with its customers claiming that the retail giant has "ruined" the big day for their children.

The e-tailer has been bombarded with complaints after several parents received Christmas deliveries without any packaging - leaving gifts in plain sight of their recipients, reports the Daily Mail.

Angry mums and dads have accused the store of "ruining Christmas" after young children spotted toys that had arrived in the post, spoiling the planned surprise on December 25th.

One furious mother revealed on Twitter that her little girl no longer believes in Santa Claus after spotting her own gift in the hallway at her home.

Taking to Twitter to share a snap of the unpackaged keyboard she wrote: Gee thanks @AmazonUK Now my daughter has seen her Christmas present and has told me she "knew Santa wasn't real all along."

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"Why not disguise packaging? Especially at this time of year!!!"

Another father was left "absolutely gutted" after his son's Legends of Treasure Chest arrived without a box.

Tweeting his disgust he wrote: "They are shipping children's presents without boxes. Surprise ruined when my son found this in our front porch. Unbelievable! Absolutely gutted."

In one case a young boy not only saw his Christmas gift of a drum kit but also carried it into his home.

His mother wrote: "Dear @amazon and Mendini Music: REALLY?! The drum I bought my son for Christmas came as NO SURPRISE since he brought it in from outside. #ruined #thanksfornothing."

And its not just children who have had their surprises ruined as one disgruntled customer revealed.

She wrote: #Not very happy. My mum's Christmas present has just been delivered to our house and it came in its original box, she now knows exactly what she is getting.

"CHRISTMAS IS NOW RUINED! Very disappointed. False advertisement."

The customer may well be referring to company's Christmas advert which features hundreds of Amazon's delivery boxes singing the Jackson 5 hit Can You Feel It?

A statement from an Amazon spokesperson said: "We offer customers the option to conceal their product at no cost by selecting 'Ship in Amazon Packaging' at the checkout.

"Amazon continually works on behalf of customers to reduce and minimize the amount of packaging materials we use under our Frustration-Free Packaging Programme.

"As part of the programme we have worked with manufacturers around the world to design their products to ship in their own packaging without the need for additional packaging."

Amazon has previously come under fire for its packaging, with many customers complaining that the company uses an excessive amount.

In July guitarist Richard Terry was baffled when he received two earplugs less than an inch long in 2ft cardboard box.

In March they were ridiculed by a woman who received a bottle of nail polish in a box big enough to fit both her feet in - twice.

In June another customer, Bruce Dougal, said he was "confused" after receiving eight separate boxes when he ordered eight clipboards.

The boxes and paper packaging inside filled up most of the customer's hallway - while the clipboards were easily stacked in a neat pile.

Last year another customer was left stunned to find 100ft of packing paper used to protect his Amazon order - of bubble wrap.