So, piles. All mixed up, or separate?

[MortaIWombat]

We've always had a big jumble of presents under the tree, (usually) labelled, and enjoyed taking turns to find our own/dole them out in rounds, but I've noticed the inlaws wrap everything, then stuff each person's presents in a big gift bag/ make separate piles under the tree.
What's that all about then? It all seems a bit joylessly neurotic military.

[EatingAngelPie]

i read your title and was very imagining it should probably be in general health or pregnancy.

[ChickensHaveNoMercyForTurkeys]

I was also expecting a thread about tangled arse grapes.

[MayorNaze]

sounds painful

[conkertree]

Yup was expecting that too, but this is a much nicer topic.

We put them all under like you and although I left home at 18 and am now 29, I still think it's dads job to dish them out, but dh will probably do it in our house.

I like seeing what each person gets and it's spread out over a while with drinks and chocolate interspersed (usually from about 4pm onwards after the meal).

[FingonTheValiantReindeer]

Jumbled, more fun rummaging

(I also thought it was about a pregnacy issue :o )

[PrettyCandlesAndTinselToo]

I had to get past the bum-clenching wince to realise that this was a thread about presents!

Jumbled-up heaps for us. More exciting for the dc, and everyone gets to watch everyone else opening and share the delight. Plus it makes it easier for us to control the frenzy - we drag out the present-opening so that it takes most of the day.

Maybe your ILs like a massive present orgy and feel that that is more fun.

[dockate]

We have jumbled-up piles, and it is DS's job to dole them out at the start of The Great Unwrapping. Everyone The children get quite excited about whose is which...

[TheHoneydragonsInTheIvy]

Dh organises them the night before (incidentially he's ex military so your theories sound Wellies!).

I prefer mixed up, but have realised over the years dh does this so he has an excuse to squeeze and poke everyone elses.

Sadly this is the only chance he gets to poke them as our main Xmas present tradition is that once assembled our Lab (now 9) lies in front of the tree and growls at dh if he goes within 3 feet of it and refuses to budge till morning!

[LadyInaManger]

I am one of 6 kids and so there really would have been a massive jumble under the tree and so we had all our little presents put in enormous sacks. They weren't put under a tree though as parents were prob afraid of peekers.
I missed having that and so with my family i do the whole mix up pile under the tree and we choose a gift, read the label and lob to that person and so on and so on. Grandparents seem to do organised piles though so maybe it's an age thing!

[craftynclothy]

A fairly carefully mixed up pile. When I put them under the tree I try to make sure there's a "good mix" so that as they get pulled out there isn't someone sat with nothing to open for ages iykwim.

[Hassledge]

I have perfected a technique of making them look jumbled in a rustic homely sort of way but actually I know that they are perfectly evenly distributed between recipients, and that if a present is a two-parter the first part will be "found" first.

Reading that back it sounds sadder than the military-precision approach.

[lolathelioness]

Definitely all jumbled up and we don't open them all at once either. We like to still have a few pressies to open later in the day

[lolathelioness]

I do however sometimes suggest a good pressie to the dc to open next. For example, if a few have been opened in quick succession I might hand my ds a present that I know to be lego so that he has a present that he can with for a while before the next one.

When we were little, the last presents that we would open were always pajamas. We'd then go up for our bath and Mum would put our new pjs on the radiator

[goingroundthebend4]

I'm a in Pile for each person though we do take turns opening.Then the big 2 help the little 2

not forces myself but my dad was and I was army bratt. So maybe rubbed of

[soccerwidow]

I also clicked on this thread in "active" out of pure morbid curiosity thinking it was to do with a helath problem

We always had ours jumbled up (so we couldn't compare who got the most) BUT every person in the house would have a different wrapping paper. My Mum was the only one who knew who had which paper. No name labels either to discourage peeping.

Although every year there was almost certainly a case of her running out of a particular paper and someone getting the wrong present, Like my brother getting a 5 pack of high leg knickers intended for me

[TheHoneydragonsInTheIvy]

[goingroundthebend4]

Erm hangs head in shame I also do the wrapping thing that each person has their own paper : hmm OCD tendencies anyone

[whoatethelastbiscuit]

Haha, I use to colour code wrapping paper as 2 of mine are dyslexic and couldn't be relied on to wait till everyone got there! They are older now and usually to hung over xmas morning to move fast

[catchafallingstar]

i do that too for dd and ds - blue and pink....
no gender stereotyping in our house!

apart from that a jumble but dh is from a 'lines' family /(presents leading the way to tree)

[PrettyCandlesAndTinselToo]

I like the jumbled, but with individual wrapping paper, idea.

All of ours are generally wrapped in the same paper, but that's because I buy a 2-mile roll of neutral paper I Costco, and it lasts us for birthdays and Christmases fir a couple of years.

All the stocking presents OTOH are carefully wrapped in the tackiest of tacky Cristmas paper because it was chosen by the elves in FC's workshop.

[SantarissaCripslock]

I've always done separate piles but I think I'll be a jumbler this year as it sounds lots more fun.

I grew up with the separate piles method and my sisters and I would bagsy a specific spot for our presents to be put ready and waiting for us. My spot was always on the floor in front of the fireplace.

[Jaquelinehyde]

We have seperate piles and each person sits by their pile and we then open them in age order.

Oh and I never ever have any presents out under the tree before Christmas. They all appear on Christmas eve/Christmas morning.

[SantasENormaSnob]

Seperate piles as there is way way too much to go under the tree.

[pinkhebe]

The dc's have pillow cases which their presents are put in, and then we take turns in opening the presents, at pil's it's a jumble and very chaotic, which I don't really like, as I'm nosy and like to see what everyone has got