Must. Stay. AWAKE!

I think if you are at the 'waiting' stage they are too old for stockings. Just go to bed

Leave it under the tree. Tell him santa forgot or was too tired to fo to his room. Don't stress yourself

My dad was a farmer.
There were lean years and flush years and our presents reflected that.
I remember one year when there were a whole lot of presents under the tree and I was in awe when I saw them.
I’m thinking now how wonderful that must’ve made my dad feel - to see my little face on Christmas morning.
It’s Christmas Eve where I live and I’m thinking about my family. ❤️

Just read this out to DH and DD (23yo, dw) - they laughed out loud. That is genius!

I woke my then 4 year old by accident. I froze, said ho ho ho in a very deep voice and backed out slowly. On Xmas day he was ecstatic, mummy I saw Santa. Bless.

Santa brings our presents into the lounge rather than their bedrooms as they are both too light sleepers for that. However the presents are hidden under my ottoman bed so I went up to get them at 10.30, my daughter woke up so I’ve had to hang about waiting for her to go back to sleep. All done now phew

This has been lovely to read!

The year I discovered Santa wasn’t real was the year I woke to my dad’s hand reaching round the door and scrabbling to hook the stocking on the door handle. I think he’d had a few and his aim was off 😂 I was probably 8 or 9.

I have just done ours. Kids are 12-16 so no longer true believers. But they still have their stockings at the end of the bed. Unfortunately dd1 was awake but 'Santa' isn't as young and just wants to go to sleep now 😆

We used to 'just check if he's been' quite a lot when they were younger. Ds1 would wake 20-30 times a night, and wake everyone else through the year. Xmas was different because he'd get so overwhelmed he'd just collapse to sleep.

Buy 2 identical santa sacks. Then all you have to do is swap. Also, do you have a lockable suitcase. Store some small random Christmas bits and pieces in it. At Christmastime, bring it down, keep it locked, a few days before Christmas, prep the second bag and store away

My youngest is 15 and I very unsneakily put gifts under the tree earlier (there's a high chance she won't be back down from her room now anyway).

I miss the waiting for then to sleep and trying not to rattle bags stage as you creep down with it all. I always left stockings by their doors as it became too much work to get them in their rooms.

I miss reading night before Xmas and putting out food for santa. But after 27 years of it I'm also glad I can relax!

I hope you get all your gifts delivered before it gets too late!

Just done the drop for my 2.5 yo. Very relieved it all went well and praying she sleeps until at least 7am (wouldn't be unusual for her) as I am definitely too wired to sleep just now!

We had a few years when mine were believers where we had only been in bed 20 minutes before they woke up!

and I remember one year being desperate to stay awake to see Father Christmas and my Dad kept coming in my room to check if I was asleep under the guise of "checking if he's been!" I was about 8 I think

One Christmas, my DS boobytrapped his bedroom - think string instead of laser beams. I managed to lob the present from Santa, through the string and onto the end of his bed. He believed for another year.

Oh thank god it's not just me! 😂

I've just done the deed. Thank you and goodnight 😴

We always used tights as kids, and I carried that on with my dds - the legs stretch insanely long when full of presents and it was loads of fun for them bumping them along to our room.

Dd1 used to have an old iron bed with quite a high foot rail. I usually pre-filled a pair of tights which we swapped out with the empty pair on her bed. One year he was stood at the foot of her bed, arms outstretched, when she suddenly sat bolt upright. He shit himself and dropped down out of sight, but his arms didn't bend that way and he really struggled not to shout out. We were falling about laughing.

The last few years I've given up staying awake till they're asleep as they can outlast me (and obvs are well aware, but still love getting stocking presents). So I do what my mum did and set an alarm super early when no teenager has ever been awake. I used to worry I'd forget, but it never failed and both were always fast asleep!

One year during the Believer Years we thought they were finally asleep around 11 when a hyped up dd2 (around 7) came into our room sobbing that He Hadn't Been. Took a lot to convince her it wasn't morning yet but she had to get back to sleep NOW or he wouldn't come. It took bloody ages and I was shattered!

This year, they're coming back from their Dad's on Boxing Day and their stockings will be casually already on their beds. Nice and easy! I loved the believer years. 🎄🥰

Nerves are shot but I’m in bed and all is done but it was a close call when we took some stuff out of garage realising it wasn’t wrapped and then dc woke up ! But I caught him some the corridor

so he’s none the wiser I said I was up getting Panadol

My brother and I had similar but different stockings, we alternated who had which one (one was nicer santa than the other) must have been a nightmare for my mum remembering which was which.

I'm glad to inherit DHs tradition of stockings by the fireplace. No disturbed children. Worked well and stuck after eldest was a sleepwalker/sleep toileting - avoided any nasty accidents at Christmas!
Just have to remind them to bring them back upstairs to us rather than open on their own, missed half the stocking opening one year when suddenly realised they had gone very quiet! 🤣 🤦‍♀️

I fucking hate santa for this very reason. Honestly wish I'd never started.

• It's massive hassle
• The kids are horrible
• I don't get enough sleep which 100% spoils my Christmas day
• I have to cook a stupid dinner whilst knackered

No, the end result is not worth it.

Bah fucking humbug

@HelloDaisy In my best curly-wurly Ye Olde handwriting 😉🎅🏻

Oh yeah. Its definitely made Christmas eve easier. We never had stockings as kids so other than seeing them being hung up on the fireplace on TV or in books, I had no idea where they went. I wanted them for my 2 so I decided in the living room would be best.

I believed for much longer than was normal after that!

When I was six, I was in bed eagerly awaiting Santa's delivery and I fell asleep.

I was then woken by my drunk Dad, tip toeing into my bedroom and stumping his toe on my wooden bed leg. As he was hopping around with a pile of presents like a whirling Dervish, his long woolly scarf was swinging around like a fan.

He told me to go back to sleep as I was dreaming.

I had still believed in Santa and when I got upset saying that Santa hadn't been, it was all lies and said it was Dad with a woolly scarf on, my Dad tried to convince me that Dr Who had helped with the deliveries - at the time, Doctor Who wore a long scarf! To this day I have no idea what possessed him.

So in my house, Dr Who does the deliveries in his Tardis which explains how he gets in as we don't have a chimney.

Earlier, I set out the traditional glass of sherry and mince pie. 13 year old child patted my arm and said, with great kindness, but also as if I had bumped my head, 'I hope he comes for you, mum.'

One year when I was about 6 or 7 I heard noises downstairs, headed down to see what was going on to open the door and find my mum , dad and nan wrapping my sisters longer for stereo. They quickly covered it up by saying santa was on the roof with the reindeer, giving them some carrots before they took flight again, So they had to wrap one of the presents to help out . Didn't even question it and went straight back to bed lol