Must. Stay. AWAKE!

That’s so lovely of him to leave a thank you note. I hope you’ve written a note in disguised writing!

In our house stockings are hung on the bottom of the stairs where we have a square stair with balustrade. Easy to fill once the kids go to bd.

presents are in the living room.

I’ve just finished being Santa. Stocking is hung by the window with care. Presents under the tree. Santa took a bite from his cookie and prancer at the carrot (the reindeer all take it in turns!)

little one is only 2 but I will be having identical stocking so that I can just do a swap and be in and out

to all the Santa ninjas tonight good luck and merry Christmas 🎄

Ds was a really bad sleeper when he was little so it was always tricky getting th timing right.
One year we got everything tidied up and ready downstairs, mince pie and carrot bitten, whiskey drunk etc.
We went upstairs and ready for bed we started planning on filling up his sack. Anyway, he then woke up and was too excited to sleep. Dh decided to take home downstairs for some milk thinking that may help. Ds then saw the food had been eaten and as his sack wasn’t full he thought Father Christmas must be in the house!! It took us over an hour to get him back to sleep and I was very tired the next day!

Now dc are young adults so the sacks are kept in my room 😁

Just tried getting the stocking off the inside door handle (cracked DS's bedroom door open 3 inches and stuck my arm around) and felt there was something stopping the stocking from sliding off the handle. Thought 'AH HA, he's booby-trapped it!' and carefully got it off and out the room to find.... he's attached a thank you note and a pen (DP says 'so FC can reply') 🥹

Now sat here waiting with the filled stocking because I tried going back but I could hear him shifting and sighing in bed. I just want to go to bed! I don't even 'do' Father Christmas/Santa! Why did I not buy a bog standard stocking so I could have a ready-filled duplicate?!

@Dontlletmedownbruce
I was actually considering buying a costume, so sure the risk of DS staying awake later/waking up is massive now.

Very sensible!
All this leaving waiting until they sleep (which they don’t) and leaving the presents in the kids rooms - do parents actually want to make their loves harder than they need to be? My grandparents did this with 4 overexcited children (gran never let them forget it) and we always said but hang on that was your choice!!!

This is a bloody genius idea!! Wish I'd thought of this!

My kids are older and could easily still be awake at 2am, although they are young enough that they really shouldn't be!

Wish me luck...

I don't think the Tooth Fairy can come out on the same night as Santa. It messes up the magic to have two lots running ('don't cross the streams'). Santa can maybe explain it if he leaves a note. Unless of course he can double up for the Tooth Fairy but that might not be possible.

That’s lovely ❤️❤️

Not exactly related but it's my best Santa memory and I like to share...
Dad was working off shore (I was about 8), and there was a storm so it was really touch and go whether he'd get back and then on to the south coast of England...(from north north Scotland)
Yes, I wanted presents but I really wanted Santa to pick up Dad in his sleigh and bring him home.
Well, I am fairly sure that Santa wasn't involved, but hitch-hiking was quite acceptable in the 70s so Dad got home (about 2am I think) and we probably over-bounced on the bed about three hours later with excitement and a slinky or something equally 70s and annoying - don't think that was the year of the pogo stick!

I must admit I've had the most chilled Christmas, first time ever I think everything wrapped and done and dd was 14 this year,last year was first year not believing but kept everything the same. This year I realised I don't have to wait for her to go to sleep so I've already put everything out. Just watching the end of 2 weeks notice after Love Actually just hoping it's not a silly o clock awake time.

We've always put the presents under the tree and the stockings on the sofa. Just makes life easier. My kids (11 &14) still have their First Christmas stockings. Also...no frigging elf! We told our kids they only go to bad kids lol

My parents used to give us one of dads big wooley socks to put at the end of the bed. It wasn’t till recently I realised this meant they had a matching one to prefill. I have failed to do this and the personalised stockings will have to be removed from teenagers rooms before filling.

A few years back DH bought a Santa suit and put out the presents dressed from head to toe as Santa, just in case someone crept out of their room...

We told our 3 year old Santa only comes to children who are asleep he's never gone to bed so fast in his life 😁

First Christmas after kids dad and I separated, only a few weeks in, and I was determined to do Christmas well. First bought a tree that was way too big then Xmas Eve tip toeing through the house with a fish tank and fish and setting it all up at gone 1 am.
And 6 year old dc totally believed Father Christmas brought the tank complete with gravel, pump, water and fish down the chimney. So it was worth it.

Ds first tooth fell out today so we’re playing Tooth fairy and Santa tonight 😂

Mine are 3 and 1 so passed out pretty early with excitement. Along with my husband…

I’ve been solo Santa and made the most of the yummy mince pie we left out. Also, first year hosting at home since we moved out of our teeny flat, so am glad to have started off with leaving presents in the living room after reading this thread!

A bit late to help you this year OP, but this might help next time. When ours were small we had a second identical set of Santa stockings. They went to bed with the empty one on the end of the bed. We stuffed an identical one, then when they dropped off, we crept in and swapped them over. It was the least possible amount of fuss, and a lot quieter and quicker than carrying parcels back and forth.

DD7 won't let me put her stocking in her bedroom as she doesn't like the idea of someone she doesn't know creeping around her bedroom, she's a smart kid.

She also won't go near anyone dressed as Santa as 'they could be anyone'.

Everything is done, DD is flat out after spending a night with her grandparents. She was struggling to stay awake when we were watching 'A Christmas Carol' & was desperate to stay awake long enough to see the third ghost.

It will be our first Christmas without my Dad, this time last year we knew it would be his last so I went all out.

Merry Christmas everyone xxx

DD caught me once when she was three. I heard her coughing in her room about midnight. I lay waiting for an hour to check she was back to sleep then went in and she was awake. I styled it out with a 'i heard a noise and look what I found by your door!'. Luckily she was young enough to believe me, and also luckily we all managed to get back to sleep for a few hours

Hang on in there. Before you know it you can do the santa sacks in the morning before your teenagers wake up 🤣 ( mind you I'm waiting up for my 19 y.o dd to come home from the pub).

We do stockings on the landing. They’re teens and only just went to bed. Obviously they know but I don’t want to be caught still. I would happily have gone to bed at 9.30pm 😂

watching The Holiday. Didn’t fancy love actually tonight, which was my plan.