Xmas day morning - AIBU here?

I’ve woken up (and still am ) enough with my kid. No chance of waking up for anybody’s kid if I don’t have to!

Why do kids need to open all their presents at 8am? Isn't the point of the stocking to keep them topped up on present opening until a reasonable hour?

She will just be opening the stocking at 6am. Not all the presents! Would you really expect a grandparent to get up at 6am to watch a 3 year old open a stocking?

OP YABU because the stocking is there to entertain and amuse small kids until it's a socially acceptable time to get up. Your job as parents is to engage with that bit and try to keep them a bit quiet until 8am at the very earliest! You cannot surely think it is ok to let her wake the rest of the adults up at 6am nor expect them to get up then??

Apparently the first Christmas after I was aware and mobile my parents saw Father Christmas leave my presents at about 2.00am on Christmas morning, just before they were heading to bed.

Next Christmas when I sent him my list of 'I would love to have something from this list please' letter up our chimney (beginning of the 1960s), my parents told me - many years later - that they asked him if he could make us one of the last stops on his journey around the world, and he very kindly agreed - thinking about it now, they were being rather 'cheeky fuckers' to ask him to change his routine just for them!

Anyway, I assume (my New Year resolution for 2025, must be to stop making an ass out of you and me - I do it far too frequently) that if anyone is reading this, that they have realised that I woke up just after the white haired and bearded big man, in the red suit, had left me my presents that first year, and that my poor exhausted parents, didn't get to sleep for another couple of hours, after watching me open my presents, and then helping me play with them. Again, some years later, I learned that my poor, but also brilliant Mum, had to be up again at 6.00am to prepare the 20lb turkey, and put it in the oven...

My grandparents didn't stay over with us on Christmas Eve, so were never there to watch me open my presents. But I doubt that they would have anyway, as looking back we had a much more formal relationship than my parents had with my children, and that I have with my adorable Grandchildren. I do find your parents attitude a bit strange in this day and age @HennyPenny42, unless they are infirm in any way?

I find that any real joy in my life doesn't happen so much now that I am a disabled pensioner, with several comorbidities. My main joyous moments usually happen when with, or seeing photos and videos of, my dearest Grandchildren - I am grinning here in bed just because I am thinking of them 🥰 As others have said, it is your parents loss if they don't share in that most magical of times, please don't let it mar your beautiful family unit's enjoyment 🎄

I'm starting to think 99% of threads are made by ai bots as the op never returns! It's like 'ooh throw a grenade in get some race and froth and never return'

I’d be making a small child cry on Christmas morning if they tried waking me up at 6am. I’m not a morning person - I like to get up at 10ish. I don’t consider it “missing out on the magic” if someone else’s kid opens presents without me gawking at them. Christmas isn’t “all about the children” either is it?

Surely she will have presents to open later, maybe under the tree, with the rest of the family and is only opening her stocking when she wakes?

There's no need for everyone to get up at the crack of dawn and you are unreasonable to expect it, They will have your daughter with them all day and presumably the next day.

6am? No.

> refuse to get up before 8 when we come to stay, even if we’re up for ages before then

I’m a bit confused about why should they. Your waking hours are unreasonably early, not theirs.

Regarding tomorrow morning, your child is too young to understand time or care. If you really want them to watch the child open the presents then wait til everyone is up.

Isn’t the whole point of the stocking to have things to open before everyone else is up? Open the stocking with her at 6am, then wait until the whole family is up for main present opening later.

I'd stay at your own house next year then you aren't disturbing them or dp's if you think they'd be more keen to be in the spirit for 3 yo

Quite. Do all the work yourself and then see how knackered you are.

I'd stay at your own house next year then you aren't disturbing them or dp's if you think they'd be more keen to be in the spirit for 3 yo

I'm just about to retire too. All sorted and prepared for tomorrow. Everyone else has been asleep for hours. Fuck it if they expect me up at 6am. That's their job.

Ah I’m torn!

I hate being shattered on Xmas day due to the very early start. But I also wouldn’t want to miss the excitement
and magic of watching my grandchild open their presents.

Im just in bed and fully expect my two to be up at the crack of dawn - they are 11 and 14 super excited. I’m glad it’s still magical
for them, even now - although my 11 year old still believes, my 13 year old is still excited.

No way I'd be getting up at 6am on Xmas day!

@Holesintheground Christmas is different for different families though. For our families, it’s more of a religious celebration and seeing family and friends (parties and get-togethers).
It wouldn’t really bother me if no one wanted to see my children opening their presents.

They've been there and done it!! Leave them be!

They would never dream of letting us having a lie in by taking dd in the morning normally (obviously wouldn’t want that in Xmas day as I want to be there!) and refuse to get up before 8 when we come to stay, even if we’re up for ages before then

Blooding hell. Even 8am is early for me. I'm normally up before then but I need quiet and coffee before I can do human stuff.

Yes, you are being unreasonable.

Yes it’s weird of them - Christmas is about kids and the magic of it all. Don’t worry about them, let them lie in their beds - have a lovely magical time just you, DP and DC and enjoy it without them!

When you have kids in the house you get up.
Yeah, if they are your kids.

I never have and dont intend to get up for not my own kids. I have my sisters grand children staying with me and they are very young.
Kids are happy to show off their presents to siblings and me later in the day.
If I'm not working Christmas day I don't get up before 9. I do shifts all year, I may or may not work Christmas depending on my rota. I love my lie in Christmas day or not.

There isn't a chance in hell I would let any child wake me at six that I hadn't given birth to. I would lock my door and up for breakfast at a reasonable 9am.

Why does your daughter get to wake everyone up, that's very unfair.

Do a small stocking with dd in your room quietly, with most presents later when everyone is up. Of course you can’t get the whole household up at 6am!

We’ve got a set of grandparents who would have been at the door before sunrise for birthdays and Christmas. The other set not so much.

Fast forward to teens and it’s switched about and the GPs who were less hands on during the younger years have been amazing during the (very, very) tricky teenage years.

I would try not to get in a flap about it.
Just have a lovely day.

No way is it reasonable to expect your parents and sister to get up at 6am to watch opening of presents. Surely you get up with DD and do Santa presents and they will be awake not much later and there will be other gifts for her to open presuming they but her gifts? Did you get up at 6am before you had your kids to watch other little ones open Santa presents? That's really early for older people and I can relate to their reaction completely. I mean you will have the rest of the day.