Not to buy new wrapping paper for SC?

Yes I think you’re right, it’s not used paper, it’s new, just different.
I also doubt whether any of mine ever noticed the paper, just ripped it off !

Won’t your children know when your SC arrives, that they have the same paper?

If the child doesn’t see the other gifts, then there is no issue, the present is wrapped with Christmas paper. That’s all that counts.

@readystdygo why are you doubting yourself?

Exactly and feels happy to openly tell her friend about her Christmas paper ritual and the fact that her SC gets leftovers. And I bet you anything that she chooses special paper that she knows her kids will like (with each getting their own one). So the DSC gets scraps that are a mixture of their half/step-siblings’ interests/likes. And kids do care about the paper - mine definitely do.

Shitty behaviour.

Total non issue unless the kids were all opening things together.

My kids must be traumatised because they get reused wrapping paper half the time, sometimes it was even a piece that wrapped a siblings gift the year before. Nothing matches or looks like an instagram photo and if the paper is new off a roll it’s what was on offer in the January sales. They even have to go to the bother of reading the (often reused from last year) gift tag on the present to find out who it’s for.

Funnily enough neither child has ever been anything other than delighted on Christmas Day because inside the reused and smoothed out wrapping paper or the gift bag from three years ago is a well chosen and usually stupidly overpriced present that they really wanted. I could probably wrap everything in toilet paper and they’d be happy.

A non issue to me. I stopped buying wrapping paper and all our presents are wrapped in whatever free papers came through the door that i saved or leftover rolls of wallpaper if we've decorated recently. Saves waste and gives us something to read in between presents 😀

I must admit that I conjured up an image of the OP actually ironing previously used wrapping paper for the SC 😱 !

But seriously, as long as the paper is intact and age appropriate what does it matter?

I have inadvertently created a tradition whereby I always wrap DS's presents in paper with a blue background and DD's in paper with a red background.

Last week I needed some wrapping paper for a Secret Santa gift. I pulled the nearest paper out of the cupboard. It happened to have a blue background.
DS got very upset** because it was "his" wrapping paper. To me it was just wrapping paper.

DS is 21. It turns out small things can mean a lot to children.

**"Upset" used for suitable hyperbole, he was mildly miffed for about 2 minutes.

The difference is you are treating SC differently - deliberately. And you know it. So take a long hard look at yourself and ask yourself why. (FWIW I am a step-mum).

Maybe the other kids will tell them that all their presents were one paper and they have a mix 🤷‍♀️ I don’t know but it’s less about the paper itself and more about the thought behind it. Her kids get new paper and she buys a special roll for each each year (so a sort of tradition) and the stepkid gets whatever is left over. I bet if the OP had a third child who went to their dads on Christmas morning and wouldn’t be there for presents with the other two, she’d still buy them a different roll as it would be part of the special ritual.

That's not what OP means. She's using whatever leftover paper she has for SC whereas DC ger their own dedicated design.

Wow there are some ridiculous people here......I don't know any child who even registers what the paper looks like - they are too busy ripping it off. Its all new paper - not like you are pulling out leftovers or reusing paper.

I think you have phrased it wrong which is why everyone is getting their panties in a bunch. Love that the SC gets a second Christmas - it makes it much more special for them.

How on earth do people manage to reuse wrapping paper?? My little one shreds the paper from his presents into bits when opening them!!! lol. Mind you I have been using drawstring gift bags as well. And they’ve lasted a few Christmases so far.

Good point 👍

It’s the approach of “MY children get new paper and his just gets what’s left,” that’s potentially problematic, if this continues into other areas. Step-children are extra sensitive to anything that can make them “lesser” - even if this isn’t your intention and I’m sure it isn’t, the SC may perceive it this way.

Not sure of the ages of the kids - sorry if I missed this - as it’s probably most critical between 7-14 YO - outside this then the kids probably don’t care, as people have said.

Could you wrap all kids’ presents in a mix of paper and get Santa/snowman/reindeer stickers to differentiate instead? We used to have numbers 1-4 on our presents (I was the SC and “number 1”) and we loved that. Couldn’t tell you what the paper was - I think it was a big mix.

I buy each child their own paper, not necessarily new each year but separate patterns so I can tell the difference. Including SC as they are a member of my family and a child also.

Oh this is so sad and unkind.

This is even weirder. If you don't know that people do Christmas differently because Father Christmas is something we've made up, and therefore 'he' does different things in different families, then I don't know what to tell you.

This. It's not a big deal to the DC.

If OP shared pictures of beautifully wrapped gifts for her DC all over socials then gives some shittily wrapped mess to SC fair enough but they doesn't seem to be the case.

Also her father can buy separate paper if he bothered.

I can't see any problem with it. Your step children not there on Xmas Day, so why not reuse and help the environment. A very Happy Xmas to you, your DCs and DSCs.

It depends, if you get Johnny blue Christmas football paper because he's football mad and Max green dinosaur paper because he loves dinosaurs and sdc gets left overs that's crap. If you get Johnny red Santa paper and Max blue Santa paper then I don't think it matters.

Different families have different ways of doing things ? We have Father Christmas presents in stockings so no labels, and presents from actual people labelled under the tree .

It’s the week before Christmas. If that’s the biggest worry in your life, you’re winning.

It doesn’t matter in the slightest. You have a very practical reason for wrapping your kids’ things in one paper; it’s not the fact that it’s ‘new’.