Not to buy new wrapping paper for SC?

How Cuba!!it's wrapping paper FFS🤯🤯

Imagine the kids have a conversation about it and SC realises they’re not treated the same or your children will notice they have dedicated wrapping paper and SC doesn’t. If you do it for one, do it for all.

Crazy like the majority, apparently.

What?? You'd have to be crazy to think OP was being unreasonable. She only uses different paper for her own kids so they know which presents are theirs on the day. The SC isn't there so it makes no difference whatsoever as to what paper is used.

OP there are some batshit people on here. I'd leave the thread and crack on happily with your wrapping

Sometimes I do wonder how people survive with so little imagination. Imagine being a step child. Imagine that your step brother and sister have their presents wrapped in their own special paper. Imagine that your own presents are wrapped in a mixture of the leftovers from your half siblings. Now you may not mind, or even notice, so all is well. But if you do notice, it’s one of the ways that you might well feel just slightly Cinderellaed. And those little moments that add up. And it’s so easily fixed. So why not fix it??

incidentally, a colour of ribbon or string per person is the best way forward.

Tho if @readystdygo buys a third roll she will then have 3 rolls of diff paper to use

and unlikely be be enough paper to wrap all pressies so they won’t be in one colour for the next year

so will have 3 had used rolls an have to buy 3 more

You’ve created a cross for your own back with this each child gets their own paper malarkey. It’s nice for the children to have a selection of different papers - makes for a more fun and attractive pile of presents. I also think tags look pretty, but then I’m quite big on making gifts look nice with bows and ribbons - if you don’t want to do that you could always write their names on the presents with a sharpie.

Yep. This. I do the same, dp and ds and sd have different rolls as all here Christmas day. If sd wasn't id use whichever she'd like most. I like nice paper so see no point spending another £7 on a roll if theres plenty left.

Is your husband happy with this? I'd leave it up to him.

Exactly. I tend to finish a roll and then go onto the next one. Tags on everything. It's nice to pick out someone else's present and read the label and hand it over. Not a scrabble for 'that's mine'!

Wow your kids must have good memories. Mine wouldn't have a clue after about 1 week!

I can honestly say I've never thought about paper that much. I tend to go for brown paper quite often as it's less terrible for the environment though.

Discriminates?! Its paper, let's calm down.

It says a lot about your thinking here although dont want to be too deep. Why not splash out on name cards and wrap presents all the same. Happy xmas

Funny how people come to Mumsnet to ask if they are being unreasonable, get told they are being unreasonable, and then instead of getting the hint… continue to defend themselves as not being unreasonable.

If you have the funds to buy 100 odd presents for the kids, you can buy another roll of wrapping paper. It’s not about the wrapping paper, it’s about the principle.

Sure, if you honestly think this is the only second rate half arsed thing stepmum is doing, then keep dreaming. I’m so thankful my stepmum put the effort in for me, all year round and wasn’t like some of the stepparents on here.

and this is unlikely to be the only way in which OP discriminates against the SC

That's right, she'll be on MN in twenty years time traumatised because she's just found out that her wrapping paper was left over rather her having her own roll.

JFC!

From the first year my SS was in my life I treated him the same as my DS. So, although SS wasn't with us Christmas day I still did him a stocking & bought him presents with the same love & care (and wrapping standards) as for my bio son. Kids notice if they are treated differently to their siblings & this is not good for family harmony, for feelings of self worth, for relationships long term.

No one is saying you have to love a SC as much as your DC but you sure as hell have to treat them the same.

My SS is now 25, DS 22 & DD 16 - they are all treated equitably by husband and I and we are a close family. My sons are super close; I doubt that would have happened if we'd treated them differently according to parentage.

It's a weird hill to die on. I'm out of touch with the UK but isn't wrapping paper about a quid?

I am very much in the treat all children equally camp. I take both children DS and DSD to pick paper together. They both have things wrapped in their individual paper with no labels. DS, I save a few things for him to open with DSD on Boxing Day because she doesn’t like all the attention being just on her opening gifts. She finds it awkward. We will also FaceTime DSD a few times on Christmas Day so she feels welcome etc. and knows we are thinking of her.

I treat them the same because I wouldn’t want one to question it when they were older. It’s about creating a safe place of love and belonging whether they are physically present or not.

Does anyone in your own real life actually have an issue with you doing this??

You buy separate papers for your own children for practical reasons of not having to label everything - my MIL does the same.

The issue doesn't apply for SC as she is the only one receiving presents at that time, so I genuinely don't see why anyone would complain about it in real life? She will not remember which Christmas wrapping paper you had last year.

Not point scoring, but a throwaway comment ‘I got all the pink ones so I could find them quicker’ ‘I got all the blue ones’ and 2+2 becomes 13 for the SC.

But by the time DSC is there, all the other paper will long since have landed in the recycling bin?
If the kids are spuriously point scoring 24 hours later over wrapping paper there are far larger problems at play than OPs gift identification system.

She may not realise this year, she may. At some point one of the bio kids might comment that they always get one child design for all presents and stepchild will realise they get the off cuts of several different designs, inc adult paper. I’m guessing by OPs subsequent comments that there’s other corners being cut when it comes to stepchild. So yeah, at some point, they’re absolutely gonna realise. As others have said, why risk it. And why wouldn’t you want to treat them the same.

I am so incredibly grateful the blended family I grew up in where me and my siblings were treated as one ignoring that two of us were my dads children and one was his step child. Her father wasn't on scene I don't know if that played a role in it.

The issue is less about the wrapping and more about the importance that you are placing on the wrapping paper and the narrative. The narrative in some of your posts comes across that you carefully pick out paper for your children and the step child gets a mismatch of leftovers. It's quite different to in order to make the day easier I do half the presents in one paper and half in another paper so they are distinct. There's lovely paper that's used for everyone else that I don't need to quickly identify. It is obviously hard to properly read intent I messages and probably the reality is something in the middle and everyone will possibly have different ideas about how much or one or the other there is.

How would you feel if one year someone else did the wrapping for you and your children didn't get their paper and they had leftovers from last year. If it would bother you maybe you should get your step child their own paper and if your response is "it's only paper" I don't see the problem.

I have brown paper wrapping paper for everyone and they all get the same and I write names on. I have been known to iron the packing paper from online deliveries and use that instead. For me it's very much just paper that is useful for a few hours and quickly turns to rubbish. I give it as little thought as possible. I know my mum likes to pick out nice paper each year. It's an individual thing