Stockings / Santa sack dilemma

[redandwhite1]

Hi all

So my family tradition at Christmas is a sack at the end of our bed. All gifts in here are from Santa and then our parents got us a main present which was from them under the tree for later

My DH had a small stocking in his room with minimal items (orange, chocolate coin etc) then presents under the tree from Santa

I've always done what I'm used to with my son BUT this year I have the MIL coming and my DH is kicking up a stink with the sack saying it's weird to have Santa's gifts in there in his room and to do it his way as his mums coming ...... WWYD?!

What are your traditions with it!? I used to love seeing all the presents when I woke up, if I saw an orange and a coin I'd think I'd been naughty!

Personally I think you need to continue with what you've started! I don't know how old you child/children are - but could you imagine if you were a kid and suddenly one year you DIDN'T get the stuff in there? You'd be gutted!

But if it's really important to your DH not to upset his mother over some perceived issue, could you say to your kid(s) that this year because Grandma is here you're going to leave the stocking downstairs so Father Christmas doesn't get confused when he gets there?

Honestly though, your DH has gone along with your way of doing it so far - so he's also set up YOUR family tradition. If he didn't agree, he should have said something the first year!

I suppose if you are close to your MIL you could bring it up in advance and say something about the tradition that you do and say you hear there's was something different and isn't it funny how different traditions emerge over time. Say to her your DH is a bit worried she'll be upset you don't do it the same way as she did as a kid, but you're sure that she wouldn't be so perhaps she could talk to him and tell him that? She's have to be a real bitch to tell you at that point that she thinks your way is wrong!

Good luck xx

This is my family tradition aswell !! Your the only other person I know who does this! I've always been brought up with a Santa sack full of toys at end of my bed and presents under the tree. Also a stocking on the fire which had Chocolates and sweets in with a few little toys like the tiny toys. I've done this for my daughter too ever since she was born. I also do a Christmas Eve box too 👍🏼 don't know what advice to give for you and your husband but I think I I would say if youve done it like that ever since having your kids then why change they way you do it x

Thanks both! Going to stick to what we have been doing! You're right if we change it now Xmas morning could be full of tears!!

Does Santa give presents to grown ups?
You could have your Santa sack for your Son (how old is he?) Small stocking for MiL. And rest of the presents under the tree. Don't change what your Son knows.

We have (bigish - adult football socks) stockings from Santa, and presents from whoever has given them under the tree.

We have stockings with small presents from Santa in room.
All good presents come from relatives.

Santa presents, ~8 things like:
chocolates
sprays / soap / bath bombs
small toys
magazine
fancy T-shirt
annual left outside stocking

Stockings only for the kids. It is enough trouble finding stuff for them without my having to find stuff for myself and DH too.

@redandwhite1
But this is your little family and your tradition. Your DC are used to this is how Xmas morning is.
I do same as your DH had ... Stockings in bedroom with small (keep em quiet) gifts chocolates and dvd and small toy and Santa leaves big presents under the tree. However how you do it is also lovely.

Don't confuse your DC. Your MIL, if she is kind and empathetic, will understand. Because she made her own traditions with her family! You get to do the same and it has been thus so far without DH having an issue. DH sounds scared of his Mum for no reason at all. Or has he been unhappy all this time?

can’t you make up your own new tradition. Meet in the middle somewhere. It doesn’t have to be exactly how you used to have as a child or exactly how he had as a child. How old is your child though as they may already be used to the way it’s been done previously.
We always had stockings with small things left on end of our bed, and a sack downstairs by the tree.
My friend used to have all her presents all laid out on sofa not wrapped, to make it look more believable like they’ve come straight from Santa’s workshop!! Never heard of that one before.

hough, your DH has gone along with your way of doing it so far - so he's also set up YOUR family tradition. If he didn't agree, he should have said something the first year!

This.

We did things differently one year, as we were staying with family abroad. It was ok, but they now pinpoint it as the moment they stopped believing.

Come to think about it, my DParents did santa stockings of orange and chocolate coins in bedrooms, (as DParents were war babies so oranges were a treat to them when they were younger & they carried it on into 70s when Dsis and I were born!) and all other presents under the tree. We adapted it to make it chocolate collections boxes and a toy, then DVDs and chocolates then...added in a wrapped toy in stockings as that worked to keep my DC quiet at 5am for.a bit longer....)

What I'm.saying is, it's ok.to make.your own traditions.

@Thirsty is right! Don't change the format /tradition you have if DC are older than 2-3, as that's already part of your little family's Santa story.

My. Ds-16, dd-14 (&DD-10 who still believes) would be very upset if I didn't try to sneak Santa stockings into their rooms for them to wake up.to on Xmas morning. It has to be the same type of things as when they were younger or I'd have a rebellion on my hands! (but more with a computer game or santa gift card now in stockings instead of DVDs, with their chocolate and toy/or mug or /Rubix cube..)

Far Harder now they (teenagers ) try to stay awake til flippin' midnight on Xmas Eve as they love trying to catch me out sneaking their small Santa stockings into their rooms !

But DD-14 is the most enthusiastic in our family about putting out carrots etc for Santa by fireplace even though she knows its not real, cos "that's Xmas tradition". DD-10 still believes & enjoys it, despite her suspicions, precisely as it's our tradition anyway and due to her older siblings "game faces"! My DS-16 pours a glass of Baileys to put out with the carrots, as he says *wink "I know "Santa" likes that best, Mum " and at age 40-ahem I still chew end of carrots and finish drink for DC to find empty glass in
the morning!

The importance of Xmas traditions that they (already) know/have, shouldn't be underestimated as it's part of the fun!

My traditions are the same as your husband and we continued this with ours (whereas my DH did stocking in room then individual piles of presents in living room on their seats on the sofa).

But what is important is what your son is used to! Santa doesn't tend to change his routines so will ruin the magic for your son if he suddenly does something different.

Offtobedhampton - you give me so much hope for the future! I still do the same as you, my ds11 no longer believes but last year loved being part of the 'secret' and I suspect dd9 this will be her last year.

However the traditions we have started will still continue.

My DH and I still do stockings for each other, in fact I go to bed first as I like to wake up to Santa having been and not go to bed with the stocking on the end of the bed 😂

Agree that you should stick to what you do normally!

We had pillowcases stockings at the end of the bed - used to love waking up and seeing what was in there.

We don't do the same for DD as she prefers her gifts downstairs, so we set the stocking up on the sofa. Surprisingly, she has never woken up really early unlike me I remember my mum trying to make me eat toast at about 4.00am when I was trying to work my way through a selection box

We’ve always had a sack each at the end of the bed that the children wake up to. They are from Santa, and they all bundle onto our bed to open them (even now they are 21, 16 and 7). All other presents are under the tree. We all love that part, and no way would I change it.

I think it’s important to stick to the traditions you start.

Tell your dh to like it or lump it.

@Pinkprincess1978
Grandad aged 80 & Nanny 74 stay at our house overnight for Xmas too and they both get a stocking. Try sneaking into your Dparents in spareroom when they're (not!) asleep at midnight (and snort laughing at you as you're belly crawling..!) to hide their stockings too!! Ain't nobody too old for Xmas traditions in our house!!

(My Dad loves it that he's no longer the Santa delivering stockings!! I swear he makes an obstacle course in their room for me! )

Our DC lay their santa sacks under the tree and then they come out Christmas morning to see Santa has filled them up. We do all presents from Santa 🎅🏼

I think it’s important to stick with what your DC know, I’m sure DH and MIL will get over it

My little boy is 4 so I could tweak it slightly and he not notice I guess, I like the meeting in the middle, just need to work out how!

It's so interesting hearing the different ways! I didn't ever think how other people did it as we are so influenced by our parents

In your case, I'd probably do a stocking of little bits at the end of the bed, then the bigger Santa presents alongside the present from you and your DH, as a way of meeting in the middle. At 4, they really won't care that it's different because it's still mega exciting Christmas.

Chez Minecraft, we do stockings (on their doorhandles because DH doesn't think they'd sleep through stockings getting put in their room, and if DD(3y9m) woke up at 4am as she sometimes does and found a stocking in her room that would be it), and then presents in the living room. We don't give a gift "from us", everything we buy is from Santa, but there are presents that also appear overnight from other people - which the DC have seen arrive in the past, and have understood that they've been put away for Christmas.

We would have stockings in our room with a fair number of wee gifts from Santa. These we could open in the morning (though usually in front of family).

Gifts under the tree were from people - parents, family and friends. Santa had nothing to do with them. But, at the end of the day when all the presents had been opened and the rubbish cleared away there'd be one last toy from Santa, hidden somewhere in the house. This would be a larger value item.

That final present always made Christmas for me.

These days I always do a stocking for both DP and DM, regardless of whether I'll be with them or not. DP annoys me by always putting labels on all of them (as Santa never did when I was little) but I'd never say anything.

As a child, my siblings and I always had a sack full of presents at the end of our beds when we woke up. It was a nightmare for our parents as we were so over excited that it took hours for us to go to sleep and they had to wait until we were so that they could deliver the presents and go to bed.

My children left their sacks down by the fireplace instead!

It may be tricky to change the tradition you're using for your family but you should do it if you want to, not because DH has told you that you must because his mother is coming. Surely she's capable of understanding people have different traditions?

Little presents from Santa in stocking, big presents under the tree from me!!

We always put our stocking on the sofa.. Small things went in it and bigger gifts from santa were unwrapped on the sofa... Didn't usually get a gift from parents.. Until my youngest brother noticed and asked why we bought our parents Christmas presents but they never got us any 😂😂 we always got one thing from them after that
my dh is Danish and they do the opening of presents on the 24th and santa only leaves small things on the 4 Sundays of advent leading up to Christmas.. This year we will have a 9 month old... Not quite sure how we mix these two traditions.. Not sure a big deal this year but will be after that as baby will then be old enough to notice