to not want to wrap everyone else's presents?

[joshandjamie]

Ok, I know very well that I am being unreasonable and I should instead just be grateful and shut up and stop being so miserable and should appreciate how lucky I am etc etc etc. But it annoys me nonetheless.

For the last few Christmases/birthdays when family/godparents have bought gifts for our kids they order them online and send them direct to me. They then send me an email saying: 'Hi, have sent gift. Please wrap for me and give to child.'

Yes I am very grateful that they are making the effort and spending their money on buying my children presents. But I have my own heap of Christmas presents I have to wrap. What's more, it feels really impersonal - like here's something I found on Amazon, it took me two minutes, happy Christmas. No note or card.

Yet when I send presents to their children, I order them, get them sent to me, wrap them and put a personal note on them and then pay more postage to post them on to them. Am rapidly thinking that I am the fool here and that I shall just do what they do. It will save on wrapping time, postage costs and general effort.

Bah humbug. I'll just give myself a

YANBU to be annoyed at having to gift wrap and sometimes buy on behalf of others - particularly if it is last minute but it isn't the end of the world is it. However, YABU when you say things like "DCs only had our gifts to open". As though that makes them somehow hugely deprived and neglected. It sounds as though you have an exaggerated sense of expectation in regard to others buying gifts for your DCs. Relatives are not obligated to buy gifts. TBH I would be thrilled if my family sent anything for my DCs, wrapped or not.

Your dcs must get rather a lot of Christmas presents if wrapping a few extras is such a chore.

My ds does get a lot.................

His main present is a laptop and he has 30 presents in his sack from us. These presents range from a £5 dvd to a £30 wii game.

He will have about another 30 when we get to the lounge from relatives [most of which I have bought myself with money they have sent]

So yes he does get a lot........................ but it is Christmas................yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I LOVE IT.

"I would go for the give them in the box option!"

You are making the assumption that Amazon send each person their gifts individually. I got a parcel from Amazon last week (from my sister hundreds of miles away) and it contained presents for OH, me and DD in the same box. I will wrap OH and DD's presents, which won't be a chore because they are books and easy to wrap.

"Your dcs must get rather a lot of Christmas presents if wrapping a few extras is such a chore."

I agree.

One extra present to wrap would be a chore for me, I hate it so much and often try to get my sister to come and help get it done sooner!

I must admit wrapping presents is a bit of a chore but seeing your ds rip the wrapping off on Christmas day is worth it......................surely?

It makes it worth wrapping presents from me. Wouldn't stop be being annoyed at being expected to wrap presents from others they would be given as they came

YABVU, my dh family live abroad so its cheaper and quicker to do this, instead of buying a present, wrapping it, and paying through the nose for postage. I just give it to dd in the box, she does not mind, don't wrap it.

oh I love wrapping Christmas pressies! DH is out tonight and once DS is in bed, I shall have Christmas music on, a glass of wine, a big bag of lebkuchen and get all the different christmas paper and ribbons out and have a lovely time making all the gifts look wonderful.

Then tomorrow, while DH is feeling 'a little under the weather' I'll sigh and tell him while he was out 'having fun' I was stuck at home with DS and have wrapped all the presents 'for us'. He'll be suitably grateful as he hates wrapping pressies and doesn't seem to have twigged that I love wrapping them...

I love wrapping presents too.

• just not in a hurry. I need an evening by myself so that I can clear the dining table and work through the slowly accumulating pile of presents.