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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

santa presents??from others?!!

81 replies

crazygal · 18/12/2011 20:20

right ok,im from another country,and in work the other day ia asked the girls what they were getting there children for christmas from santa? they all said one maybe two toys.....i asked is that all?(i mean,they werent much)
they said, well,friends and relatives get them stuff from santa....
i asked,what do you mean??they said all the gifts others get are put away from there childs sight untill xmas morning,and the child thinks santa brought them all!!!!!!
i asked them,dont they get to "thank" your friends and relatives for the gifts they purchased? they said well yes coz it says on the tag that they asked santa to get it for them!!!
im finding this realllllllly odd!
were i come from in ireland,santa was seperate from everyone elses gifts,
and thats the way i continue to do it,
is this the way it is done in the uk and other areas?

OP posts:
Lorna99 · 18/12/2011 22:09

I think most kids figure it out or find out once they get to junior years at school and are around older kids who know the truth.

AsinineLadiesDancing · 18/12/2011 22:18

Santa brings little things in a stocking to dcs and grown ups, we open them early when we wake up. The rest of the presents are from the people who have given them, opened at 11ish, we thank mainly in person and over the phone on the day.

exoticfruits · 18/12/2011 22:20

No-I buy my presents and I do not give them to Santa to deliver. He has his own and he isn't hijacking mine!
He brings stockings. The rest comes from other people who need to be thanked. They also get presents from us-it would a bit weird if we didn't give them a present when they give us one!

exoticfruits · 18/12/2011 22:21

I wouldn't have thought he had time to be a delivery service for everyone else-or room on his sleigh!

Original poster
crazygal · 18/12/2011 22:32

thank you everyone for you replies..
i have alittle more understanding now,if ds ever says/asks anything,ill be well prepared for the questions!as some said on here,to keep the magic going, Xmas Grin

OP posts:
WTAF · 19/12/2011 01:08

YANBU. A friend of mine's children think absolutely everything they get is from Santa, and consequently say no thank yous to anyone. Really does annoy me, seems such a silly system!

When I was a kid, your stocking was from Santa ie the Poundland bits and the gifts under the tree were from whoever bought them. We were happy as Santa had been, and our parents/grandparents etc got thanked for their presents. Cannot understand why anyone would not do it that way tbh.

Alligatorpie · 19/12/2011 03:11

I have never heard of that either.. It sounds confusing. Where do you store everything once it is dropped off and wrapped up?

I am Canadian. We hang stockings on the chimney in the living room, dh ( British) hangs them on the end of the bed. I think that is weird too.

SeoraeMaeul · 19/12/2011 03:18

It's how we do it here - in fairness a new tradition I started when kids were 3 and 1 as we had one grandparent who was determined to out spend the others (we have 4 sets due to divorce) And I mean outspend by a factor of x10 so not insignificant.
Everything is from Santa. No room for competition and it stopped. 2 years on and this year I'm introducing the concept of GPs writing to Santa to request things so we can to thank you cards.
I explained to the GP's why we did this. And then I thanked them for the gifts.

TroublesomeEx · 19/12/2011 03:23

Everyone, friends and family, sends their presents to Father Christmas for delivery to my children.

He then delivers them, like a more exciting and reliable postman.

He pops in a couple of little things from himself, but nothing much.

"Santa" delivers all of my BIL's children. I've no idea how they explain presents from other people (we always put labels on them), but all the presents from them are sent from Santa. So essentially, whoever else buys their children presents, their parents don't. Which I think is a bit odd!

OhTheConfusion · 19/12/2011 03:33

Dc's send santa a letter... mummy and daddy send him pennies and he brings them 3 gifts each (that they ask for) plus a surprise or two. Everything else comes from whoever sent it!

DS is 9 this year and I fear this is the last year of believing :-( (if he really still does!)

sleepywombat · 19/12/2011 03:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

sleepywombat · 19/12/2011 03:56

This reply has been deleted

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sashh · 19/12/2011 04:09

When little everything came from santa. In fact santa visited my grandparents as well so we had to go there to see what he had left us.

My brother's kids had everything from santa but with "from santa, fran aunty sashh"

garlicnutcracker · 19/12/2011 04:20

But kids believe in the impossible, don't they? I am quite sure I believed in Santa. I put the mince pie and sherry by the fireplace for him (it was legal to drink & drive a flying sleigh in those days), but also knew who each present was from. You don't delve too deeply into how the gifts could be from Santa and Granny until you're ready to let go of the myth, surely?

Which is just a roundabout way of saying I think all the wrong-delivery business is a waste of effort. Kids believe in Santa because they want to :)

Sounds as if you still do, OP Grin Hope he brings you everything you hope for!

RealLifeIsForWimps · 19/12/2011 04:26

I grew up with a stocking from Santa containing lots of cheapish stuff, most of which mum prob would have had to buy anyway- stationary, knickers, shower gel etc, and then presents were just from whoever they were really from.

I'm planning to just do the same for DS

However, Garlic is right. Santa believers don't over-analyse. My mum managed to fob off my questions about "How does Santa get round the whole world in one night?" with some cobblers about time zones.

RealLifeIsForWimps · 19/12/2011 04:29

Btw- the dual Santa system is not new. I remember a kid at school having the "everything from Santa" system whereas we had the "Poundland fillers only from Santa." system.

Weirdly, this did not make us question the existence of Santa in any way Grin. I KNEW Santa existed because my dad used to put snowy (Flour) footprints across the sitting room floor from the chimney to the sherry, mince pie and carrot, from which there would be a bite. Irrefutable evidence.

garlicnutcracker · 19/12/2011 04:42

That's really sweet, Real. Hope he hoovered 'em up, as well Wink

Gonzo33 · 19/12/2011 05:33

When I was a child Santa brought me a stocking with odds and sods in it and he also delivered the presents from friends and family. This tradition has carried on into my family.

nooka · 19/12/2011 05:57

I grew up in a religious 'Santa free' household. I can't remember anyone else having Santa either, or perhaps it just didn't register on my radar. One present we could always guarantee though was the pack of notelets and envelopes for writing your thank you letters.

Bunbaker · 19/12/2011 07:00

D'oh. I have just seen my truncated post.

I don't want DD growing up with a sense of entitlement and not knowing how to thank friends and relatives for her Christmas presents.

Foxy800 · 19/12/2011 07:53

Santa comes and collects the presents that we all buy and looks after them then redelivers them to the places they need to be, this works well as we are often at family members houses over christmas which then explains how the pressies get there and not home. Some are obviously delivered here too.

I wont be telling dd that santa isnt real either and will be taking part in the magic as look as possible.

Like Bunbaker I think it is important for dd to know where they are from so she can thank them but without taking away the magic.

onefatcat · 19/12/2011 09:14

I don't buy the bit about growing up ungrateful and entitled just because presents are said to be from Santa. That is how we did it as kids and I am certainly not entitled! I am grateful to my parents for creating all those magical memories I have of the Santa years!
DD always writes thank-you letters for her birthday presents, and she is 'grateful' to Santa (not mum and dad just yet). Kids all learn the truth about Santa in the end, so a few years of make- believe doesn't = an ungrateful child. And Santa doesn't give gifts unconditionally, you have to be good and his elves are always watching!

Floggingmolly · 19/12/2011 09:18

God, no! Santa brings his own presents, any gifts from friends, relatives, anybody else is from whoever gave it. I wouldn't buy a gift for anyone if I thought Santa was going to get the credit - immature as that may sound. Why should I "do" Santa for someone else's kids? Xmas Confused

minimisschief · 19/12/2011 11:29

santa brought all my presents. Do not really get the point of the whole presents not being there and then being there x-mas day from other people. The story was always you write a list to santa and if you are good he brings them.

It was only when the santa story was grown out of that people started putting tags on the gifts.

AngelDelightIsIndeedDelightful · 19/12/2011 11:34

FC is not a delivery service for dh and I or our family members. He brings (within reason) whatever dd1 has asked for and he'll make an educated guess at what dd2 would like (she's 13 mths). All of their other presents that have been bought by us are from us and the rest of the family likewise. I didn't want dd1 to wonder why her parents hadn't bought her anything, nor the rest of the family for that matter. I can just see her now asking why Grandad has bought something for mommy and daddy, but not her.

My dad insists every year on buying something for dd1 and telling her that "Father Christmas has left it at my house for you". It quite irrationally irritates me.