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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think the idea of a christmas stocking is so parents can get an extra hour in bed??

136 replies

TheCunnyFunt · 10/12/2014 08:03

DP and I are disagreeing about this. DD (3.6yo) has a stocking which is currently hanging on the fireplace. DP thinks it should stay there and be opened just before the tree presents. This has been done every year since she was born and the first year she is really old enough to understand at least sort of properly! I think we should put it in DD's room on christmas eve after it gets filled so it's there when she wakes up.

His argument is that she always wakes up, gets out of bed, opens her door and stands at the safety gate shouting for us and would open her stocking or ignore it and then shout us straightaway anyway (sometimes saying her room is too dark). Plus there'll be chocolate in it.

My argument is that bed is where stockings are meant to be opened! DD gets excited at the sight of presents so if she woke up and saw her stocking she would open it (plus one of the presents for it is a torch!) and play with whatever is in it!

I hand it over to you MNetters, who is being unreasonable here? I KNOW it's not me

OP posts:

Trazzletoes · 10/12/2014 08:32

Cunny don't sweat it. DD is 3 next month and safety gated in to her room. It will stay there as long as it needs to.

fredfredgeorgejnr · 10/12/2014 08:33

Your 3.6 year old has a safety gate? Ditch that, and tell her to come into your room when she wakes up in the daylight (or clock or however you keep her from getting up to early) to open.

Leaving it in her room to be opened by her self just seems most odd, in your room, or downstairs, both are reasonable.

TarkaTheOtter · 10/12/2014 08:35

I'm guessing the stairgate is because their bedrooms are on different levels as cunny has already said that she is not stairgated in her room.

ASunnyTiger · 10/12/2014 08:36

I agree with PP about it being lonely. It's nice getting presents, but even nicer when you have the ones you love round you to share in your excitement and happiness.

FrancesNiadova · 10/12/2014 08:37

Stockings full of little nick-nacks go on the end of the bed in our house. There are also a few small chocs in there like golden coins. Proper presents go under the tree! My 2 DS go through their stockings with each other, it's lovely to hear & they're 16 & 12!

JunkBox · 10/12/2014 08:38

Stockings on outside of door handle here. Dc's can open them whenever they like but have to wait until we are awake before going downstairs for main presents. Usually they wake each other up and do it together but dd woke at 2am last year so she opened them then!

My Dc's are older though but has always been done this way. But for a lone three year old with no siblings, I wouldn't leave her on her own TBH. I would bring her into your room and do the opening on your bed together.

DorothyBastard · 10/12/2014 08:41

Like a PP, DB and I used to sneak into one another's room and open our stockings together. They always had fruit, sweets, chocolate, and one gift from FC. We were allowed to eat one thing and open the present.

It's only now that I realise the present was always some little puzzle or something to keep us occupied and buy my DPs extra time in bed!

ifyourehoppyandyouknowit · 10/12/2014 08:42

We weren't allowed to open our presents until after church!

Stocking is going on our bed, as I'm not leaving DS (3) unsupervised with a chocolate orange.

Clarabumps · 10/12/2014 08:46

Our stockings were always on the fireplace and there they stayed till we got up. I don't know anyone who's stockings were at the foot of their bed. It seems like too much stealth sneaking for me.

WD41 · 10/12/2014 08:48

What on earth is wrong with a 3yo having a safety gate on their room? DD has one, she's 3.9!

girlsyearapart · 10/12/2014 08:48

Like a pp we have the stockings in our room as they don't like the idea of a strange old man going in their room while they're asleep!
All come up & pile onto our bed to open the stocking fillers.
Big presents a little while later.
We go to church Xmas eve not Xmas day so plenty of time for pre breakfast chocolate eating

dancestomyowntune · 10/12/2014 08:51

As kids db and myself would sneak into each other's rooms and open them together. Then we would go and wake our parents.

My kids (girls share a room/boys share a room) either open together or come into us/my mums room and open them. Depends on their mood! As a pp said, nine times out of ten I'm waiting noisily for them to wake up anyway! I love listening to their excited chatter.

Seeline · 10/12/2014 08:56

Stockings are always just outside each DCs bedroom. As soon as they wake up they bring them into our room and we all squash into bed for them to be opened. I am usually awake before they are - especially at 10 and 13!!

Original poster

TheCunnyFunt · 10/12/2014 09:06

I'm surprised at all the posters saying to bring it into our room. I stayed in my own room with my stocking when I was a kid, can't remember ever being lonely with it though!

OP posts:

HSMMaCM · 10/12/2014 09:12

Stockings on parents bed. That's how it was when I was a child and I've carried on with dd

mummytime · 10/12/2014 09:15

My DC never woke that early at Christmas - in fact we have often been the only parents known to wake their children (as we needed to do stockings before DH played the Organ for Church). We had stockings downstairs, as I/they didn't like the idea of strange men creeping around their bedrooms.

When I was a child it was in my room (which made it tricky to place) but I only got to open one present, and feel the rest.

Mousefinkle · 10/12/2014 10:30

We never did stockings as children. I only knew what a stocking was from Christmas movies! And they were always on the fireplace in the films...

We only started doing stockings last year and they were on the fireplace. This year is the first year the eldest two certainly understand what's going on so I'm thinking of starting a new tradition and putting them on the end of their beds. Mainly because we want our beloved coffee in bed , they'd come in our bed to open them though! I wouldn't want to miss out on them opening presents...

They also have a safety gate in their bedroom. Don't see an issue with that, it's either that or buy an expensive extension kit to put it at the top of the stairs but that doesn't stop them going into the bathroom and potentially getting into some dangerous situations so seems safer all round to have the gate on their bedroom.

zeeboo · 10/12/2014 10:33

Stockings are for opening in bed but your Dh is right. All of ours didn't see the stocking and still came in to us as usual until we told them to go and see what Father Christmas had brought them.

starsandunicorns · 10/12/2014 10:35

When i was a child my sister and I would have them at the bottom of our beds then pile in parents room mum and dad had a stocking too and we opened a present in turn main presents was after bath and breakfast i did the same with dc

Santassleighisreversing · 10/12/2014 10:40

Stockings are at the end of DC's beds but are carried through to our room and opened on our bed.

I love watching them excitedly going through their stocking presents, it's my favourite part of Xmas day.

Once that's done we go downstairs for the big presents and a cup of tea.

Quenelle · 10/12/2014 10:41

Stocking at the end of the bed. Otherwise what's the point? Aren't you meant to wake up Christmas morning and find presents have magically appeared right there in front of you?

Last year was the first that DS actually woke up in his own bed though. It was 7.30am and he woke us up shouting 'Father Christmas has been!'

He brought the stocking into our room and opened it on our bed while we had a cup of tea. It was lovely

I'm not kidding myself that it could happen so perfectly again this year though.

DialsMavis · 10/12/2014 10:46

Stockings are placed at end of their beds and then they bring them into us to open in our bed.

solidussnake · 10/12/2014 10:48

our stockings are purely for decoration!!

greensnail · 10/12/2014 10:50

We have stockings downstairs. I'm always first one awake on Christmas morning as I'm so excited. Dh has to stop me going to wake the children. I think last year the girls ended up going downstairs and bringing their stockings back up to our bed to open them, then we went downstairs to do the tree presents so I expect we'll do similar this year.

As a child I didn't have a stocking, just all the presents in a big sack which used to be in our bedroom until the year my brother stayed awake all night to see Santa. After that year we always had the presents under the tree.

Vijac · 10/12/2014 10:53

Stockings by the bed but definitely with you there to see the happy faces! She has to come and get you before opening.

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