AIBU about not wanting to open Christmas presents early?

[blindhorse1]

Hi, We are spending the weekend before Christmas with my husbands family and they want us to open their presents that weekend, so that they and the SILs can see our children open their gifts. We feel strongly that presents are for Christmas Day and we don't open any other presents from anyone else ahead of the big day. We want our kids to wake up on Christmas Day with a complete sense of excitement and wonder at the whole day, all the presents being under the tree being one part of that. That's the whole anticipation of Christmas! Last year we explained to the children why we didn't open them early, and they were fine with that, as the in law gathering was in early Dec, but this year as it is the weekend before, we are already being asked "if we will open them early this year". I feel awkward about it, they seemingly don't respect our views at all and it caused a huge argument last year. Should I just go for the easy option and open some early, or AIBU in my views on this?

Yanbu

Christmas Day is the earliest presents get opened. We always invite both sets of grandparents over in the morning for the opening yet one side always insists on keep some back just to be opened at their house in a we must all open one at a time and watch each other way really bizarre and my ds is at the age where his questioning why there are always extras at nannys house as Santa knows where he lives.

We don't do fc buys everything though but that people buy extras for each other and send them to Santa to deliver on the big day so that nobody opens them early.

I have just (yesterday) come back from Turkey. I took family presents for dis, ddil and dgd (aged 16). They asked if they could open them to share the fun with me as Christmas isn't a real holiday there and, although they have a tree, it isn't the same.
I am so glad I saw them opening their gifts from us. It was generous of them to share and I'd have hated to miss it. I think YABU just a little.

Note three fat red stockings :)

I think YANBU. We always open all the presents on Christmas morning. It's part of the wonder of it all to have a great big exciting pile of presents to look at!

We have a big family gathering (great aunts / uncles / cousins etc) a few weeks before where we exchange gifts. Everyone takes them home to open on Christmas day. Santa brings stockings & 1 big gift, but the children know who everything else comes from.

The exception is when we are visiting someone or someone is coming to ours on Christmas Day then we take / bring them on the day.

I do realise that different families have different traditions & expectations, but that is what we do.

The thing is though chatty is that different families have their own traditions and they are not right or wrong really.

Presents with my inlaws are a mad frenzy of everyone tearing wrapping paper off all at once. My family take it more slowly and each gift is given in turn. Neither is wrong and we just pitch in and join in with whoever we're with. Our own present unwrapping is somewhere between the two, so a happy medium, really.

I kind of feel the same way about the OP.

YABU, you are being precious and forgetting what really matters.

My parents did the "from Santa" gift, at 5/6 after listening to classmates talking about their gifts from family I became very emotional and had to be taken home. I never told the teachers or my parents but it played on my mind and I was extremely happy to find out later it was a lie. I make sure my DCs knew who their gift where from and the love behind them and if possible allowed the giver to be there when DCs opened them.