To not want to go along with this? (Re: Santa!)

[MrsJohanHegg]

Myself and DSis (and our respective other halves!) both have 2yo DSs. We're both on the same page re: Santa - that he brings the stockings and one present. It works for us, it's what our mum did, DC learn that they can't just ask Santa for umpty-million expensive things etc. So when I put my tree up, I popped some wrapped presents underneath to hide the cheap wonky base to look pleasant and festive.

Well I've just had an earful from SiL as she popped by with our older nephew (6) who is now asking why we had presents under our tree when Santa brings them etc. Apparently in their house Santa brings all the presents. I told her to tell him they're just for show if it's an issue, and thought all was fine, but she later told DH that they also tell him that Santa brings all the presents from other people too!

So literally they'll visit his various grandparents, aunts etc and they'll pull out a present and say "Oh, Santa left this here for you - he must have gotten confused!" and it's expected that when we see him on Boxing Day and give him his gift we're expected to do the same when we give him his gift.

AIBU to think that this is completely fucking batshit a bit OTT/ridiculous and not want to go along with it? Why can't it just be a nice gift from us, his aunt and uncle?? I don't bloody want to say it's from Santa, I want the credit

My exes family used to say that santa delivered all the presents but that people bought them and sent them to him to deliver
When my dc asked me (when they were smaller) why Santa didn't bring all their presents here like he did at daddy's house I told them I didn't want to post them to him as it was a waste of stamps

We did that Santa brought all the presents that we were giving (stocking and tree presents) but presents from other people were from that person. We also said that although Santa gets the presents he debits our bank account to pay for them so that they cant get everything they ask for

YANBU. Your SIL's way is absolute madness and I wouldn't want to be part of it. I would make sure I gave my present to DN, with card attached, saying its from you. It will do him no good to think all presents appear by magic, and he's more than old enough to be thanking people properly for spending their hard-earned cash on him.

My DH's family do this and I think it's stupid awkward for the reasons you say. They should know they give presents to other people, which is a nice thing to do for people in your life, and they should know who gave gifts to them and be able to thank those people. I always think they make Santa sound so incompetent, always making mistakes and leaving presents in the wrong place on the wrong day.

No way I would go along with this. Ridiculous. We do the stocking from Santa with lots of little things, but the big presents come from me.

We used to tell ours that we and other people bought all the presents and put them under the tree
However, on Christmas Eve, Santa came round and sprinkled them with magic dust to make them Christmas presents

Ooh, glad it appears I'm NBU

SociallyAcceptableCookie that's exactly what I thought, it makes Santa sound like an incompetent bumbling twat fool!

this isn't go to end well is it with sil ? she sounds bonkers tbh, what happens when her dc get a bit older and talk to other kids who say that dg etc brought their presents ?

Well exactly pipsqueak, and she's normally a perfectly reasonable person too maybe BiL was the originator of the madness, he's a bit of a strange one that one

Yanbu that's just daft! It also takes away the thought in the gift from family! But if they've started this rule so it's their issue to sort out explaining presents arriving early IMO.

I think a lot of people do this, more than you think. I'm always amazed that DH's family keep it up but somehow they raise children to believe that all Christmas gifts come from Santa Claus. All children except my ds, of course.

My Mil tried to start this nonsense but I always made a point to telling DD who bought the presents - just tell SIL that Santa isn't a robot and he does it different in every house (then if she still goes on tell her to fuck off)

Am I the only person who had NO presents from Santa?!

All our presents were labelled from the people they were from, including the ones my parents brought. We were told that family and friends buy the presents, send them to Santa and he will deliver them if we've been good.

My inlaws did this. I ignored them. Presents at our house, some from santa, some from us. Presents at in laws from in laws no matter what they crapped on about. Presents from everyone else was from the giver.

It was only the stockings that ever came from Santa. All other presents came from the person who gave it.

Pipsqueak25 - yup, we had a version of this when dc were younger and one turned round on Christmas Day and asked why I hadn't bought her anything
Don't think she was overly upset by this - there were presents from others with labels on and then the "Santa" presents - probably just after another one. Following year got really confusing, one less from Santa, but one from us and, and this was the best bit, an extra one from Santa for me & dh!! Thought I'd better be on the safe side as she was taking more notice
Dc are older now and don't care anymore, all the madness is behind us

Santa filled our stockings and then buggered off. T'was always the way.

Tell him that Mrs Claus was on the job with her high tech helicopter this year and seeing as she's apparently far more competent the present got delivered to his house properly.

Tell him this after he tells you what Santa bought so you can claim which one she picked up from you.

Also tell him he's lucky it wasn't a pair of red shoes.

Then give him the present from you produced from under your tree where you put things you give to each other, since he seems entranced by those. SIL should have no room to object.

'I'm sorry sil, each to their own, you're welcome to tell ds our present is from Santa if you wish but that's not the way we do it. Families al do it differently and now he is at school he will hear so many variations on the Santa story so it's really not a big deal that we don't do it that way'

FFS- yes, Santa delivers the presents. He does not BUY them.

To be fair, anyone who complains about a Santa being real type thing (the SiL, not the OP) needs to get such a mahoosive grip and look up the term 'first world problems'. And then maybe read about children who get no presents at all and realise that expending loads of energy on pretending that a fat, old, weirdly dressed man who apparently enters people's houses at night is real, is quite frankly pathetic.

Presents in our house all come from Santa, my mum always says her gifts are what santa dropped off for them at hers. If people want to take the credit for their gifts they can if they want to say Santa left them for the children at xyz's house then thats fine. I however dont dictate to anyone how they present their presents.
I dont do stockings or stocking fillers never have done so we couldnt use the stocking idea.
And once the children no longer 'believe' they know that Santa in our house is mum and dad

Batshit.
What does DN think when he is at a shopping centre etc and sees piles of "presents" at the bottom of the tree?

Ignore her, she doesn't get to tell you what to do.

We have stockings that are from me. They are put on their beds at 3am and every year I am woken by the sound of 5 little people rustling tissue paper and whispering. It brings tears to my eyes every year and I have to compose myself before they come in to us.

Then we go downstairs and find that Father Christmas has been and left one present each wrapped in brown paper and string. It is always the present they asked for in their letter.

Then, after breakfast we swap all the presents that are under the tree that are labelled with who they are from.

When I was a child, we didn't have any presents from Father Christmas. They were all from mum and dad. We left things out for him etc, but I never believed. It didn't spoil the magic of Christmas at all. It was just a lovely story.

We put the presents we are going to give other people under our tree before Christmas. Then santa delivers all the presents from him/us/the grandparents. Any other presents are given to them by the givers (not on Christmas Day).

We don't go into the logistics of it. That's just what happens and neither child has ever asked about it.

Your SIL is being ridiculous in coming up with a logistical situation that requires everyone to adopt her way of doing things. It's probably not worth challenging her but you might say that you store the presents you're giving to other people under your tree. She can claim you send them to santa for delivery to the right places at the last minute if she feels she has to.

Santa brings anything DH and I buy. Gifts from friends and family are from them. My DPs, PIL etc enjoy choosing a gift and then watching DC opening it and have them knowing it is from them. Not too much to ask imo. Your SIL is weird.