Before or AFTER lunch for present opening?

[38cody]

MIL here now, staying over ready for lunch tomorrow.
Younger DC were excited and I talked them through the plan for tomorrow including santa's stocking gifts when they wake up then play, bath, breakfast etc. Lunch then under the tree presents after lunch.
MIL said she's always opened all gifts first thing.
I like to spread it out so there's more to look forward to after lunch.
Of course we're doing it my way. Wondering what the popular consensus is?

Stocking and Santa first thing then we go see whichever parents we aren't lunching with. Then everything esle under the tree. They also gave some Boxing Day from extended family font think it hurts to spread them out! - if you can lol!

All before lunch. I'm making them wait until 7am to get up, most of them will be opened then and then we'll open some more before lunch at PILs. Open them and have all day to play with the new things.

We do stockings on waking, we get up around 7.30 then get dressed etc before tree gifts.

Kids then play before we go to fils at 1. Exchange of gifts between FIL/SIL and us is once everyone has arrived and settled. We then eat around 2.30. Kids then go play with new things in the front room whilst adults chill.

Stocking in our bed on waking. I jump in for a quick shower, then downstairs for main gifts from us.

Gifts from family as and when we see them.

No stockings here. All presents opened as soon as they come downstairs, we are very informal. Then they can play with it all day while I try and shoehorn packaging into the recycling bin.

When my kids were young presents were opened as soon as we awoke- often 5am.

Now they are older they are opened in a steady string throughout the day.

DS is not fond of presents- he often has them sittting until March.

We usually do brunch about 11, then presents, then main meal starting about 4-5 p.m and lasting several hours with pauses between courses. This year though my adult DD is working until 5 - she is a chef- so presents won't be until the evening will be in the evening sometime. No littlies here so it's not a problem waiting.

First thing here , , always been the way.

Right from the beginning mine have always had:

Stockings from Santa in bed first thing
Presents proper after lunch, around 3pm.

I found this paced the day really well, as if everything's opened and the excitement's over by 10am, the rest of the day can feel rather anti-climatic.

When our dc were little it was stocking presentd first thing, plus main present (from us). Then Church, then lunch, then a walk. Then tree presnts from everyone else late afternoon.

One year there wasn't a "main" present for each of them, more a few smaller things, so they hadn't opened any presents by the time we went for our walk at about 3pm. We bumped into friends and the mum asked my boys what they had got for Christmas. When they said they hadn't opened any presents she looked at me as though I'd committed the greatest act of child abuse ever.

Now they ard older we still do presents after lunch. But there are far less of them, and they both already know what theyve got as their main present.

I can't see when there's time to do them before lunch as i was always stuck in the kitchen cooking from the moment we got back from Church. Do people who do presents in the morning skip church on Christmas Day?

As soon as their eyeballs are open. Which was 5:12am this morning. They're not even little (11 and 13)
Dp will be in bed until about 10.
Breakfast is chocolate and Pringles.

As long as I get to nap later I couldn't give a toss, I'm not cooking a Christmas dinner as no one really eats it, having toad in the hole with roasties, stuffing and veg when I can be arsed to cook it. No visitors, not visiting anyone. Staying in our Pjs til new year

Always open presents in the morning

First thing. Always has been and always will be. However we only had immediate family presents under the tree. You open your other presents in the presence of the person who bought it.
Pretty much a free for all too. Nice and informal. Dinner is in the afternoon, usually 3ish.

UsedToBeAPaxmanFan I think it's probably the minority that are going to church at Christmas rather than the majority.

Stocking stuff first thing, other stuff throughout the day.

"Do people who do presents in the morning skip church on Christmas Day?"

We are doing some presents now before we head to church. It used to be that the children would open something cute and cuddly to bring to church with them but they are 13 and 17 now so not any more.

All of them first thing in the morning as soon as it gets light enough to see the pillow case at the bottom of the bed. Nothing under the tree, no witnesses, taking turns or oohing and ahhing. Play with whatever you like. Call people round about 10am to thank them. Don't play with something just to make someone else happy if you don't fancy it.

I remember even as a child I liked to spread them through the day because it felt sad when all the present opening was finished. My parents were the ones who were more up for opening everything first thing.

First thing in the morning!

Although your mil is rude to suggest you change things to her way. I've spent various Christmases with different families who've done things differently and I've always hand along with what they do; they're hosting, their house, their traditions

When I was a child it was always first thing ... we'd get up and open presents (selection boxes for breakfast) then we'd play for a bit before mum would start on the dinner so we'd get dressed and dad would take us to visit his parents, and my aunt and uncle would be staying as they visited from Scotland for Xmas, where Santa would have also left some presents ... we'd be there an hour or so before going home. We'd then play some more with our new stuff before all the family started arriving for Xmas lunch which was about 1pm and any other family presents would be exchanged.

Before lunch. No way could it be later with two absolutely buzzing kids.

Stockings, breakfast, tree presents then family presents after Christmas dinner.

Kids were up at 5.20 and opened their stockings. Downstairs about 5.50 and absolute carnage until everything is open lol.

We have presents from
Santa first thing on Christmas morning. I let DS open presents from his aunts and uncles/extended family on Christmas Eve - this means he gets time to play with them properly without them getting mixed up with all the rest, and also time to make his thankyou phone calls.

I would really like us to keep close family presents (e.g. Me, DP, DS and grandparents) to be opened on Boxing Day, but nobody else shares my opinion so we just open them before lunch on Christmas Day

Stockings upon waking followed by presents between the 5 of us. After main course we do other presents and then pudding.
When ours were smaller we spread it out over a few days. And we'll be having another Christmas Day in the new year with my siblings so we'll have to wait till then for those gifts!

When I was young, it was generally after breakfast.

DS would want them straight away.
There is no right way. In a family, you have to decide - if you have different opinions, someone will have to compromise.