To ask if anyone else's parents did this?

[Storm4star]

All the Christmas threads have got me thinking! I grew up in the 70's and obviously parenting was different then so I'm wondering if it's that or if my dad was just mean! (He was mean in general so it wouldn't be surprising!). Basically, he would never let us open our presents on Christmas day until after the Queen's speech (which I believe was on about 3pm). If we asked in the meantime then half an hour would be added on to this time, for every time we asked. I honestly used to dream of being like other families and sit round the tree in our dressing gowns in the morning and opening gifts then. Needless to say with my own children, we've always opened presents first thing! So I'm curious if anyone else was subject to these kinds of rules?

Oh no that is mean. We got up
And opened all presents. My DHs family stretch them out for the whole day and I hate it- it means you can’t actually move on from the presents and just spend the whole day regrouping to open another one or two

I grew up in the 80s. In my home, it was presents as soon as we were all up, chocolate for breakfast, but a friend had to wait until everyone woke up (at their own time, not with someone jumping on the bed yelling "Santa's been") and then they all had a cooked breakfast before presents.

Another friend opened gifts after Christmas dinner, eaten around 2pm.

Another friends house rules was stockings in the morning on waking, other gifts in the afternoon.

How do I know this? It was an exercise we did on my social work course to highlight that lots of families do things differently, but it doesn't make it wrong.

You dad sounds a bit mean but not excessively so on this point.

No never heard of that but I was born 1980

Tbh it doesn’t ore horrible to me than having the Christmas presents out under the tree days before and then expecting. children not to look at them.

I personally can’t understand either of them.

The adding half an hour each time someone asked was mean.

@Seeline we opened our stocking presents in mum n dad's bed too! Thought we were the only ones no-one else I know has done it

As a child we had to be dressed, breakfasted with it cleared away, then my stepfather would hand them out one by one after having delayed it by going to the loo, fiddling in the garage or having to go out for something. He was an asshole.

In my house, stockings are at the end of beds. Kids usually up at an ungodly hour but have to wait until a reasonable time for us to get up, 7 am onwards. We make coffee, kids have a drink, then we open presents in pj's. Breakfast afterwards (usually pancakes) then get washed and dressed.

Your Dad adding time on sounds like my stepfather. Christmas is supposed to be a happy time and magical for DC. Why be controlling and horrible about it . Bastards!

We had stockings (well sacks ) in the morning & then main presents after lunch had finished including washing & drying up - only day of the year my DB & I were happy to do this chore !

We do t his now with our DS & family who stay every yar although now we just stack the dishwasher & all the chore is done !!! Last year we started opening our presents at 6.30pm .

Presents from family will be under the tree from as soon as we get them, and the anticipation of waiting until Christmas Day to open them is enough IMO.

Mine generally wake up between 5:30 and 6:30 on the day, we can drag the stockings out in our bed for a bit but it does seem a little mean to take them downstairs, show them all their presents and then say that they can't open them yet.

I tried doing lunch for 12 one year but there was so much rushing about in the morning and having to do stuff whilst they were opening presents like PPs said and it was too stressful so now we eat around 2 instead. It means that if I can get organised on and before Christmas Eve I don't have to do any proper cooking until after 10/11 on the day.

Adding on extra waiting time as punishment is really shitty though.

Was he an 'older' dad OP? Because that sort of thing would have been seen as reasonable in the 50s. Not that everyone would have done it, but plenty would.

I always cooked the turkey on Christmas Eve, we sang carols, drank loads of wine and the kids got tremendously over excited. We opened presents on Christmas morning when everyone was up, had turkey sandwiches for lunch then went to family for more presents. All very civilised. I hope they remember it fondly. Must ask them!

Child of the 80’s. I woke and went down by myself to open presents no matter what time. When my parents were still together I remember them going to bed about 3am, and me going straight downstairs.

It was strange as I had such a chaotic childhood, lots of arguing, fighting, violence between my parents. I was passed between grandparents. My parents were more interested in the pub to be honest. However, every Christmas I had a room full of presents. The sofa and chairs would be full. I had sacks, and 5 stockings. So it was strange really.

With my children I’ve always woken them up about 5:30-6:00am, and they open stockings in my bed, then we all open are gifts together before I cook breakfast. Only twice have my youngest woke before me!

This year after breakfast we will visit my mum, then my dad, then both boys will go to their dads (different dads) and I will go to my partners family. The boys will then see their grandparents, aunts and uncles etc whilst at their dads. So we have to start early to fit everyone in! But it’s importnat to all of us that everyone is visited on Christmas Day, so we need that early start!!

My DH's family did gifts after lunch, Queen didn't make any difference as they were not Royalists. The also did not put up their tree until Christmas Eve and were not allowed to watch ITV (ever not just at Christmas)

In my house we unwrapped presents as soon as we got up. I can remember my bro larking about on the landing wearing a saucepan lid from the pan set my mum and dad got him when he'd just bought his first house. So it wasn't just when we were kids

I was born in 1981. We always had the frenzy in the morning.
My mum didn’t do Christmas stockings - we had an Xmas eve stocking with pjs/socks/robe and matey bubble bath (similar to what an Xmas Eve box is now I guess) and Santa only ever left a selection box for us - everything from everyone was put into piles and we could open as we pleased.

I do similar with my dc now, although the early starts are getting later with the teens.

I don’t understand waiting til later tbh - by the time the presents are opened and put together/set up surely its nearly time for the dc to go to bed? When do they get to play with them?

My Aunt and Uncle had that rule too, my dad was a farmer so we waited for him to come in for breakfast and once he had eaten and cleared down then we would get presents which was around 10 - 10.30am but we had our stockings to open first thing.

I'm not sue about the cruel making kids wait thing, as it's just a life lesson isn't it, you having to sometimes wait for things.

Stockings opened in the morning and Santa's presents.

Main presents from mum and dad under the tree after lunch about 3pm.

Lunch always seemed to coincide with the Betty's Babble so i think it was more about making the day last. (Also no chocs were on the tree until Christmas morning when they magically appeared from Santa).

Had to save a couple of gifts for New Year too apparently because one half family Scottish and they do New Year bigger than Christmas apparently. (Difficult to understand the logic when you're 5)

When my husband was with his ex, her family used to have their Xmas day meal in the evening, ONLY THEN would they open presents. My husband didn’t like that very much!!!

Stocking presents all piled onto mum and dad's bed.

Then church.

Then ONE PRESENT! Biggest? Heaviest? The one from the relly with the best past form? What a decision...

Then lunch.

Then all the rest of the presents.

We do post- lunch (and speech) opening here too. The dcs open their stockings in the morning, as we still do the Father Christmas ritual, (smaller daughter is still a believer) but everything else under the tree waits until the afternoon, when we have eaten and can all relax around the tree.

Presents opened first thing

We always opened in the morning. Have never watched Queen’s speech

Child of the 80s too. We spent many Christmases with dear family friends so we had to follow their rules. Stockings first thing in the morning. Main presents in the afternoon at around 4pm when finally all the adults could relax. On the one hand it was torture to wait, but on the other it kept the excitement and anticipation going all day. Plus our stockings were so generous there was plenty to keep us going.

We did stockings before getting up then Father Christmas presents as soon as we all went downstairs. Tree/family presents usually done at the same time but on occasion we're saved for the afternoon.

I don't think it's fair to make the DCs wait amongst all the excitement so we have followed the same now with our DCs.

Stockings in the morning, other presents after lunch.

I don't remember ever being that bothered about either. My aversion to presents is very long-standing.

Neither my brother or I were ever early risers either. My mum was saying last week she spent more than one Christmas morning coming and opening the curtains about 8 hoping to get us up and excited and we both just wanted to keep sleeping!

When I was little it was stockings, breakfast, church, presents. As a teenager we went to midnight mass so it was breakfast, then presents.

Now, we go to church on Christmas Eve so we have stockings, breakfast and getting dressed and then go into the tree.

We've never done the ripping open of presents in pjs thing - and we still dress nicely for Christmas :)

My kids love the excitement. I have a gorgeous photo of them bouncing outside the living room door before we went into the tree last year - I go in and light the tree and the fire before we all go in together. It's a lovely re-creation of mine, and as it happens DH's, childhood.