To not wrap the DC’s presents...?

[mommathatwearspink]

We’ve always wrapped presents from Santa for our DC (5 & 2). This year has been a bit manic and I haven’t wrapped a thing yet. MIL suggested we not even bother wrapping them, just lay them out nicely as she did when my DP was a boy. We have friends who do the same. So, AIBU to not wrap this year...?

Think it's more exciting to unwrap pressents. I use brown paper for recycling reasons.

The people who don't wrap - do you wrap birthday presents?

poor kids

What a pathetic judgemental comment. Maybe save your pity for children who will wake up on Christmas day and get nothing.

I smiled reading some of these replies...as a child living with DGM we had to open wrapped presents carefully, the paper was carefully ironed and re used the next year.

What I've done for my boyfriend is put all his presents in a big box and wrap it so it's a bit like a tombola and it still looks pretty.

TBF the box isn't that big and I only needed one sheet of paper for it. The idea was to use as little wrapping paper as possible for environmental reasons.

The people who don't wrap - do you wrap birthday presents?

Yes but they get way less at birthdays (in our house anyway) and unless you have twins you only have to wrap for one kid at a time.

We don't wrap for kids at Christmas, never have. We do big Santa sacks. That what we both had growing up (both from big families and according to this thread both had lazy parents) so I didn't really think about it too much to be honest. I had no idea people felt so strongly about it!

We do wrap our families' presents though and for each other, just not Santa presents.

Well I have a couple of friends whose parents never wrapped their presents as a child and they are doing the same with their own kids now.
Neither the children nor the parents think any magic is taken away.

I wrap however!

Do what they often do in the theatre, especially in the Nutcracker: put the presents in shoe boxes with removable lids, and wrap the box and the lid separately, in the same design of paper. Tie a ribbon round the whole thing: it then looks like an ordinary wrapped present. They can then shake it, and undo the ribbon to get at the goodies, without damaging the paper.

Alternatively, don't wrap the presents, wrap the kids instead: blindfold them, lead them to their pile of non-wrapped presents, let them have a good feel, and make them guess what they are. Same principle as wrapping paper.

Only joking on that one, but Wikihow suggests this idea; I think for adults rather than children. I wouldn't have minded receiving presents like that! I envied a friend who told me about being blindfolded and led to her big present all set up in the garden.

I think they need to be wrapped.

The one thing I remember about Christmas Eve night was hearing my mother humming away to herself as she wrapped up every single one of my presents. She was actually happy (which as she was a permanently angry and aggressive person, makes it probably the only positive memory I have of her). She liked seeing me unwrap them in the morning, too.

Then there is the anticipation of what's inside, the physical sensations and sounds of the paper opening. It's pleasurable.

A five year old will definitely remember the presents were just handed over, rather than covered in pretty paper.

I do all my wrapping Chrisymas Eve night with a glass of wine and a Christmas film. I would try and wrap if you can find the time

I couldn't not wrap presents. My sister on the other hand is a non-wrapper of stocking presents. Hard to explain to my children when staying together on Christmas Day!

You could compromise and wrap using sheets of tissue paper. It takes half the time and it doesn’t matter if it looks messy. It looks bright and colourful and exciting.

My presents weren't wrapped when I was a kid. Stocking presents just in stocking, Santa presents in a sack. The only wrapping I recall was the presents my grandparents brought.

I've survived it!

Pillowcases?

My Santa presents were never we wrapped and it was magical. I won't be either

When I was a child my parents didn’t wrap any of the presents I received from them. Also, my mother would unwrap any presents I received from relatives before putting under the tree.
Christmas was still magical but I never had the excitement of unwrapping a present, wondering what was inside.

I think it is rubbish not to wrap them. Part of the magic is the surprise and the unwrapping.

I think it is rubbish not to wrap them

I agree. Part of the enjoyment is the anticipation of wondering what it is. It's fun.

We don't wrap the gifts from Father Christmas.

Pillowcases?

Those foil Christmas drawstring gift bags I linked to earlier are amazing, you just drop the present in and that’s it. They are reusable as well.

Half way house? Wrap some but not all?

Definitely wrap here. I've done plain brown paper with twine this year and they still look festive. Although I've bought Xmas wrap for the presents from Santa for my boys (who are 18 & 21) 😂

Buy some massive gift bags and just put several things in each bag, so they are hidden until opened

why don't you make a drawstring sack and put the presents in it instead of individually wrapping them? Or use a gift bag.