Separate piles of presents or random under the tree?

[Iheartdonuts]

I prefer random under the tree with me handing them out for kids to open in turn and they see who gifts are from. Kids are really well behaved and ooh and ahhh and patiently wait their random turn.

DP prefers separate piles around the living room so kids run in, open all at the same time...no one knows who the gift is from...

I say if separate they will be disappointed before they've even started opening them if their pile is smaller.

Fyi we have a couple of kids each and this is our first Christmas together. He's always done it his way. I've always done it my way. Kids are mid teens to primary age.

Random under the tree here and my mum dishes them out so everyone opens one at roughly the same time but we can still see what each other is getting.

I would HATE a frenzy of opening of a pile, seems really grabby/greedy and how do you know who’s given you what/thank the appropriate person?

We do a bit of both: presents from family and friends are under the tree all together, then we have separate likes for the DC of their presents from us, their Gran and Santa

Santa (from me) presents in separate piles in each child's wrapping paper so no need for labels - a free for all first thing.

Gifts from other people under the tree & opened after breakfast so the kids know who the gifts are from.

I only have DD2(18) this year & her presents are all set out in her section of the sofa like always. DS was at his dads last night so his pile is at my mums & will be put out before he gets dropped off there at 12:30. DD1(20) will get hers then too.

It would take forever to sit there & open presents one present per child at a time... my kids have 12 aunts/uncles & 5 sets of grandparents between them - that's a lot of gifts before "Santa" has even been!

Much prefer random under the tree so we spend time passing presents out and seeing each one opened.

Taking turns family here! It was really nice seeing what my sisters had got as well, and made the present opening last longer and feel a bit more special.

Opening everything in a crazed frenzy on your own, seems weirdly isolationist for Christmas. I like the interaction of the other way

We have santa presents in a pile ready for ds3 to open. He also has a pile from friends that i have stacked to one side and will give one at a time so i know what is what 😁

Random under the tree! Someone gives them out ! Everyone sees what everyone else has got and presents are appreciated.

Hate the idea of DC (or anyone) diving into 'their pile' and ripping wrapping off everything in 2 mins.

DC have stockings with small gifts which are opened however they like!

Separate for Santa gifts, they are from Santa so no need to work out who gave them. After they are open we do gifts from family which are kept separately so we can take note of who bought what.

Random under the tree here but then we don't open tree presents in thr morning. Stockings and gifts from friends then, family gifts after lunch.

Random and one opened at a time. I HATE the frenzy thing with a passion. I find it really distasteful I remember me and my mum's first Christmas when she got remarried and we all spent it together and we looked on in horror as everyone just started opening all their presents at once Glad to report that since then she has instituted the one at a time rule

I don't get the frenzy thing - while the Santa piles are a free for all in the morning it's never been a mad frenzy with wrapping paper flying everywhere & no one paying attention.

My living room isn't that big that we can't all see what's going on round about us & the kids always talk to each other as they open gifts, there's lots of "Jayne look Santa brought me the scooter I asked for", "OMG Santa brought me the baby I wanted" & showing the gifts to us & siblings, stopping to play with something for a while before going back to the pile.

What some of you describe here is absolute mayhem!

We had our stocking then we had separate piles from Father Christmas then we had presents under the tree from our parents/family/friends etc

Stockings before breakfast, a small present (necklace or something to wear) given at the breakfast table, tree presents after the Queen's Speech. Boxing Day visit aunts and uncles for their present exchange. All presents apart from stockings opened separately with everyone watching.

tree presents after the Queen's Speech.

Do you have a lot of toys / games in the stockings? Mine are usually small items / smellies etc. I'm curious as to how your children spend the time until 3pm if they haven't opened any presents that can be played with.

Apologies in advance for being nosy.

Santa presents in the morning here (taking turns to open when I was a child). Includes big toys so stuff to play with in the morning. Then tree presents (from named people) in the afternoon - also opened in turn with someone handing them out, so people can see what everyone has got.

Random here.

We go for one at a time here. I think though if his are the primary age children then maybe a bit of a comprise with a few (selected presents frenzied) and rest handed out. If his are teenagers then they can learn some patience.

We do Santa in separate sacks, then the DC hand out family/friends presents from under the tree after lunch.

We have a sack/pile each, dh and I kinda take charge of one child each but generally they open them quite slowly so we can be aware of who has bought what. Mine started at 7 and now they're 3/4 of the way through but I think they're going to leave the rest for later or tomorrow. Dd1 is only 4 but she understands why her sisters pile looks bigger

HANded out, but from piles so no one get all their presents at once.

Handed out by the children who are old enough to read the labels. People take their time opening. Lists are made of who gave what so that thank you letters can be written. The whole thing is quite slow, with breaks, so that the smallest ones don't get too overwhelmed. The mad frenzy feels like it should be more fun, but actually often isn't. Waiting and anticipating makes everything more exciting. Plus it actually is fun seeing what other people get, and especially seeing them open the things you have given them.

Gifts from people handed out, gifts from santa are in seperate pile and can be opened all at same time.

Do you have a lot of toys / games in the stockings? Mine are usually small items / smellies etc. I'm curious as to how your children spend the time until 3pm if they haven't opened any presents that can be played with. Small addition to something they already have, eg extra car for toy garage, some sort of easy to learn game that's good fun for a morning but doesn't necessarily have lasting power and doesn't cost more than £5, small novelty toy about £1.

Once children are old enough (4 onwards) they can be given small tasks to contribute to dinner - put out the cutlery carry the glasses through, count how many chairs we need, get the crackers out.