Christmas presents all in one go

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Debate between my DH and myself as to whether there’s a norm.

As kids we opened stockings as soon as we woke up - all nice bits and pieces but no main gifts. We were then allowed to open one gift from parents after breakfast. Then we had to wait until after lunch, which meant after the queen’s speech, for anything else. Then some gifts were saved for Boxing Day. It was horrible waiting when younger.

DH’s family opened everything all at once before or after breakfast.

I like it spread out (but more main gifts in the morning so DC can play), DH thinks all at once. I never before considered there was a different way.

What do you do?
YANBU- spread through the day
YABU- open all at once

Get up and dive straight in, then the rest of the day is for enjoying. I’d never force my DCs to spread them out.

My parents did sometimes make us wait until after church Christmas morning, but given they liked getting pissed Christmas Eve we didn’t go to church religiously Christmas Day, pun very much intended 😀

As children we were allowed to open stockings first thing before going to church then came home and started on the rest with soup and cheese and biscuits to keep us going
We ate Xmas dinner around 6 or 7pm
When my DC were growing up they were allowed to open stockings as soon as they woke but not to start on main presents until 9am and got dressed - kept me sane! We then ate around 2
No young children in house now so we open presents around 11 after a lie in (boozy Xmas eve food and games party) still eat around 1.30-2

As a child:
Stocking first thing
Presents after dinner, say 4-ish
Santa present (main gift hidden somewhere in the house)

As an adult I tend to leave them til the evening. Then I started opening just a couple a day. Last year, my dd's first Xmas, she had a few that day then most the next.

I like spreading them out. Think I almost prefer the anticipation to the gifts themselves.

Here we have stockings first thing, then breakfast, then showers etc.

Christmas film while DH cooks lunch and I pop in and out to help him with the food and help kids set up/assemble any toys and gadgets they got in their stockings. Video calls to grandparents etc.

Christmas dinner (always save pudding until the evening as too full). Shove leftovers in fridge and ...

Main presents from under the tree.

Clear up from dinner.

Christmas pudding, cheese and biscuits and snacks in front of the TV.

One small present each "from the tree" saved for Boxing Day.

I'm feeling a bit guilty hearing about everyone who hated waiting but:
It's what we did when I was a child and I liked still having the main presents to look forward to.
When my eldest was 5/6 we had a couple of years where we gave him his main presents before lunch. Astonishingly he then asked if we could go back to the old way (main presents after lunch) as he liked it better.
Also they do get some really nice stuff in their stockings. Probably some things must people would group as "main presents" but small in size! So it keeps them pretty busy for the morning .

Dd will be having hers spread over Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Stocking in the morning when I get in from my night shift. She and I are having CD at my parents for various dull reasons. She will open their presents and any other family gifts on Christmas afternoon after we get back from lunch. This is how my parents did things and the delayed gratification added to the sense of mounting excitement for the afternoon.

DH is working 0700 x 2000 so won't see her on Christmas Day, hence she will be having her presents from us on Boxing Day when we are both off to watch her open them.

The presents is the worst bit about Christmas day - why spread it out all day? There's a walk to be done, food to eat & drink to drink, news to exchange, games to play, crossword to do, music to listen to,TV to watch. How can I do all this if I have to mess around with presents all day?

God I feel like a bit of a puritan leaving ours till after lunch! And this is a compromise with DH who grew up opening theirs last thing on Christmas day!

We do stockings first thing, then choose one for the kids to open that will be a good thing to play with for the morning (they are still young so this may change...). The person cooking lunch all morning doesn't want to miss the present-opening, of course.

Lunch fairly early - as have always had young kids - then presents all afternoon.

We used to go to church and do presents after but the rule was mum (who was in the kitchen most of the morning) had to be in the living room while we opened presents so we can all do it together. So it was mainly after lunch anyway when we could all sit and relax.

Stockings in bed, DS brings his to us, then coffee/breakfast and tree presents, he doesn't open them all at once because he's still at the I want to play with that stage, rather than tearing into the next one, but there's no arbitrary watershed only after which presents may be opened. We see family later in the day and he will get presents then and DHs family boxing Day and he will get more then, by which point he is pretty jaded and just wants to pay with the things he already has. I can't imagine stretching it out until the schools go back!

I grew up (and still live) in the USA, so...no Boxing Day (for years, as a preteen, I thought that was something to do with prize fighting, in fact! My dad finally cleared that up for me). That makes it simpler, I suppose. We were allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve, mostly because my mother always bought new pajamas, robes and slippers for us, and she wanted us to wear them Christmas morning. Everything else, we opened Christmas morning, before breakfast, and in no particular order. I liked doing my stocking first. It just felt right.

I don't think there's any one right or wrong way to do this. Each family will, in the end, make the traditions that feel the most organic to their own family group.

We have stockings to open first thing but these are downstairs with the main present from Father Christmas in with them. The other stocking presents are a mix of smaller things on their Christmas lists and some surprises.
We then have a further 3-4 gifts per child under the tree and we open these after lunch.
We figure this way, the gifts are spread out but the children get their big ticket Father Christmas items straight off the bat!

Exactly this!!! I genuinely cannot believe people do it any other way. My favourite memories ever are Christmas morning madness and I can’t wait for that with my children.

I would say this depends on the child/ren.
As a child I would have been overwhelmed with opening everything all at once. I liked to take time to appreciate them, not instantly forget and bung them in a pile. My sister was the opposite! I'd say go at your DCs pace. If they want to rip into them, why not? Or if they want to savour them first, also fine.

We have the stockings out the night before, so DC can have those as soon as they wake up, and may not even be with us when they open them.

Then we all have a nice, relaxed breakfast. Then we all brush our teeth together (DC young enough to still need us to help with that).

Once that's done, we get the really cheesey, brash Christmas music on, grab a nice drink each, and crack open all the presents at once. We do have a small gap before the DC open the presents from grandparents, because they live in another country and we like to film them opening those gifts so the grandparents get to see it.

We do stockings (which for us includes most main presents not just bits and bobs, Santa brings what you ask him for) first thing. Then we take family presents (including from us to the kids) with us to my parents and open them there. And then my mum usually holds back some little bits and bobs for a little treat either late in the afternoon or on Boxing Day but everyone's main presents are done before lunch.

In our house too it's one gift each at a time, each person politely showing off said gift and folding up the paper so my mum could shove it in a drawer never to be seen again recycle it before the next gift could be handed round.
Presents were also handed out in a strict hierarchy - so the smallest, cheapest present (eg. pair of jazzy tights) would be first and the Casio Keyboard would be the Grand Finale.

My mother had very strict rules on How Things Were To Be Done 😂

Stocking in parents bed then tree presents after lunch. Marks the day clamber and better and everyone opens in turn to see what others have got and appreciate it. Hate the ripping though presents and not even seeing who gave it

Same as you.
Stockings before breakfast
A present after breakfast and before church
A few more after church
Last presents mid afternoon
A couple for Boxjng Day

You said it yourself that it was awful. So why make your kids Christmas experience the same as yours?

Open new Christmas pyjamas on Christmas Eve. Open stockings upon waking. After breakfast/a selection box we take turns in watching eachother open a present each from under the tree until they’re all gone.

@DeepaBeesKit

Stockings first thing. Main stuff under the tree can be held off til after breakfast but no later imho!!

Yep, I agree. We do stockings first thing, one present before breakfast then the rest after breakfast.

You may imagine that DH's family, freely throwing around booze, chocolates, Pringles, trolley loads of puddings and a free for all ripping open of presents any old how was a bit of a shock the first time I spend Christmas Day at their house.
My mum could share a mince pie and a bag of crisps between 3 😂

Stockings on our bed then we go down and they do presents straight away then after that we will start breakfast. My children would hate having to wait till they eat breakfast I can't imagine making excited children wait. Seems a bit cruel almost.

Stocking and Santa before breakfast, then everything else after.

She then goes to her dads and has more presents.

As a child it was all at once around 5.30am!

Now it's Christmas Eve after evening meal.

All at once