Christmas presents all in one go

[LibrariesGiveUsPower]

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

Our stockings were never in our rooms. They were left by the fireplace as Mum told us in later years Santa couldn't risk us waiting up.

Besides that where the sherry and mince pie and carrot were left.

We would walk down into the front room and smell the pine needles and chocolate on the tree (also left by Santa). The coloured glass tree lights and crinkle of wrapping paper and bright ribbon and the fire crackling.

Sometimes a few small tree presents would miracuously appear in the branches in the days following that we had obviously 'forgotten' to notice.

I wasn't keen on waiting for everything but I can see it from her point of view of making there always being something else to look forward to unwrap.

Stockings on waking.

Main gifts after breakfast - so they can play with them while we make dinner. Also I think they’re so excited that I wouldn’t want to make them wait too long.

Then we usually have another day with extended family where they get other gifts.

We do open your presents as & when you want once you've woken up on Christmas day.

One small gift is put in the branches of the tree however & that one gets opened on Boxing Day.

I found that once all the gifts were opened everyone sort of deflates a bit about Christmas even if they got fantastic presents & having a little gift to wonder about the next day (usually just a book or similar small item) keeps the happy going because kids don't sort of feel Christmas is over by 6am.

As a child I always just ran downstairs and opened the gifts immediately.

I quite like the idea of stretching out the day but.......we don't receive gifts from others in advance so there ARE only Santa gifts and the two nominal gifts DH and I bought for each other to be opened.

If you have a large extended family, it must be lovely to exchange gifts in advance. We tend to give and receive IL's gifts on Boxing Day when we visit them and they are opened there. My own family don't bother with gifts anymore. Tbh they barely bothered with them when I was a child so that is unsurprising. Growing up, Christmas was always viewed as something bothersome. Lots of talk about how much they 'hated' Christmas kills any excitement pretty quickly. My family would all go to bedrooms for most of the afternoon and just read a book or watch tv alone.

When I had my own kids, I automatically bought very few gifts for them. As they were the only gifts under the tree, they'd be opened in under five minutes.

Nowadays I buy all sorts of cheap stocking fillers (that I once vowed never to buy) as I think it makes the morning more fun. My children often end up liking a cheap filler like a fidget more than their main gift!

I always ensure that we go for a walk early and drink cheap prosecco in front of the fire while watching kid's movies in the hope that my children will have better memories than I have.

We never had stockings growing up - didn't know it was a thing! Our presents were never wrapped either - just put in a pile at the end of the bed. So everything was just there when you woke up.

I do stockings for DC now and wrap presents too. They open them when they want. Sometimes that's straight away, other times it's been in the afternoon. Just take it at DC pace really. Think it's mean to make them wait! They've waited all month why make them wait all day!

When our DC were young we had a great aunt who would come for lunch with us. She would want to see the children open their presents but would not be with us until just about lunch time. We also went to church on Christmas morning. So we had stockings with breakfast and something special but not the main present before church.

Home from church and they could open presents from friends and extended family then great aunt would arrive, we had lunch, cleared away and the main presents arrived. We didn't do Father Christmas and although they could make wish lists we always said that the best presents were surprises. Sadly as they grew older that backfired and they always said they wanted surprises!

Stockings to keep them going until 7am when I will get up then breakfast then all the presents so they play when I cook lol

Dc come wake us up in the morning, then go downstairs to see if santa has been. He brings a sack (error when got those), and msin present from santa. These are opened pre breakfast, and as main one is usually lego, they are fine to leave other bits till later when GPs come over. Then open other presents (adults too) before lunch. When they were younger we did sometimes split across boxing day as well so as not to over whelm them.

We have 2 asd kids & we spread ours out.

So stocking first thing (usually with a small Lego set or something else to occupy them for a little while). Breakfast in the kitchen.

Then we go into the living room & open everything that’s under the tree more or less in one go. We try to even it out, so one for me, one for DH, one for each child.

Kids play with what they have until
Relative arrive, We have lunch, stuff ourselves with chocolate & then open gifts from relative.

We do save some stuff for Boxing Day, but don’t put them under the tree ( so don’t feel like they’re waiting for anything. Iyswim).

Open all at once unless they show signs of being stressed out or it's taking too long and we want to eat. I just go with the flow tbh.

Ex MIL used to drive me absolutely batshit by having everyone come down at 8:30 and we'd go around the room opening a present one by one. Took hours.

We always open ours after Christmas dinner. Absolutely loved that as a child so I've done the same with my kids and they love it. Stockings in the morning though, of course

@MargaretThursday

We do: (If home) Stockings first thing Present from each other after lunch Presents from others on Boxing Day "Tree" presents 1 a day until they go back to school

(If away)
1 present first thing
Presents from people we're with but not immediate family after lunch
The day after we get home, stockings first thing
Presents from immediate family after lunch
Next day presents from anyone else
"Tree" presents 1 a day until they go back to school

We like it this way as it spreads out. Dh's family had opened them all by about 8am and then were bad-tempered because it was "all over"

One a day?!

That's torture! Plus, it's not Christmas anymore

Up with the birds, all presents opened as quickly as possible and then a nice sweet, sugary breakfast.

After breakfast I set up all DDs toys that need building, and she plays while I lay on the sofa watching films and dozing.

The best feeling ever.

I think it partly depends on age of children and who your children get presents from other than immediate family, and how you "do Santa". In our house Santa brings the stocking with lots of little bits and pieces (that miraculously correlate with what I'd have to buy anyway but nicer versions- pants, socks, shin guards, hair ties, toiletries plus selection box). Stockings get done before breakfast, then there's a break and main presents before lunch. I don't told any back now but I did when they were younger. I also know families where presents are after the Queen and they don't seem to be too scarred by it. These are often families that have quite active Christmas's (go to church, go to park run, do volunteering etc) so it's not as though the whole day is centred on the presents and they're just sitting around waiting to open them.

We do stockings first in our bed and then all presents at once. We have breakfast after presents

We normally do all at once but it can be abit overwhelming

I think to spread them out over two days is nice
The children dont even have to know they have more presents to open on Boxing day,
Lovely surprise!

I carried forth the tradition from my FOO for Christmas morning, as DH didn't really have one (other than if Christmas was on a Saturday, NOTHING was allowed to be done until after sundown. He LOATHED that).

Everything in the stockings gets wrapped. Stockings are bits and pieces, nothing expensive, just things like chocolate oranges, Lifesaver books, etc. Kids are allowed to go nuts on the stockings while Mom and Dad do the zombie walk into the kitchen for coffee.

By the time we've gotten our first cup and settled back on the couch, stockings are done. Wrapping paper gets taken care of, and then one person passes out gifts. We don't do the 'everyone watch one person open a gift' thing, but when you have a horde of kids, a bunch of people diving for the tree spells disaster. I always keep a couple of 'big gifts' back, either hidden at the very back of the tree, or stashed beside me for the very end of things.

I don't know who would revolt more about having to stop for breakfast (or anything else), my husband or the kids!

We split Xmas Day and Boxing Day as we don’t have all the presents in the house Xmas Day.
DD is only young (2) so we do spread them out. Last year it took 4 days! As she ages I expect that will change so we will adjust things to fit.

When I was little we opened all of the Father Christmas presents straight away, and those from parents, usually at ungodly o’clock! That was the vast majority of presents. The rest we did as we saw people eg grandparents.
We were fine with that as I recall as we got all the big presents early and could play with them.

Adults sort presents into piles Christmas Eve night so its not so crazy Christmas morning

I'm surprised people make their kids get dressed for the day on Christmas Day, surely that's the one day where you can just chill out together and enjoy yourselves and the presents??
We do stockings first thing upstairs. Then we give the presents off us, then any other presents off other people that may be under the tree. It must be torture if the kids can see the presents there having to wait until after Christmas dinner!
My MIL tried suggesting we do that for some reason, we've suggested to her to stop buying them so many presents and they won't have so much to open lol

Informally spread out.
Open one whisky we get bfast ready, eat, then open at own pace allowing them to stop and play of they want or power through if they prefer. Sometimes there's presents left boxing day, sometimes just to later lunch

We ran downstairs and got stuck in! It was exciting.

DB and I got no presents at all until after we'd been to Mass at 8am - we didn't have stockings. Our dad would take us, and of course we were in a fever of excitement to get home afterwards. Then we opened everything, but we got very few gifts compared to most kids now, our parents didn't have the money to buy multiple presents. Christmas was wonderful nonetheless.

1.Stockings immediately after waking.

1. Breakfast.
2. All gifts opened.

All at once here from 'santa'. Tree presents from others normally as in when they call to see us in the morning. If not seeing us we open after breakfast