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Original poster

If Santa brings ALL the gifts...

159 replies

SleepingStandingUp · 04/12/2023 19:09

... how do you explain all the stuff in toy shops and all the people buying presents? Are they just for naughty kids Santa doesn't buy for?

Just contemplating it today as I stashed my large bag of presents in front of a random 3 year old on the bus.

Not an Aibu but when I try to add to Chat it won't let me on the app

OP posts:
Fightarealfire · 04/12/2023 21:32

29andLost · 04/12/2023 20:37

Santa brings everything in this house only.
Don't do stockings (find them small and useless)
Grandparents aren't overly involved in buying presents but they would get the credit for whatever they got.
My kids have never questioned why someone is buying toys

Couldn’t you just buy bigger stockings or use a pillowcase?

Tiredmum100 · 04/12/2023 21:32

AhBiscuits · 04/12/2023 19:30

Santa brings all the presents we buy. They also get presents from our families and those aren't from santa. Presumably people don't pretend the present from granny is also from santa?

I know 2 people who do this. They gonto their parents, and give dc more presents from Santa, because he's left some there as well!

MrsDrudge · 04/12/2023 21:35

parents and relatives buy and wrap the presents, then they send them all to Santa to bring on Xmas Eve

Scruffington · 04/12/2023 21:36

Stringagal · 04/12/2023 21:31

Actually, my friend did do exactly this, every single gift was from Santa himself. That was until she heard her 6 year old telling another child they must’ve been really naughty to only have got a game and a book, since they got loads more presents than that. She said he sounded like an entitled brat and never did it that way again.

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that's bonkers! I don't even know how you'd admin that, chasing uncles and aunties and grannies and telling them that their present would be a santa present. She must have a very compliant extended family if they went along with that!

Stringagal · 04/12/2023 21:42

Scruffington · 04/12/2023 21:36

that's bonkers! I don't even know how you'd admin that, chasing uncles and aunties and grannies and telling them that their present would be a santa present. She must have a very compliant extended family if they went along with that!

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Apparently her family always did it that way, and her in-laws never questioned it. Her husband’s an only child so I suppose there wouldn’t have been lots of gift giving from that side of the family. I thought it was very weird!

Kittybelle123 · 04/12/2023 21:43

I find very odd people saying that kids don't give it much thought - they really do. We only did stockings from FC in our house, my DD came home irate at the unjustness that some classmates had had so much from FC whilst others had had nothing. She felt luckier than some for have had a stocking - but then again comparing herself with those who had had bikes and barbie houses and iPads from FC - she couldn't see why they deserved it more than she or her other classmates did. Way to spoil it for everyone! Kids talk 🤷🏼‍♀️

TheKeatingFive · 04/12/2023 21:43

Grannies, grandpas, uncles, aunts, cousins also buy presents. Kids have birthdays and even might want to buy themselves stuff

Whatwouldnanado · 04/12/2023 21:45

Santa still does stockings for everyone in the house. Kids did letter to Santa thanking him for last year’s and asking for one thing and a spare i This stopped naturally when they were about 11.

Kids still leave carrot for Rudolph and drink for Santa. He still brings random stuff like board games, boxes of sweets, stuff to share.

Kids get about five parcels each from us under the tree eg clothes, books, whatever they may have hinted at. No massive expectations so no disappointments and all great fun.

Dartmoorcheffy · 04/12/2023 21:48

When I was a kid I believed that father Christmas was simply the deliverer of gifts and knew that other people including my mum.and dad had actually paid for them.

If we bought a present before xmas for someone my mum would leave it on the dining table and tell me that the elves would be collecting it to take it to be wrapped and then FC would bring it back on the day. Sure enough it had gone by morning and reappeared under the tree all wrapped on Xmas day.

RampantIvy · 04/12/2023 21:50

We do all presents from Santa.

My SIL used t do that with her DC @NewUserNewName, until one of her children came home from school early one January in tears because all his friends had received presents from their parents and he didn't.

My parents did stockings from Santa and other presents from people whom we had to thank, so we did the same with DD.

Sleepwhatsthazzz · 04/12/2023 21:51

We just don't mention it in our house and it is never asked. Kids see presents and are delighted. They Never ask if I have gotten them a gift, what santa has bought etc. I just let them come up with what they think is happening.

If santa brings stockings though, I do often wonder what people put in stockings. As mine are just colouring books, markers, pencils, some chocolate and yoyos etc. Nothing they would ever put on their santa list.

megletthesecond · 04/12/2023 21:51

This is why Father Christmas only brings stocking presents. Wrapped presents under the tree are from actual people.

Peacheroo · 04/12/2023 22:07

Honestly, this is the most bat shit idea. I don't know why anyone does it! Someone in my family did it and everyone stopped buying the kids Christmas presents because they didn't get to see them open them or realise that each person had taken the time to consider what they wanted - that's not to say they buy for the credit or reward. Really pissed me off that they were doing their kids such a disservice.

Peacheroo · 04/12/2023 22:11

carddino · 04/12/2023 20:49

I remember babysitting for a family when I was a teen. The children were super and desperately wanted a special doll.

Three girls. Three dolls. £60.

I asked their mum and she said they were getting whatever. I asked if I could get them the dolls and she said yes.

I spent my own babysitting money and bought the dolls for them.

I called round to babysit Christmas evening so they could go out and the mum took the parcels, re wrapped them and said look what carddino found outside that Santa dropped.

I was devastated.

That's fucking harsh! I find it really rude from the parent too.

Smarshian · 04/12/2023 22:13

In our house we do stocking and one gift off their Christmas list from Santa.
This is usually a medium size gift. This year roller skates for DD and a kids guitar for DS.
Main, more expensive gifts are from us and wider family.

DappledThings · 04/12/2023 22:16

If santa brings stockings though, I do often wonder what people put in stockings. As mine are just colouring books, markers, pencils, some chocolate and yoyos etc. Nothing they would ever put on their santa list.
Yes, those sorts of things. We've never done a letter to FC either though. So DC have no expectation of getting a big present from him. Both DH and I had it that way as children.

It was a revelation to me reasonably recently that anyone did big presents as from FC at all. Stockings are filled on Christmas Eve after DC are asleep. All other presents are under the tree for a days beforehand.

Booboocars · 04/12/2023 22:29

We don’t attribute presents from Santa to being good so she doesn’t think badly of kids who don’t get much.

in our house Santa brings the stocking and a good chunk of the presents - always the big Barbie dream house etc. We also do presents from mummy and daddy as it would seem rude that we didn’t buy her something.

all present from other people are attributed to those that purchased them.

also to the person that asked, she also buys others presents ( obv with help as she’s 5) but we want to teach her it’s good to give

Alalalalalongalalalalalonglonglilong · 04/12/2023 23:35

I love how every family has their own version of this!

When DH and I had DS we couldn't decide between his tradition of Santa filling stockings at the end of the bed or mine of stockings by the fire, so far fire has won. Big gifts from Santa were never wrapped in my house so we continue that tradition and toys are assembled and working when found christmas morning. They are with filled stockings by the fireplace. Gifts from everyone else are wrapped and under the tree for a few days. Our own presents to bring to family are usually stored there too until we visit.

AdviceFromMums · 05/12/2023 00:17

Santa brings all the toys in our house.
But we say the parents send santa money to pay for it. Each set of parents choose a different budget so that's why amounts of presents vary per child. And of course, even though we the parents pay for the presents, the child still needs to be good because santa gets the final say if they are on the good list.
All presents from other people are from them and they kids say thank you.

TheSuggestedAmendment · 05/12/2023 00:26

its all about Thank You culture. Posh kids are brought up writing thank you letters, so all the presents under the tree are From Someone. The stocking of small gifts comes from Father Christmas (no thank you required, just small sherry/mince pie/carrot).

Fionaville · 05/12/2023 00:40

I've always let Santa take the credit for all gifts (as my parents did for me) My kids know I buy presents for family members, as family members buy gifts for them. So they just assume its grandparents, aunties and uncles etc buying all them toys.

mathanxiety · 05/12/2023 02:09

I never had presents from parents as a child. Everything under the tree was from Santa. As teens, we gave presents to each other, with a 'surprise' under the tree from, ehem, Santa.

I never remember putting two and two together wrt toys in shops and in ads on TV.

For my own DCs we opened gifts from family, godparents, etc, on Christmas Eve, and Santa left presents for everyone to find on Christmas morning. We still do that.

The DCs never asked any questions based on seeing toys in shops or on TV. I don't think children's brains work like that.

mathanxiety · 05/12/2023 02:12

OhhhhhhhhBiscuits · 04/12/2023 19:35

Santa gives the stockings but all other presents are from us or family but Santa delivers them. This is how it was growing up.

I hate it when people say everything is from Santa as I get so sad about the children who don't get a lot, and when they go back to school and discuss what they got it breaks my heart that a child might think they are naughty or Santa doesn't like them etc.......

There was an unspoken rule in my DCs' school that nobody talked about their haul.

The school didn't do a 'what I did during the summer holidays' writing exercise either.

mathanxiety · 05/12/2023 02:21

TheSuggestedAmendment · 05/12/2023 00:26

its all about Thank You culture. Posh kids are brought up writing thank you letters, so all the presents under the tree are From Someone. The stocking of small gifts comes from Father Christmas (no thank you required, just small sherry/mince pie/carrot).

My DCs always wrote thank you notes to people who sent them gifts (which we open on Christmas Eve, Euro-style). Santa brings everything that's under the tree on Christmas morning.

The point of Santa Claus is that small children are shown the benevolence of the universe, an unconditional bestowing of abundance, so the usual rules of polite society are waived.

Also, Santa prefers a glass of Jameson here. She sometimes makes herself a hot whiskey before she falls into bed.

Doubleespresso33 · 05/12/2023 03:18

My friend does (did) all presents from Santa and her son asked her one year why she never buys him presents at Christmas 😂

we only do stockings from SC