Christmas ruined - what do I do?

[Mummytotwonow]

My 8yr old has hunted and found all the Christmas presents wrapped up for her and her brother. I have spent bloody weeks getting the presents, organising fun things to do, school admin, whilst juggling FT work and all the other mental load women have to do. This has just fking topped it off. What’s the bloody point. Do I just tell her there’s no father Xmas and ruin Xmas for her and her brother or do I re-wrap everything? I feel like fking walking away. I’ve had enough :(

How do you know she found them? Did she tell you? Did she unwrap the presents? If she didn't, then yes I would rewrap. Did she go looking or were they poorly hidden? I think at 8, she probably doesn't actually believe but it's nice to play along

Get yourself to bed now and get dome sleep. Christmas is not ruined. Get some perspective.

Set aside dome time tomorrow to rewrap half of each their presents from Santa and pop the other half under the tree from you.

How do you not understand, she Will remember seeing them in her house and know Santa didn't bring them.

My parents told me the stocking was from santa and everything else was from them, bought and wrapped by them then sent to santa to deliver. (I never questioned this rather bizarre and inefficient arrangement, and nor did my DC when I told them the same!) and if I saw presents it didn't matter because they just hadn't been sent to santa for delivery yet.

8 is old enough to know the truth about Santa to be perfectly honest.

Doesn't this sort of thing happen at least once in every family? I can remember finding our wrapped Christmas presents in a suitcase under my Mum's bed. I can't remember now how old I was at the time, or whether I was actually looking for them or just generally poking around. I never said anything to anyone and I don't know if my Mum knew I'd been in there, but Christmas wasn't ruined.

But I didn't still believe in Father Christmas at eight - I'd worked it out for myself by the time I was about six.

Still watch the NORAD Santa Tracker on Christmas Eve now, though!

One day you'll have an adult daughter who you can have a chuckle with about that time she ruined her Christmas surprises by searching for presents. Make sure that's the memory she gets to have and not that you ruined Christmas by overreacting. I know it's hard when you've put your all in, but it's only ruined if you let it be

You are not going to be able to keep up the presents from Santa thing for much longer anyway if she is 8. She probably suspects and you probably need to step in so she keeps it secret from her brother if she is the eldest. First thing I tried to do was tell my little brother when I found out at about that age.

WTF have I just read?! She's 8!

Christmas isn't at all ruined. I used to look around the house for presents when my mum went out. I simply was so excited and couldn't resist, and it was the early 80s so we got left in the house alone sometimes. My son did the same thing aged 11 - we knew because we laid a trap so we would know if he opened the wardrobe door!

Regarding the wrapping paper - my youngest once clocked on Christmas day that Santa had used the same wrapping paper that he had seen around the house. He was very suspicious but I just said that was a coincidence, he must have the same one!

Re-wrap them in different paper and tell her you'd already wrapped them to leave into Santa's shop for him to deliver on Christmas Eve.

And double up on the Christmas stuff on Christmas Eve - read The Night before Christmas, follow a Santa watch, watch The Polar Express, put out reindeer food, carrots for the reindeer and mince pies for Santa. She may have suspicions about Santa but at just 8 I wouldn't confirm them!

I found my unwrapped Casio keyboard one year! Completely by accident, was looking for something else. Didn't say anything, and enjoyed unwrapping it on Christmas Day! Although it was from my parents, not Santa. But whoever they are from, they won't care, as long as they get the presents, and it will soon be forgotten once they have it all.

It’s not ruined.
But maybe time for consequences for your daughter - if you go hunting you might not like what you find.
Don’t do all the presents from Santa. They don’t think you buy them anything then!

Get over yourself, seriously??

Can you say that you send them to Santa and he brings them on Christmas Eve? He decides which ones she's been good enough for him to bring back, he may not bring all of them 😉.

My mum always used to tell me that she bought presents to send to Santa and he delivered them on Christmas Eve. As an adult this makes absolutely no sense to me (his elves make the toys so why did my mum have to buy them? Why was Santa a middle man?) but as a child I bought it hook, line and sinker. In fact, when I worked in school there were a few children who believed that their parents "sent" their presents to Santa.

Oh, bore off, you pious twit. OP is allowed to be upset that the surprise has been spoiled, and to vent about it here where her daughter won't see it. That's what MN is for.

I think I would wrap half of the presents (for her and her brother) in different paper and make them from Santa...but I'm sure it will be fine whatever you do. They'll still be excited to get their gifts and it will still feel like Christmas.

I know it's annoying but she's 8, you mustn't take it personally. This clearly means more to you than to her....why? At 8 she knows the truth about Santa even if she likes to pretend otherwise. She'll still be happy so why aren't you, and why is it hurtful rather than just annoying?

And?

I can remember when I was about ten searching for presents and finding and reading the Fab208 annual I had been bought

Yes, I've never understood that. What do the children think when they hear that friends have had gifts from their parents?

You'll laugh about this when she's an adult. What's the big deal? Pour yourself a glass of wine and put your feet up,just crack on as normal.

Santa brought them early. How else could he possibly deliver them all in one night?

Big ribbons round each gift will change the look enough. You could even put some stamps on to change the look.
Don't make a big deal.

You are “Santa’s helper”.