3 DC and only one big bag of presents

[FuckityFuckBollocks]

I don’t understand when people say they’ve been wrapping presents all day.

Eldest DC have two presents to open each, they both got new trainers too which they have already.

Youngest has a few cheap games from Lidl and a kindle fire plus stocking stuff which is all stuff he’ll use.

For family, we don’t buy individual pressies, we do a family pressie instead.

In the past, I used to buy more but most of it just ended up scattered around the house and never used so I don’t bother now. I just don’t get the need to have a big pile of pressies anymore.

It took me max two hours today including bits for one stocking, writing a few cards etc - I was watching TV too so wrapped slowly.

Second thread I've seen this morning where people like to talk about how they've bought fuck all for their kids at Christmas.

Only on mumsnet where people regularly post about how 1 million a year salary isnt really just above the poverty line as well.

Who wraps presents and gets the sellotape all mangled - gift bags are the way to go - pop present in, a bit of recycled tissue paper - on top close the bag with some ribbon or a tag - job done. I’ve got a big family but we do a secret Santa so only 1 present to buy for an adult, then little things for the kids.

The smug, faux-naivete Christmas threads are getting rather tiresome. We've had "I don't understand why people are leaving buying presents so late", "I don't understand why people find cooking on Christmas day so stressful", "I don't understand why people make a big deal out of hosting in laws", etc etc, all accompanied by a humblebrag from the OP about how easy this has been for them. People have different lives, families, and ways of doing things. That's not hard to understand, surely?

I’m sure if you take a moment to use your brain and think, you’ll be able to answer your own question

For family, we don’t buy individual pressies, we do a family pressie instead.

Well there you go then.

Wrapping doesn't take me that long because family-wise it's a small list of who we buy for. On DH's side it's a few more but he wraps those.
It used to take my mum ages to wrap things because I have 15 cousins, & 9 aunts/uncles, plus my grandparents so that was a lot of individual presents before mum got to her own children, and husband. And she always wrapped our stocking presents which were always little but quite a lot (x3 as I have two sisters), then our main present. Then there were a few for her friends. She probably had about 60 presents to wrap.

Father Christmas wraps the presents in the stockings here. Which I think is ridiculous but he said he has time for it 🙄

So there is a lot of wrapping compared to some but not a huge cost, and doesn't take up much room. But is more fiddly because who really needs to be wrapping a toothbrush.

How many dads spend hours wrapping?

@KThnxBye now you’re talking! This sounds epic and I would love to do this. Merry Christmas

'i don't understand'

Really? You do not comprehend that other people don't do exactly the same as you for family and friends?

You don't 'understand'?

You don't understand that not everyone buys 'family presents' and buys their mum/dad/sisters/brothers/niece's/ nephews etc, separate presents?

You really don't 'understand' that?

How do you generally go about your daily business, when you don't understand that wrapping 1 or 2 gifts is not every other person's Christmas?

Can’t believe it took you two hours to wrap! That’s ages!
It took me 2.5 minutes to wrap my kids presents, and that includes a break halfway through to do the Christmas dinner prep.

@KThnxBye I’m obsessed with your post and screenshotting for next year 😂 You are now my inspiration! Bring on Christmas 2024 🎉

In the past, I used to buy more but most of it just ended up scattered around the house and never used so I don’t bother now. I just don’t get the need to have a big pile of pressies anymore.
So I'm presuming that would have taken a bit longer to wrap. And you can't understand that fewer presents to wrap takes less time and more presents would take longer?
I think you're being disingenuous.

You sound bitter.

Love a bitter Christmas post. Who honestly thinks about stuff like this.

I’m not sure what you don’t understand really - I’ve bought my child and family more presents than you’ve bought yours, so I have more wrapping to do. What’s confusing?

What is there to 'understand'?

If you want to come in here and tell everyone you've barely bought any presents for your children, and are strangely smug about it, then do that. There's no need for the faux confusion.

Oooh, you are so humble and the rest of us can learn so much from you

Okay so you've decided to only get your kids a few things and not do your family but doesn't mean other people do it wrong. I spend £300 on each of my kids at Xmas that's my choice, spent £100 on my mum and £100 on my husband. Don't have other family but yes I am currently on night 4 of wrapping the kids presents.

Do you mean you don’t understand why people buy and wrap loads of gifts vs streamlining a bit if they hate wrapping gifts and moan about having to? If so that I get. We buy and wrap loads of items & we go in for things like homemade tags & brown paper with stamps & ribbon. This year we’ve done things like make parchment by staining paper to do a hogwarts letter for one child to invite them to Harry Potter studio tour & made tickets for various theatre things we have bought the other, we’ve disguised gifts with extra books to make them heavier and hidden in boxes etc and we often wrap stuff into a shape (Lego blocks, robots, car, train etc) OH & I enjoy sitting for a couple of hours for several evenings in December with some music & wine while we wrap and I love seeing the kids reaction. If I hated it I’d bundle things up and just wrap in a couple of boxes with tissue paper between gifts and save loads of time. I understand fully people having a massive range of traditions but I don’t fully get feeling like it’s obligatory to do stuff you absolutely hate or can’t afford without massive stress and sacrifice for Christmas.

I’d feel like an awful mum only getting DC two presents when I can afford to get him more. You’re not wrong to do Christmas how you want but most of us would look at that as a pretty miserable Christmas ourselves.

We're all about quantity in this house!😅. Father Christmas gets 7 packs of socks and pants and wraps each pair individually. We save buying a lot of 'essentials' like socks, pants, pyjamas, books precisely so we have loads of stuff to wrap for the Christmas sacks.

I don’t understand when people say they’ve been wrapping presents all day.

What is it you don't understand? They may be slow at wrapping. Or take their time. Or they have bought more presents than you have.

It's not exactly rocket science is it? They either have more presents to wrap or wrap for more people or worse, both.

You don't understand? I will break it down for you.

Jane cannot be arsed with Christmas. She buys 1 present for her cat. It takes 8 minutes to wrap that present. Jane's total wrapping time takes 8 minutes.

John is visiting family. He buys 10 presents, 1 present each for his Mum, Dad, 2 brothers and 1 sister. The other 5 presents are for his girlfriend. If one present takes 8 minutes and John has 10 - so the total wrapping time is 8 x 10. It takes John 80 minutes to wrap his presents.

Judith has 5 children, 15 Grandchildren, 5 siblings, 10 nephews and nieces, 5 dils/sils. She buys 55 present because some people get x 2 presents. Same formula - you with me? So 55 presents x 8 minutes = 440 minutes. Now to get the hour value - there are 60 minutes in an hour. So 440 ÷ 60 = 7.3

So it takes Judith just over 7 hours to wrap presents - almost like a full working day.

Hope this helps you understand how some people may indeed spend all day wrapping presents.

I find it so weird to brag about how few presents you buy. Er well done you. Merry Christmas