Must. Stay. AWAKE!

[MissusClaws]

I’m sure I’m not the only parent who’s desperately trying to stay awake to do their Santa bit!
im knackered and I k ow they’ll be up at silly o’clock. I’ve set an alarm incase I do nod off.
my 10 year old, as far as I can tell, is still a believer and this will no doubt be the last year. Problem is, he’s a light sleeper, but has insisted that FC leaves his presents in the end of his bed like every other year. How do I style it out if I inadvertently manage to wake him up?!
would love to hear some funny stories of parents being(or almost being!) caught in the act!

We've always put the presents under the tree and the stockings on the sofa. Just makes life easier. My kids (11 &14) still have their First Christmas stockings. Also...no frigging elf! We told our kids they only go to bad kids lol

I must admit I've had the most chilled Christmas, first time ever I think everything wrapped and done and dd was 14 this year,last year was first year not believing but kept everything the same. This year I realised I don't have to wait for her to go to sleep so I've already put everything out. Just watching the end of 2 weeks notice after Love Actually just hoping it's not a silly o clock awake time.

Not exactly related but it's my best Santa memory and I like to share...
Dad was working off shore (I was about 8), and there was a storm so it was really touch and go whether he'd get back and then on to the south coast of England...(from north north Scotland)
Yes, I wanted presents but I really wanted Santa to pick up Dad in his sleigh and bring him home.
Well, I am fairly sure that Santa wasn't involved, but hitch-hiking was quite acceptable in the 70s so Dad got home (about 2am I think) and we probably over-bounced on the bed about three hours later with excitement and a slinky or something equally 70s and annoying - don't think that was the year of the pogo stick!

That’s lovely ❤️❤️

I don't think the Tooth Fairy can come out on the same night as Santa. It messes up the magic to have two lots running ('don't cross the streams'). Santa can maybe explain it if he leaves a note. Unless of course he can double up for the Tooth Fairy but that might not be possible.

This is a bloody genius idea!! Wish I'd thought of this!

My kids are older and could easily still be awake at 2am, although they are young enough that they really shouldn't be!

Wish me luck...

Very sensible!
All this leaving waiting until they sleep (which they don’t) and leaving the presents in the kids rooms - do parents actually want to make their loves harder than they need to be? My grandparents did this with 4 overexcited children (gran never let them forget it) and we always said but hang on that was your choice!!!

Just tried getting the stocking off the inside door handle (cracked DS's bedroom door open 3 inches and stuck my arm around) and felt there was something stopping the stocking from sliding off the handle. Thought 'AH HA, he's booby-trapped it!' and carefully got it off and out the room to find.... he's attached a thank you note and a pen (DP says 'so FC can reply') 🥹

Now sat here waiting with the filled stocking because I tried going back but I could hear him shifting and sighing in bed. I just want to go to bed! I don't even 'do' Father Christmas/Santa! Why did I not buy a bog standard stocking so I could have a ready-filled duplicate?!

@Dontlletmedownbruce
I was actually considering buying a costume, so sure the risk of DS staying awake later/waking up is massive now.

Ds was a really bad sleeper when he was little so it was always tricky getting th timing right.
One year we got everything tidied up and ready downstairs, mince pie and carrot bitten, whiskey drunk etc.
We went upstairs and ready for bed we started planning on filling up his sack. Anyway, he then woke up and was too excited to sleep. Dh decided to take home downstairs for some milk thinking that may help. Ds then saw the food had been eaten and as his sack wasn’t full he thought Father Christmas must be in the house!! It took us over an hour to get him back to sleep and I was very tired the next day!

Now dc are young adults so the sacks are kept in my room 😁

I’ve just finished being Santa. Stocking is hung by the window with care. Presents under the tree. Santa took a bite from his cookie and prancer at the carrot (the reindeer all take it in turns!)

little one is only 2 but I will be having identical stocking so that I can just do a swap and be in and out

to all the Santa ninjas tonight good luck and merry Christmas 🎄

In our house stockings are hung on the bottom of the stairs where we have a square stair with balustrade. Easy to fill once the kids go to bd.

presents are in the living room.

One year when I was about 6 or 7 I heard noises downstairs, headed down to see what was going on to open the door and find my mum , dad and nan wrapping my sisters longer for stereo. They quickly covered it up by saying santa was on the roof with the reindeer, giving them some carrots before they took flight again, So they had to wrap one of the presents to help out . Didn't even question it and went straight back to bed lol

That’s so lovely of him to leave a thank you note. I hope you’ve written a note in disguised writing!

Earlier, I set out the traditional glass of sherry and mince pie. 13 year old child patted my arm and said, with great kindness, but also as if I had bumped my head, 'I hope he comes for you, mum.'

When I was six, I was in bed eagerly awaiting Santa's delivery and I fell asleep.

I was then woken by my drunk Dad, tip toeing into my bedroom and stumping his toe on my wooden bed leg. As he was hopping around with a pile of presents like a whirling Dervish, his long woolly scarf was swinging around like a fan.

He told me to go back to sleep as I was dreaming.

I had still believed in Santa and when I got upset saying that Santa hadn't been, it was all lies and said it was Dad with a woolly scarf on, my Dad tried to convince me that Dr Who had helped with the deliveries - at the time, Doctor Who wore a long scarf! To this day I have no idea what possessed him.

So in my house, Dr Who does the deliveries in his Tardis which explains how he gets in as we don't have a chimney.

I believed for much longer than was normal after that!

Oh yeah. Its definitely made Christmas eve easier. We never had stockings as kids so other than seeing them being hung up on the fireplace on TV or in books, I had no idea where they went. I wanted them for my 2 so I decided in the living room would be best.

@HelloDaisy In my best curly-wurly Ye Olde handwriting 😉🎅🏻

I fucking hate santa for this very reason. Honestly wish I'd never started.

• It's massive hassle
• The kids are horrible
• I don't get enough sleep which 100% spoils my Christmas day
• I have to cook a stupid dinner whilst knackered

No, the end result is not worth it.

Bah fucking humbug

My brother and I had similar but different stockings, we alternated who had which one (one was nicer santa than the other) must have been a nightmare for my mum remembering which was which.

I'm glad to inherit DHs tradition of stockings by the fireplace. No disturbed children. Worked well and stuck after eldest was a sleepwalker/sleep toileting - avoided any nasty accidents at Christmas!
Just have to remind them to bring them back upstairs to us rather than open on their own, missed half the stocking opening one year when suddenly realised they had gone very quiet! 🤣 🤦‍♀️

Nerves are shot but I’m in bed and all is done but it was a close call when we took some stuff out of garage realising it wasn’t wrapped and then dc woke up ! But I caught him some the corridor

so he’s none the wiser I said I was up getting Panadol

We always used tights as kids, and I carried that on with my dds - the legs stretch insanely long when full of presents and it was loads of fun for them bumping them along to our room.

Dd1 used to have an old iron bed with quite a high foot rail. I usually pre-filled a pair of tights which we swapped out with the empty pair on her bed. One year he was stood at the foot of her bed, arms outstretched, when she suddenly sat bolt upright. He shit himself and dropped down out of sight, but his arms didn't bend that way and he really struggled not to shout out. We were falling about laughing.

The last few years I've given up staying awake till they're asleep as they can outlast me (and obvs are well aware, but still love getting stocking presents). So I do what my mum did and set an alarm super early when no teenager has ever been awake. I used to worry I'd forget, but it never failed and both were always fast asleep!

One year during the Believer Years we thought they were finally asleep around 11 when a hyped up dd2 (around 7) came into our room sobbing that He Hadn't Been. Took a lot to convince her it wasn't morning yet but she had to get back to sleep NOW or he wouldn't come. It took bloody ages and I was shattered!

This year, they're coming back from their Dad's on Boxing Day and their stockings will be casually already on their beds. Nice and easy! I loved the believer years. 🎄🥰

Ah I’m loving reading all these. Annoying as all the kids are asleep, and I can’t seem to switch my brain off

Oh thank god it's not just me! 😂

I've just done the deed. Thank you and goodnight 😴

One Christmas, my DS boobytrapped his bedroom - think string instead of laser beams. I managed to lob the present from Santa, through the string and onto the end of his bed. He believed for another year.