Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Original poster

Relatives' presents - do you say they're from Father Christmas?

59 replies

ImperialBlether · 04/09/2011 11:26

My children are adult now (waaah) but whey they were young, we'd say Father Christmas bought all the presents. Then we realised we didn't seem very generous so we said he'd brought everything except the main present. Then we got confused and said he'd brought the main present.

My children's relatives who'd bought presents would give them their presents when they saw them over the Christmas period.

My friend tells her children all presents from her, grandparents etc, are all under the tree and have come from Father Christmas.

Another friend gets very confused and says she gives Father Christmas the presents to bring to us.

Another one says that everyone sends him the money and he buys and wraps the presents.

What do you do?

OP posts:
Beamur · 04/09/2011 11:30

Presents come from the people they come from.
We usually take DD to see Father Christmas and the present he gives is from him.
But she's only 4 and hasn't asked any awkward questions yet!
DP favours a stocking of small gifts to be put in her room as she gets a bit older from Father Christmas - my Mum did this for her last Christmas with a few Santa themed goodies - a torch, some hair bobble and a drinking cup which she loved.

exexpat · 04/09/2011 11:31

Santa does the stockings, and everything else comes from whoever actually bought it - how else can they say thank you? And how do you explain the fact that you are buying presents for other people?

I still do stockings for my two (they will be 13 and 9 at Christmas this year) but when I was in a toy shop with DD (currently 8) the other week, she pointed to a display of small toys and said please could I get some of those ones to go in her stocking....

cleanandclothed · 04/09/2011 11:32

Father Christmas brings a stocking. It has small things in like stationary, bubble bath, stickers, fruit, chocolate money. We as parents provide this. Our main present is given by us, under the tree. All relatives give their own, so they can be properly thanked.

happygilmore · 04/09/2011 11:33

My sister says they're all from FC and I find it weird to be honest. Surely they're from who they're from?

Original poster
ImperialBlether · 04/09/2011 11:34

It's confusing when everyone does something different, isn't it? So one child goes to school and says "Father Christmas bought me a bike" and a friend says "How come he only bought me a pen and a satsuma?"

It's a wonder they don't suss us out earlier, isn't it, really?

OP posts:
SenoritaViva · 04/09/2011 11:35

Presents found in the stocking are left by Father Christmas.
Main present and presents given by relatives are found under the tree with labels that are from/to that person. I think if people are generous enough to give your child a present the child should know this and be able to thank them in person or by letter.

pozzled · 04/09/2011 11:39

Same as cleanandclothed I want the DDs to know from an early age that all their friends and relatives bring them presents.

I think when little children discuss their presents it's more about what they got rather than who they got it from! Grin

SenoritaViva · 04/09/2011 11:39

HappyG I'd be really peeved about that as the aunt as I'd want the child to know I'd bought them a present and thought about them.

Imperial Let's hope our kids are in the same class as our DD gets all sorts from toothpaste to pens but certainly no bikes!

LawrieMarlow · 04/09/2011 11:41

Father Christmas brings stockings and a big present. Everyone else gives presents from themselves.

Original poster
ImperialBlether · 04/09/2011 11:43

I think my friend who says FC brings everything actually tells them that the aunts etc have bought the present, but FC has brought it to them. They certainly thank their relatives.

OP posts:
MrsCog · 04/09/2011 11:45

DC1 is still only 13+4 in my uterus... but what my Mum and Dad used to do (and what I plan to do) is that the stocking and a couple of toys/fun things were from FC. All relatives presents were from who they were from, but what was extra good is that there was always a present off Mum and Dad as well (to blow us off the FC 'scent'!) but it was always something fairly modest and boring (new PJs/slippers/bedding/book) etc.

happygilmore · 04/09/2011 12:27

ImperialBlether - I think that actually might be similar to what my sister does, thinking about it. Something like others buy the presents then send them to FC who brings them, or other shite like that.

Honestly, why would we do that? (I speak as an annoying child who worked it out young because of all the strange inconsistencies like these).

Moanna · 04/09/2011 12:48

Oooh this got nasty last year.

Moanna · 04/09/2011 12:48

I think it was in AIBU though.

TeamDamon · 04/09/2011 12:52

We have always had stockings from Father Christmas under the tree to be opened on Christmas morning. Everyone else's presents labelled to show who they're from, opened after lunch. This is the way we did it when I was a child and we used to love the excitement of waiting on the stairs on Christmas morning while Dad went to check whether Father Christmas had been!

StarlightMcKenzie · 04/09/2011 12:57

In our house Father Christmas brings shed loads of presents and a stocking.

The reason for this is that things such as 8 packs playdough sets are split into 8 and wrapped individually, slippers are wrapped individually too and differently so that the children have to try to guess which one the other is, same with other presents i.e. dolls house furniture, train track parts, and many of presents are as cheap as a tube of smarties.

There is one or two small-ish presents from the parents and the ones from relevatives are from them.

Our Christmas is fairly inexpensive, but boy do the kids come downstairs to a mountain of presents......

limetrees · 04/09/2011 13:01

Father Christmas brings the stocking.

Grandparents, aunties, parents, friends bring their own presents to give to children.

Anything else frankly wierd IMO.

PontyMython · 04/09/2011 13:01

In our house father Christmas only gets the stocking presents (which are decent presents, just small, stuff like happyland figures or train set stuff). The bigger presents are from us, or whoever else has paid for them.

PontyMython · 04/09/2011 13:02
sjuperwolef · 04/09/2011 13:02

santa and i get together when xmas is close, we discuss if dd has been a good girl and he gives me a list of things she'd like.

i buy these in, but if she is naughty santa and i get together to discuss which thing is dropped from the list, dd is informed of the meeting so has time to buck up her behaviour.

the presents are then picked up by the elves who help me wrap them, to be delivered by santa at xmas.

this story has been done for dds 6 and a half yrs, she seems happy with it and knows i pay for presents but santa brings them Grin

present tags have from mummy and daddy plus some from santa and the reindeers :) if they are from family they say from unty/uncle/granny etc..

Pippinintherain · 04/09/2011 13:02

FC does the stockings and 1 big pressie.

We do 1 or 2 medium sized pressies and the ones from other people are from them.

sjuperwolef · 04/09/2011 13:03

unty? aunty fgs Grin

lillybloom · 04/09/2011 13:05

Presents are from the gift giver apart from one main present and stocking. We use different paper so its obvious which are from Santa :)

Meglet · 04/09/2011 13:09

No. That would be weird.

Father Christmas does the stockings (little pressies, usually useful stuff like pens, socks, smellies). Father Xmas presents aren't wrapped up.

Relatives presents come from the relatives.

Maryz · 04/09/2011 13:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Swipe left for the next trending thread