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Christmas

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

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Original poster

Does Santa 'buy' or just bring the presents to your dc?

63 replies

JinglingAllTheWay · 19/12/2011 21:07

After reading some interesting threads on here, I wondered how Santa 'worked' in your house?

In our house, Santa makes or buys the toys and then delivers them Christmas eve. As far as dc are concerned, dh and I have no involvement in the process what so ever, we get the dc different presents than Santa which go under the tree as they are wrapped.

Is this weird? It seems a lot of people buy the presents for Santa to deliver?!

How does it work in your house?

OP posts:

lucysmam · 19/12/2011 21:22

DD1 knows this year that myself & dp have bought the presents for her & her sister so they have gone (in her words...) "through the wardrobe to the North Pole where Santa will look after them until he delivers them Christmas eve". This does help us out though, I daren't put the presents under the tree because I think my smallest would probably open them if I did so at least dd1 isn't expecting a pile there until Christmas morning.

MerylStrop · 19/12/2011 21:27

In our house Santa Christmas (sic) fills a stocking with little treats and surprises (to anyone staying in the house over night, so DH and me and granny too)

Where the money comes for this is never discussed, although DS has noted that Santa must shop at Home Bargains.

Bigger presents from real people under the tree. Appear as if by magic overnight, but not linked with the man in red in any way

VoldemortsNipple · 19/12/2011 21:37

Dcs are Santa athiests now, but when they were younger, as soon as were old enough to understand the basics about money we told them that we had to pay Santa for the gifts. However Santa would bring all the gifts from us (not extended family) so its a bit diferent than if he just brought stockings.

It worked for us as dcs would not write unrealistic lists with big expectations.

Oh and everything appears magically under the tree Christmas morning. Even now I love to see their faces as they are met with a bulging Christmas tree.

leftmymistletoeatthedoor · 19/12/2011 22:46

Well its all a bit more complex than I'd like --because ds is a know it all- but this is how it works in our house...

You tell santa what you'd like. Santa decides if you've been good enough and gives ONE present you asked for. He also sends magic messages to other people so they know what to buy for dc. Santa also brings a stocking.

Mummy + daddy give the money to santa to buy/make things (because otherwise ds wanted to know why some children get no presents and we have to donate because surely santa would provide them?).

Santa delivers his presents under the tree / in the stocking on xmas eve using his magic key.

insanityscratching · 20/12/2011 06:16

Father Christmas fills the stocking in our house because he wouldn't have enough room on his sleigh to bring big presents so those gifts come from us, family and friends.Father Christmas gets plenty of credit though because in the stocking are things that I wouldn't allow or have said are a waste of money

3duracellbunnies · 20/12/2011 06:48

Same as most of you, FC brings the tat little things in the stockings, and we give the big, or expensive things under the tree which won't get a look in on Christmas morning as they are too busy playing with a 99p cheapo toy. That way expectations are managed, mummy + daddy get the glory too rather than looking like scrouge when everyone else gives them presents.

hellhasnofury · 20/12/2011 06:56

In our house Father Christmas brought the presents that mum and dad had bought.

Wallace · 20/12/2011 07:15

Father Christmas brings the bits and pieces in the stockings. We give one main present to each child.

They know FC doesn't bring big presents like bikes or Xboxes, but they also know that some parents pretend that the presents they buy (eg bikes, xboxes) are from Santa.

spiderslegs · 20/12/2011 07:25

Really don't understand this 'Santa buys toys' nonsense.

a) His name is FATHER CHRISTMAS

b) He MAKES toys (or his elves do), he delivers your stocking & the presents from your mum & dad - all else is from the giver.

HE DOESN'T BUY ANYTHING - it's magic not tawdry commercialism.

HarrietJoHoHoHones · 20/12/2011 07:25

FC brings some presents/stockings but dh& I give presents from us too. Other people who buy presents get the credit,

andaPontyinaPearTreeeeee · 20/12/2011 07:35

FC makes the stocking presents and a couple of bigger things in his workshop, and delivers them on Xmas eve.

Everything else is bought and stored by us. :)

DarcieandSnowballsmum · 20/12/2011 07:48

In this house DD knows Santa only brings one present and mummy & daddy buy the rest - but they all go to Santa ready to be delivered on Xmas eve as if DD is naughty Santa can decide which presents to take away!

She's satisfied with that for now!

exoticfruits · 20/12/2011 07:56

Santa is magic-he doesn't do the mundane and deal with money! He also isn't a postal delivery service for others!

VoldemortsNipple · 20/12/2011 08:01

spiderlegs How do you explain to your dcs that some children don't get much for Christmas? This is a genuine question.

My dcs had friends in primary school, some of who were in extreme poverty. For me, it would not be fair for my dcs to think everything happens by magic and Santa brings presents to only the good children, because it was blindingly obvious that was not true.

DedalusDigglesPocketWatch · 20/12/2011 08:05

My two are still small (4yrs and 16m) so a very basic explanation here.

Father Christmas/Santa knows if a child had been good or not and brings a stocking full of treats (little presents, sweets etc) but all the other presents are bought by other people. I would have it that FC delivers all the presents from everyone, but unfortunately when we go visiting just before Christmas we have to bring back a carload of presents so not sure how we could swing that :o

LolaLadybird · 20/12/2011 08:12

In our house, FC brings the stocking toys and the presents under the tree that have been bought by DH and I. Like Spider says, these are made by FC's elves. I can see this might cause awkward questions in later years but so far the DC's (6 and 4) haven't questioned it. Long may the lack of curiosity last ...!

They have also never asked why we don't buy them anything (as it is all from FC) but this is how we did it in my house when I was growing up and I never thought much of it. I have read other threads on here that say they don't want FC getting 'all the credit' for presents they have bought but I don't see how that's important, the joy is in seeing the DC's opening their presents. I agree there is a danger of unrealistic expectations and requests though if DC's think the the presents are whisked here by magic, so far we have countered this by telling the DC's that FC doesn't like children to be greedy and ask for too much but it is early days.

MigratingChestnutsOnAnOpenFire · 20/12/2011 08:13

FC only does the little presents in the stockings which are hung by the fireplace and near to the glass of wine, mincepie and carrot (but apparently we have to put 7 of those out this year, for each reindeer ). I agree with Voldamortsnipple and this is why not an awful lot goes in the stockings of any value.

The big presents are from us and go under the tree on christmas eve.

NoBloodyMore · 20/12/2011 08:22

In our house Santa does the stocking and one or two other presents, usually something handmade (sock monkey, handmade doll etc), they get presents from us and they get presents from family so they know to say thanks etc, my ds is a bit older at 8 so we've had to change the way it works, Santa used to bring all the presents from us but then we realised it wouldn't work with some children getting very little.

One of my friends was telling me that in her house everything comes from Santa, I'd never heard that before cause how do dc say thank you etc?

Original poster

JinglingAllTheWay · 20/12/2011 16:27

I agree it would be wrong to tell children presents were from
Santa if they were from friends or neighbours etc. my dc know that anything given by friends or family has to saved until boxing day to be opened, only Father Chrismas pressures or mymmy and daddy's allowed on Christmas day!
It extends Christmas then and we have two special days rather than just one.

OP posts:

Original poster

JinglingAllTheWay · 20/12/2011 16:28

Presents mummy *

OP posts:

Letchlady · 20/12/2011 16:49

spiderslegs are your children very young or very naive?

Just wondered how you get around the "EARLY LEARNING CENTRE" toy, very clearly branded if your children think Father Christmas makes it all? Seriously, my children would never accept that in a month of Sundays - they're far too clever for that line .

In our house, Father Christmas brings all the presents, he buys three (which the girls specifically request - but these are little things) and then he fills the rest of their sacks with a combination of presents that are toys / useful items / things they need. The cost of it is met by us (which explains why some children don't get very much).

As for making the gifts, well he makes some but he is also very busy and couldn't possibly make them all, so some items he does have to buy (thereby explaining all the branded presents).

He lets himself in with his santa key.

My DD1 though is 8, and I think this might well be the last year that she believes... as the web of deceit is getting increasingly bigger, the more questions she asks. However, at present she still wants to believe so the answers keep coming .

mumeeee · 20/12/2011 17:16

Father Christmas brings stocking presented. Well our children have always had Christmas bags about the size of a pillow case that ate used for stockings. So quite big stockings. All other presents are bought by people.

housemum · 20/12/2011 17:26

Like most people here, Father Christmas brings the stocking presents, plus hopefully what they have asked him for. I remind the girls that he gives presents to all the good girls and boys, thereby stopping the requests for iPod/DS/Laptop/expensive crap toys. This year DD2 asked for Moshi Monster toys and DD3 for an Aqua Doodle.

I think they need to know that more expensive presents are bought by parents/relatives/friends so they don't expect them to just appear.

PomBearAtTheGatesOfDoom · 20/12/2011 17:40

Santa brings them and the cost just doesn't come into it - if there is any paying to be done, Santa must do it, as we don't. We're skint! With having two older DCs though, the little ones know that Santa doesn't come forever, and the older you are, the less he brings.

WineOhWhy · 20/12/2011 17:42

Mine get stocking from FC plus one larger present (something like a game) and we also give presents which are left under the tree overnight without reference to FC (different wrapping paper). We have never connected FC presents with good behaviour. We have not got into the issue of who pays for the FC pressies or whether they are bought or made, as it has never come up. It might do this year as cousins are staying who are likely to get fewer pressies (partly budget, partly becuase they live overseas and have different traditions). I guess I will decide how to respond at the time. In any event, none of the children are younger than 7 so suspect they already don't believe or this will be their last year.

We have had a few comments about friends at school finding things. I get presents delivered to work (apart from big things like bikes that would be from us rather than FC anyway), and I bring them home very close to Christmas, so they have never found anything. I think they know (or at least suspect) he does not exist, but they enjoy it all so have not probed too deeply (also we did a day trip to Lapland a couple of years ago which I am sure helped to prolong it all!)

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