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Christmas

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Original poster

When on xmas eve do you 'do' stockings?

24 replies

tennesseyhennessey · 30/11/2012 23:06

on xmas eve last year we did the kids stockings before we went to bed which resulted in dd (4.9 at the time) getting up at 1:30 am as soon as she realised her stocking was full & santa had been.
has anyone any foolproof techniques to avoid it this year? i have been toying with the idea of setting an alarm for about 5:30 am!

OP posts:

2kidsintow · 01/12/2012 00:06

I've always done mine last thing at night.

But then my children have always loved their sleep. My DD woke one Christmas morning (I think she was about 6), saw her stocking, shouted through "Mummy, he's been!" then turned over and had a bit more sleep until she was ready to get up.

When she was v little, she did come down for a drink after we'd put the sack of gifts under the tree, but we managed to convince her she was dreaming.

RaspberryLemonPavlova · 01/12/2012 00:25

Ours are downstairs by the fireplace, so we fill them last thing before we go to bed.

QueenMaeve · 01/12/2012 01:32

Ours are on the fireplace too. I couldn't risk them on their beds

MissMogwi · 01/12/2012 05:50

I used to sneak in just before I went to bed like a silent ninja and carefully place them on their beds.

Then DD2 decided she was scared of FC so asked him to leave them on the landing instead, he kindly (and with relief) obliged.

vvviola · 01/12/2012 05:54

We leave ours downstairs by the fireplace, so they are done last thing at night. Which last year was about 3am in the end...

Am hoping for slightly more civilised timing this year

olibeansmummy · 01/12/2012 07:31

Ds has his stocking downstairs so as soon as he's asleep, can't wait any longer!

lolalotta · 01/12/2012 07:33

My DD's is layed by the fireplace under the tree!

LadyIsabellaWrotham · 01/12/2012 07:34

Midnight ninja here too, but my DCs are not overly early wakers.

TheReturnOfBridezilla · 01/12/2012 08:24

This is the first Christmas my ds1 will properly understand and he's recently got into the habit of waking up at 1/2am and coming into our bed. There would be ructions if he had to get past a stocking, the while house would be wide awake at that time. But I don't really want to put it downstairs as it won't get the same attention (or buy me twenty mins to brush my hair and put my makeup on! ). Hmm, some serious sleep training is in order I think! Unless I sneak past him when he comes in and put it on his bed then..

CherryMonster · 01/12/2012 15:54

they are hung on the unit in living room on christmas eve, and i put them outside their bedroom doors when i go to bed.

fuzzpig · 01/12/2012 16:01

I think we put theirs outside their room last year. My DCs are fairly early risers but thankfully so far they haven't woken at a ridiculous hour at Xmas. YET.

fuzzpig · 01/12/2012 16:02

Although actually we will be out latish on 24th so maybe they will sleep in?!

Original poster

tennesseyhennessey · 01/12/2012 18:23

thanks for your replies, it seems most leave them downstairs then? if you do, do the kids then bring them up to open them? imthinking if we left them downstairs the kids wont be bothered about opening them and will just want main presents! i admit i enjoy the extra time it gives us in bed whilst they rummage through their stockings!

OP posts:

fuzzpig · 01/12/2012 18:37

I feel the same about the stockings bing downstairs, I think they wouldn't get a look in if they were by the tree! :o

Themumsnot · 01/12/2012 18:42

We sneak in and put them on the beds. I leave my mum's outside the bedroom door though. My lot come and open them on our bed, but when I was little we opened them by ourselves (sometimes at 3am) so our parents could get a bit more sleep. I find it fascinating how everyone's family customs differ and everyone thinks their way is the only correct way to do it. The first year we did stockings DH was horrified to find that I didn't wrap everything - our stocking presents had never been wrapped and his always had. Now we wrap!

Taffeta · 01/12/2012 18:44

Ours are hung on the outside of the DC's bedroom doors.

They both sleep very well. They know when they wake to bring the stockings in to us. This is usually 6-7am ish. Thye are 6 and 9. DS (9) is at the edge of belief

Taffeta · 01/12/2012 18:46

Oh and the cat's one is downstairs

My friend knitted him a small stocking a few years ago with his initial on, branding us cruel for leaving him out DD helps him open his treats.

RaspberryLemonPavlova · 01/12/2012 20:26

They bring them upstairs and open them on our bed. All their main presents have appeared downstairs but we don't open them until later in the day anyway - after church, and now they are older after lunch.

And presents are all wrapped individually. There is enough in them to keep them going until the main event!

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 01/12/2012 20:29

Ours go on the beds, I sneak in about 11, take them to my room, fill them quickly and pop them back on the beds, haven't been caught yet. The DCs generally wake up between 7 and 8, same as any other day. We always had ours on our beds as children, downstairs just wouldn't be the same.

PenguinBear · 01/12/2012 21:36

Downstairs and Santa doesn't arrive very early. Usually get one awake about 4am checking if he has been but he hasn't! Santa usually pays us a visit about 6am and our Christmas day usually starts about 6.30 every year!

PenguinBear · 01/12/2012 21:37

They open them downstairs! But are not allowed to open them until we ate downstairs armed with the video camera

sadmum1000 · 01/12/2012 21:42

I'm another ninja who sneaks in v tipsy at 2am on my way to bed. never been a problem - unlike the disasterous tooth fairy visits where I always go to bed and forget and have to sneak in at 7am when they are almost awake

fluffypillow · 01/12/2012 21:58

My favourite part of christmas day is seeing the kids opening their stockings :)..............BUT I hate filling them on xmas eve! I've never been caught, but had many near misses. Not sure my nerves can stand it again this year tbh

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 01/12/2012 22:06

I had my first tooth fairy fail recently, but just about got away with it, DS called out to me that he couldn't find it, so I grabbed a pound out of DH's money pot on our dressing table and sneaked it under his pillow while i was "helping" to look for it.

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