Do you put presents under the tree before Christmas eve?

[OvO]

I remember presents being put under the tree a week or more before and all the fun of squishing/shaking them.

But I've always waited and put everything out once my boys are in bed on Christmas eve. Presents sent from family/friends get put under the tree whenever they arrive though.

I'd like to put EVERYTHING out early because I'm a wrapping saddo and make all the parcels all pretty and would like to enjoy the nice chismassy scene. But my children are evil not to be trusted! I think they'd peek.

Do you put yours out early and do your DC snoop? A shake is allowed but no sneaky peeling of cellotape!

[NeverQuiteSure]

I think it's wonderful how everyone's Christmas rituals differ and I love lade's joke present.

Our Christmas is slightly different as we celebrate on Christmas Day and again on Boxing Day with DSS and the rest of our extended family. Family bring gifts with them on Boxing Day and us grown ups only exchange small gifts, like books. The children make gifts for everyone, and since everyone comes to ours on Boxing Day, we put all these gifts under our tree. From a shallow perspective, I love this as the gift wrap is all coordinated and tasteful On Christmas Eve Father Christmas visits and delivers small gifts to the children's admittedly generously proportioned stockings. DH & I buy each child 1 gift that we put under the tree on Christmas Eve to open on Christmas Day. I also make a little something for the two younger children to share (play food, etc)

On Boxing Day DSS and the rest of our family arrive late morning, all bearing gifts. These gifts go under the tree for all of 30 mins then everything is exchanged and unwrapped.

[pookamoo]

It wasn't until MN that I learned about all these different Santa/FC traditions.

In our house (and in mine growing up too) FC just brings the stockings.

Everything else comes from family/friends, and we put it "in a safe place" until after the DC are in bed on Christmas Eve. Our presents to them, the "main present" is under our bed for the early morning onslaught! Stockings and main present can be opened before breakfast, other presents have to wait.

We also stagger presents over the 12 days of Christmas, rather than a huge free-for-all...

[PractialJoke]

My parents and grandparents always had an almost paranoid fear of burglars at Christmas. Presents remained well hidden until Christmas morning. FC presents went at the end of the beds during the night, everything else was put under the tree in the morning.

I do the same, as I'd feel so stupid if we did get "done" after all those years of warnings.

[Mojavewonderer]

Depends on who's turn it is to have the kids. If it's my ex's turn then all presents go under the tree before and they take them with them when their dad picks them up and they open them with dad. If the kids are with me at Christmas then they get put out on Christmas Eve. They have to wait for their dads presents on Boxing Day which kills them lol

[42notTrendy]

I think in our house, and as I was growing up, Santa was the ordering and delivery man really. You had to tell Santa what you'd like and he would decide if you we're good enough and if he could get it. Then it would be delivered on behalf of Aunty/grandma etc.

[cunexttuesonline]

Presents for family go under the tree as soon as they are wrapped and stay there till they are distributed! Any presents we receive before xmas go under the tree. We get DS a present from us and that goes under the tree as well as my present to DH and his to me. Santa just brings his own stuff on xmas eve, but he does sort the presents under the tree into 3 piles for us which is good of him.

[Marne]

Surely santa doesn't bring presents from family and friends? (not fair that he takes all the credit)

[Marne]

Ours don't go under the tree until Christmas eve as dd2 would open them and the dogs would sniff out any food gifts :)

When I was a kid we always put presents from family under the tree as we were given them then on Christmas eve father Christmas would put them in our sacks with the gift from him (we didn't do stockings).

[ParvatiTheWitch]

I did last year and the new cat pissed on them

[bouncysmiley]

No it ruins the magic of Christmas morning

[attheendoftheday]

katieweasel that is genius!

[ben5]

santa brings all presents on Christmas when we are all in bed!!

[melliebobs]

No. My dog can't be trusted

[chanie44]

Presents for and from other people go under the tree right away.

Small presents for the children go out as soon as try are wrapped.

Main present goes out on Xmas eve when they are asleep.

[LovesBeingOnHoliday]

Dh and I have this argument every year, his presents always went under, mine came from Santa therefore appear on the morning. I win

[kiwik]

We don't put the tree up until Christmas Eve. Presents get put under once the DCs are all in bed - I won't say asleep, as they often aren't.

The worst year was the one where we bought them a trampoline, and had to assemble it in the garden. Several glasses of prosecco down, and I thought we'd still be building it by morning.
We didn't learn our lesson - the following year DH bought a swingset.

[nooka]

My family tradition is to put the tree up after dark on Christmas Eve, after having decorated the rest of the house. Then all the presents go under it through to Christmas day opening time. Which is also after dark, so that the candles can be lit and admired first. The tree stay up until twelfth night Very traditional! We each got one present first thing in the morning but otherwise had to wait. I suspect my own children would say that that was torture!

[42notTrendy]

We put our gifts for other people under the tree, then the 'elves' come and fetch them in the night to take to Santa. Ds loves that. All gifts to us get sent to Santa in the same way, so nothing is under the tree for more than 24 hrs. Then Santa puts presents for ds in a sack in his room and presents for us go under the tree.
Long may the deceit continue!

[StupidFlanders]

Yes I love looking at wrapped presents and love watching dcs trying to guess what's inside!
Only Santa delivers on Xmas eve and in our house the best stuff comes from us- Santa only brings small treats.

[StuntGirl]

Yes, our presents go under the three as we get them. We also put other people's presents under the tree until we can give them to them.

No children here though, if there were everything would be hidden til Christmas Eve when Santa brings them

[VoldemortsNipple]

I've pondered with the idea of putting the bulk of the presents under the tree this year as youngest dc is 11. But I just don't think I could bring myself to do it. It would spoil the magic, it's bad enough that the dcs won't let me leave FC a snack We usually have the gifts for extended family and presents that dcs have bought under the tree and then on CE, I pack them up to give out, wait for dcs to go to bed and spend ages rearranging the presents in a big mixed heap around the tree.

Christmas morning, I play the elf and hand out the presents so everybody has something to open. I have the presents arranged so they don't open them in the wrong order and get an accessory for a bigger present first. It works better like this, especially as the big box presents have been swapped for £40-50 DVD size cases with Xbox games instead.

[lade]

Yes, but just the one.

In our family, it is tradition that when the tree goes up, the joke present goes under the tree. This present is layered and heavily disguised. Every day you are allowed to touch, smell and shake your present for clues. You may also make one guess every day. If you guess accurately, you may open up the present. If not, it goes back for the next day. (In over 30 years, I have never guessed the present!) Guesses have to be specific, so a CD would be no good. You'd have to say "Now 90 album" etc.

My girls love this, as they believe that they will guess their present. They have no chance. .

The rest are put under the tree on Christmas Eve. However, if the girls are given any presents from other people before Christmas, that will go under the tree.

[IdaClair]

Presents go under the tree as we wrap them, all labelled accordingly. Only chocolatey ones don't as I worry about them melting or spoiling in a hot room.

Only stockings come from Father Christmas and they are in the bedrooms by the fireplaces.

Children don't peek. And there isn't often a huge pile, as most are delivered to others' trees in the preceding couple of weeks so it is usually only ours, 2 DCs and family we're seeing on the day under there - the DCs have 3-4 packages each from us, not a huge mountain.

[StarlightMcKenzie]

NO. Course not.

Don't even put the tree up until Christmas Eve.

Stays up for the full Christmas period though despite the fact that the shops give up with the commercial stuff after the day.

[dementedma]

We put them put before Xmas eve. It makes the tree looks all exciting and festive. We just trained the Dcs that they weren't allowed to touch, same as no stocking opening before 7.30. Or if they do, no waking us up! They are fine with that and always have been since they were tiny.
They also don't get to open their under tree presents until after church.