How do you *do* Christmas???

[badkarma]

Tradition in our house, was to have a space for each childs gifts. eg: Mine was on the big armchair beside the fire, sisters was on the sofa and my brothers was on the coffee table. (Although there were 8 of us at home, the eldest ones were a lot older and had grew out of "santa" gifts long before we did. Ours was never wrapped, just sitting there, all shiny and new waiting for us to find them. My dolls were already in their buggys, batteries were already in everything we got, we had no wrapping paper to open (or throw away!)
I still carry on this tradition with my kids, they get up and dd's gifts are on the sofa and ds's are on the armchair, no wrapping etc... they know they are from santa. Then we give them a small gift from us, maybe a dvd or something, and they know their stockings are from us, but I like them to think that Santa left their toys etc....

However, a friend recently suggested to me that what I was doing was wrong. She said her kids know that they buy all the toys, She wraps everything individually and has FROM MUM & DAD on them... her kids are 6, 7 and 9 and know that Santa isn't real I know some people DO do it that way.

Do you all wrap all the gifts and do your kids think the wrapped gifts are from santa or from parents?

What a lovely tradition

I do what my Mum & Dad did when I was growing up - pillowcase on the end of each bed filled with wrapped presents from Father Christmas. All other presents under the tree. I'll continue this even when they don't believe in him any more!

We give a gift from us to ds (aged 5). It is wrapped and says "from Mummy and Daddy". He also has wrapped gifts from anyone else who sends them, e.g. relatives, friends.

What comes from Santa, is his stocking, filled with small items. These are all wrapped in very cheap paper, and stuffed in the stocking, which is left in his room, so it is there when he wakes up.He firmly believes it is from Santa.

However, this is just what WE do. I think it's fine for different families to have different traditions, and not everyone to be the same. It's not wrong, it's just a different way of doing things.

Stockings downstairs by the fireplace are from Santa (no particularly big presents in there). Other presents under the tree are from specific people. When I was little, we weren't allowed to open all the main presents until after the Queen's speech (frustrating, but makes the day go on for a lot longer). Haven't fully been able to do that with the DCs, but do try to spin out the opening of presents for as long as possible. I love finding out about other people's traditions - it's fascinating.

Mine were always unwrapped presents in a pillowcase at the end of the bed. Then seperate presents from my mum and dad.

Dh and I do the same for DS.

I generally wrap the presents (but not the ones in the stockings) but we didn't have ours wrapped as children. Sometimes they still had the price tags from the local shop on!

The ones from FC are by the fireplace, presents from family and friends (and something small from mum and dad) are under the tree.

It will be interesting this Christmas as dd doesn't believe, for the first time (as far as I know!). Don't know if she expects Father Christmas to still bring her presents! She is not really into toys any more anyway.

We wrap all presents. There are some in a stocking which aren't usually in their rooms (they ask for them to be left outside), and the rest under the tree. These are mixed up with presents from friends and family which are there from before Christmas eve. All of the adults have stockings too - we each buy everyone else 2 stocking fillers (just small things).

Hi badkarma, what lovely memories!
We do a trail of Santa pressies from the chimney to the tree, wrapped in special Santa paper and complete with OTT footprints, glitter, half-chewed carrots etc. Other pressies (in different paper!!) are on the other side of the tree. Stockings on bedroom doorhandles. DP got very confused about the paper scenario last year!!

Badkarma - what a shame your friends have'nt encouraged thier children to belive. I still belive in the spirit of Father Christmas and try to make thing magical for DD and her new sibling come December.

DD has stockingin her room from Santa, presents in stocking are'nt wrapped, but he also leaves a little pile of things that wont fit just beside it and they are wrapped. Then DD comes down with us - sees that as well as all presents from friends and family - which she has seen and helped put under the tree as they arrive, there are also more which are from mummy and daddy - these are all wrapped, taking care not to use the same wrapping paper as Father Christmas. Oh I get so excited!

A glass of milk and some biscuits is left out for Santa as well as carrots or the reindeer, and these are all gone in the morning. The table we put them on is in the middle of the room so it;s one of the first things she see's as if to prove he really did come.

All presents wrapped (just sent santa the wrapping paper he asked for) so he knows what paper to use. All presents are left under the tree after dd has gone to bed. A stocking is left in dd bedroom.

He also leaves presents for dd at nana's and at nan and grandads because he is very clever and knows where she will be visiting at christmas.

No presents are put under the tree before christmas eve night.

I stopped believing in Santa when I was 6 or 7, I can't remember why exactly, but it does mean that I can't remember how my parents worked it when I did believe.

Once I had stopped believing in Santa my presents from my parents and my stocking appeared under the tree on Christmas morning. Other presents usually would be brought round on Christmas Day by visiting gps etc.

I will have to find out and ask dp what his parents did. DD is clearly too little this year to know what's going on but it would still be nice to start something that we can keep going.

Stockings on the fireplace, one each regardless of age, filled with silly little gifts and chocolate.

Presents from famiyl and friends under the tree all wrapped and tagged. Dad always slips a present under the pile saying from Santa - even though it his handwriting!

Will keep Santa going as long as possible in this house, the girls still too young to even "get" santa yet though!

Stockings first!

If my parents are here, we go to Mass.

Then brekkie.

Then pressies.

Then booze!

Lunch + crackers.

And more booze!

get a stocking (pillow case) at the end of the bed with things not wrapped up, usually a selection pack a stationary etc for school and a few small toys. (used to love the feeling of stretching my legs out Christmas Morning and feeling it on my feet!

That was it for the day as no pressies extra until christmas dinner had been done, the men do the washing up, then someone dresses as santa and hands the presents out under the tree and we watch everyone open them, they a few gallons of Baileys and lots of sily games charades & cards essential. Boxing day always, go to the pub then home made vegetable soup from xmas left overs and loads of cold meat/coleslaw/new potatoes etc. Am sooo excited about Christmas now I have children of my own. Am having it for the first time in my New Home this year. Had Asda & Mothercare Christmas catalogue arrive thro the post today so am excited already. x

ds is only little so not really got a christmas routine yet, but I would like it to be like this ( mix of mine and DH's family 'styles')

Presents in pillowcase/sack are from santa, under the tree are from family and friends. DH think santa shouldn't wrap presents - but I suspect he will! santa presesnt will continue even once santa is exposed as a cruel lie!

Santa presents can be opened as soon as awake. Then christmas dinner (at lunchtime) then 'tree' presents, which are handed out either one at a time and opened one at a time (so you watch each other) or are all handed out until everyone has a pile of them then you take it in turns to open one. No mad free for all where you miss what people get.

This thread has made me feel all Christmassy! I don't have any children (yet) but I make DH a stocking and dress up as Miss Santa to give him his breakfast on Xmas morning. My sisters and I still make a stocking for our Mum & Dad and as two of us are married now, we spend every other year all together. My grandparents still make stockings for each other too! Love some of these ideas, might nick them for the future!

stocking from Santa which they open in their or my bed, then downstairs for moer presents, a sack each from Santa and some under the tree from me/sister/other family/friends

last year because the boys were a bit older we did santas foot prints with icing sugar on the carpet (to make it look like snow), they loved this told everyone santa had been in their living room and left snow on the floor, cnat wait for this year. Xmas eve we are going for our xmas day dinner as i am not cooking this year, and we will be able to spend all day with the toys

Oh I love the thought of Santas footprints!! Last year we left a stocking hanging on dd's door handle, as she would have freaked out if she thought Santa was in her room whilst she was sleeping!!!!

Everyone leaves their gifts under our tree as soon as they can, we always ask eachother "Have you got your tree up yet?" and if we have, then we organise a visit and place the gifts under the trees, which is quite a lot with 7 siblings and 14 nieces/nephews

Actually the past 2 years MIL and FIL have came up with a bin liner full of toys for the kids, which sent dh mad, as it seemed like they were trying to "outdo" Santa.. iykwim.
Am feeling all snug and christmassy now! Though have to get over Halloween first, have just came back from the village shop, and the local yoofs are hanging round the bus shelter letting off fireworks and bangers!!

I think everyone should do their own thing. It doesn't matter what anyone else does. Christmas family traditions are great; they're what children look forward to.
I must say though that I'm very surprised that any child of six or older would not have twigged that Father Christmas is a fairytale. I'd sussed it out by the time I started school! When I was at school, anyone who still believed in father Christmas beyond the age of 7 or 8 would definitely have been subjected to public ridicule! Surely children don't really still believe it at that age, do they? I think it's more likely that they love the story and just want to play along.

What age are your children 80smum? And do they still believe?

Well, mine are grown up now (26 and 23) so haven't believd in FC for quite while!
To be honest, I don't know whether they ever really believed in him. We used to give them each a stocking, puportedly from him, and put out carrots and mince pies etc on Christmas Eve. But it was treated more like a very special game of "let's pretend." I think they always knew it wasn't real. Once they started asking intelligent questions, such as 'how can one person go to everyone in the world in one night?' I gave them honest answers. I guess some would argue that I should have perpetuated the myth and kept it going a bit longer.

DD is only 4 so sill really into the whole Father Christmas thing. She knows that the family and friends all choose and buy presents for her (and the other children). Everyone wraps and labels them. And then FC delivers them on Christmas Eve - only children's presents thugh, not adult's gifts. All done through the magic of Christmas. FC also brings one special present from him to her, that even we don't know about All presents are wrapped up and left downstairs for us to find in the morning. We don't do stockings.

We have the labels so DD can say her thank yous to each person.

There isn't a right or wrong way to do Christmas. Everyone has theor own traditions and ways of doing things. That is what makes Christmas and Father Christmas so magical -everyone does it differently and the children don't care about what happens anywhere but their own house.