Am I the only person who doesn't do stockings?

[Whatthequack]

As a child I've never had a stocking and Santa always delivered my presents unwrapped on the sofa. Presents from family members were always under the tree. So for Ds 1 & 2, their presents from Santa are wrapped and laid out on a sofa each. I thought this was perfectly normal until I read Mumsnet. Am I the only one who does this?

I had a stocking with small unwrapped presents in it, then a big unwrapped present from Santa in the sitting room e.g. Dolls pram, bike. Then wrapped gifts from relatives - usually all mine on one chair, all my sisters on the other.

With my children they have a stocking in their bed from Santa with wrapped in tissue paper presents (£1-4 like chocolate coins, bubble bath etc), then downstairs an unwrapped present from Santa & all the presents from relatives are under the tree.

We give the kids presents (a book, pjs & a jigsaw, every year) & they get a fiver to buy a present for each other.

Whatthequack - our present are just from Santa as well.

And in the case of aunties etc - they told him what to get and he did.

Someone said I can't quite get my head around presents not being wrapped

I think I am equally puzzled about children's presents having to be wrapped.

I don't remember ever having a stocking as a child. Our presents were in a big bag under the tree. We will do the same for the children unless DH (who had a stocking) objects.

Why are you puzzled ? It's far more 'normal' ( for want of a better word ) to wrap a gift isn't it ?

Obviously I couldn't give two hoots what others do - and im sure likewise - but I can't quite understand just placing lots of toys/ whatever in a pile and that's it. They're just there to pick up. No guessing what they are

I've honestly never heard of it and didn't know it was a thing. Do the posters who do this also not wrap birthday presents or gifts for other people ? Just hand stuff over ?

Sage why am I puzzled?

Well its simply because I dont like using the term 'cant get my head around'.

You can't get your head around people not thinking Christmas presents have to be wrapped.

Im saying that it puzzles me that people think they have to be.

We are both allowed our opinions.

Not wrapping presents is lazy and odd it really is. Possibly not wrapping in a stocking you could get away with but not regular presants.

We always do stockings. I like them and actually find them very practical.

We usually travel over Xmas so the stockings come with us and are filled with small gifts easy to travel
With. Main presents are left at home under the tree and we open on return after Xmas.

Kids stockings this year have Tshirt, small book, chocolate coins, satsuma, small Lego set, small art Stetch pad and some pens. The Tshirt can be worn and choc and satsuma eaten so the remaining bits will fit in suitcase home easily
We will return home 29th when they will open main presents.

Well it's only this year I've wrapped presents for Ds. It took over two hours. (I am the worlds worst wrapper). I only did this because I'm afraid he'll somehow catch a glimpse of his presents in our wardrobe. (Dp left the wardrobe slightly open one morning and Ds spotted the Marvel Disney infinity). I think he'll be quite frustrated at this on Chrismas morning, as he's used to seeing all of his presents carefully arranged and laid out for him on the sofa. Which again, like I had said before, I thought this was the 'norm'. Anyway, I'm sure his reaction to the wrapped presents will sway my opinion on whether to continue wrapping, or to go back to them being unwrapped.

We had a pillowcase under the tree with big presents and a small present on our bed to open in the morning before we were allowed downstairs. That heavy feeling of a gift on your feet when you wake up is great! Ahh, memories. We didn't have stockings.

Now I have dc, we have a stocking each that has a satsuma, some chocolate coins and then any gifts small enough to fit in - be it a skipping rope, torch, paintbrushes or whatever. If it's small, it goes in the stocking (stockings are quite big, ahem).

I don't get the whole "this is from Santa, this is from us" distinction. He is just DHL in a red suit and glorified horses!

The thing is, though: there is no 'right' or 'wrong' way to do Christmas. There is 'your' way and 'my' way and 't'others' way...

Children will be used to what they are used to

I'm in Spain and Christmas lunch is pasta soup, a prawn-fest and canelone. Not for me, thanks. But a yule log that shits gifts on Christmas Eve? Yep, we'll have that, thanks oh, and gifts arrive on the night of 5th January after a visit from the 3 kings.

Not wrapping presents is lazy?

Wow, just wow.

We spend hours wrapping them, in fact its what we're doing tonight, me, my daughters and daughters in law. We have a girls night in and have a smashing time but i know for sure it takes as much time, and actually more effort, to arrange unwrapped presents on the sofa and chairs. It looks beautiful, magical, and by far my preference.

I love hearing about other peoples traditions. We all think that the way we do things is normal until we chat about it. We always had a toothbrush and toothpaste in our stockings to encourage us to brush our teeth after eating choc coins for brekkie . The first year DP spend Xmas with us dm did him a stocking including a toothbrush and he thought she was hinting he had bad breath .

As long as everyone is happy does it matter if we do different things? I love stockings but don't feel offended if other people don't. My kids stockings have bath toys, little people figures, small lego sets and bubble bath so small things but not tat, Dp has coffee, chocs, shaving soap, aftershave and 2 Xmas beers. In our house Santa fills the stocking and brings 2 or 3 toys which are left in front of the fire, wrapped. Other presents are from us or family and are under the tree. Works for us.

The thing is, though: there is no 'right' or 'wrong' way to do Christmas. There is 'your' way and 'my' way and 't'others' way...

Spot on.

And whilst we dont have a yule log that shits gifts we do have Santa's camel visit on Christmas day - it shits what it had for dinner on Christmas Eve.

Oh I love, love, love Christmas stockings! My mum still does one for me now I'm an adult (she puts things in for dh too now so I have to share it )

For us, Christmas was mostly about the stocking, it was the thing we got most excited about. We used to have pretty big stockings with lots of small unwrapped gifts in, when we were little it was things like stickers and pens and diaries and lots of chocolates. When I was a teenager it was make up and bubble bath and chocolate. And now it's little things for my house, toiletries and chocolates! Amongst other things of course. Oh and always a calender propped up next to the stocking.

The stocking was always put on the end of our bed or when we got bigger it was put outside our bedroom doors. So we'd open it in bed or in my parents bed and then go downstairs for breakfast and then presents after that. Our under the tree presents were labelled from mum and dad not Santa he just did the stocking. We'd only get about 3 or 4 presents each under the tree and not hugely expensive so the stocking was the main event!

Dh only ever got a tiny stocking just with chocolate in buy piles of presents and he thinks the presents are more exciting so it is just what you are used to and children will be excited whatever. I do recommend stockings to anyone though!

I have done a stocking for my dd this year she's only 9 months but I don't care I loved doing it

we still give stockings for DCs who are now 14, 16 & 19. The stockings are DH's ski socks. Each has a little orange, some chocolate coins and a few small toys/gifts: plasticine is still popular, lip salve, this year they also each have a 25p model plane.

It is just a little reminder that we are still a family even though they are all growing up and moving on with their lives.

Actually this us the first year Santa is delivering the pressies. Until now dd1 has been a bit freaked out about the idea of Santa (weird man with scary beard) letting himself into the house while we are sleeping so I had to tell her postman pat would bring our gifts, ring the bell and hand them over at the door. One year she asked me to light a fire just in case - BBQ Santa for breakfast would have been a completely new tradition.

My 24 year old son is severely autistic plus a few other things and he still believes in Santa - even though he's a Muslim :D

He gets up on Christmas day and goes looking for footprints we have to leave around the garden and we wake him up in the morning by ringing a bell. He comes hurtling down the stairs and we all have to get out of is way and each year he says - nearly.

We do stockings, dd2 is 8 and hers has knitting needles, wool, origami paper, nice pens, stickers and some chocolate coins in it. Maybe a small lego kit as well.

Dd1 is 18 and hers has nail varnish, mascara, foundation, body spray etc in it.
My mum delivered mine last weekend when she visited, and I am already looking forward to opening it. Mine will have some lovely sewing and cookery bits in it.

We had pillowcases as children which we hung by the fireplace. Father Christmas (never Santa) filled them and put them on the end of our beds during the night. I can still remember now that feeling of the weight of it by your feet, running through to Mum and Dad's room to all snuggle in bed together opening the presents.
They were always wrapped and quite inexpensive. Some things were there every year: a sugar mouse, bubbles, chocolate coins, a tangerine tied into one corner with ribbon and a coin in the other corner. Then there would be perhaps a colouring book or small storey book, a small puzzle and similar items.
We did the same for our children right through to when they had children of their own and they now do it for their children.
The only difference is the pillowcases are left by the fireplace in the lounge as we had them being opened at 2 in the morning! ( we had more restraint!)
After pillowcase opening it's breakfast and when that's tidied away the presents under the tree from all the family are opened.

Does it really take more time to place items on a table and the sofa unwrapped?

I can't believe that

My mum started doing stockings for us when we were about 8 or 9, i think. They were just old long socks, stuffed with little trinkets. We had presents under the tree, too.

We do stockings 'from FC' + one or two main presents from us under the tree for DC.

Cariad, that has brought a tear to my eye. It must be magical for you.
We have always done stockings. The first time was when we were saving to get married and it was a way of giving everyone a gift that wasn't very expensive. We used some old socks that year but once wewere married, I made them from beautiful Christmas fabric. Our families loved them and we continued them until we had our dcs. At that point we started giving 'gifts' again and kept stockings for the children and each other. Our dc1 had his first stocking at only eight weeks old! This will be the 34th year dh and I have done stockings. Every gift, however small, is lovingly wrapped and placed inside. We are still using the same stockings that I made all those years ago. It's a lovely tradition that I hope to continue and I hope that when/if my dcs have children of their own, they will be happy for me to do a stocking for them too.

Never done stockings, never had one either.

My mother used to leave our main presents unwrapped as well, but I think it was genuine laziness, not because she thought it was better.that way! She still now cant bring herself to pay £2 for a roll of wrapping paper as its 'such a waste' one year we insisted and she used turkey foil instead.

The children each have a lovely fabric sack (not too big!) and we fill it with the smaller wrapped presents, then large wrapped presents are under the tree on Christmas morning. The sacks get put on the ends of their beds, and they come to our bedroom to open them while we all snuggle in bed, then we get up, go downstairs to the rest of the presents. Father Christmas is just a postal service here, its clear who the presents are from.