Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Christmas

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

Original poster

When do you open presents?

71 replies

BrianMolkoismyPlacebo · 25/10/2016 18:07

My kids get up and rush in to living room to check if santa's been.
Dh puts the fire on and we open presents.
They're all stacked randomly under the tree so we have to search for our own, which is fun as you have no idea what's your when you're looking at the pile.
Once presents are open dh plays with kids and I make breakfast.
At the end of the day, early evening we will open stockings.

I was watching peppa pig the other day and they didn't open presents until after dinner. How common is this? We don't eat until 3ish. Making dc wait until after seems cruel

OP posts:
DoubleCarrick · 25/10/2016 18:11

We open santa stockings in bed together before we get up and then presents from family after we've had christmas lunch - so usually about 4pm.

I'm pregnant with our first but we hope to continue this tradition. Santa stockings will keep kids entertained while xmas lunch is being cooked and then family will be around in the afternoon/for lunch to exchange presents

DonkeyOaty · 25/10/2016 18:13

Santa sacks as soon as they wake.

Presents after lunch.

Whatever works for your family - do what you want.

megletthesecond · 25/10/2016 18:15

Their stockings tide them over for most of the morning.

Main presents around 11am.

When I was growing up we couldn't open presents until our grandparents had arrived for lunch.

unicornsarenotjustforchristmas · 25/10/2016 18:16

Stockings whenever they wake up through the night! Tree presents rush downstairs at 7am and carnage! But super fun. Then family start visiting late morning/early afternoon and open presents as they come. Then lunch. Then playing games etc later on

peri89 · 25/10/2016 18:16

First thing in the morning! Presents would be randomly placed under the tree and my dad would do the giving of the gifts, as soon as everyone was awake we'd go racing through! I remember when my little sister was first born and me and my older sister had been up for about 30 minutes and she was still sleeping! We had to wait for her to wake up!

I love the excitement of it, me and my husband do the same now - like a pair of kids! His family do a similar thing, although they don't wait until everyone is up. Whereas I like to share the moment, love seeing my family open their gifts.

flapjackfairy · 25/10/2016 18:17

We do stockings in the morning for kids(although some not kids as such now) then everything else is under the tree . We do tree presents one at a time after lunch(approx 3pm). It prolongs the excitement and it is lovely to open presents as it gets dark! .it all takes a while and then it is time for christmas cake , crackers and cheese etc and hopefully something christmassy on the telly that we can all enjoy. Aw lovely!

LeftRightUpDown · 25/10/2016 18:19

Mine only get sacks from Santa. Nothing else. They are opened as soon as dawn breaks Confused.

Normally have the Grandparents boxing day and they bring their gifts then.

My sister doesn't buy a present and puts money in a savings account for them

Original poster
BrianMolkoismyPlacebo · 25/10/2016 18:20

I do like the idea of spreading it out throughout the day. So the excitement hasn't gone by 9am.

We don't have family locally so we visit them beforehand and bring the presents back with us for christmas day. I might save those ones until later on.

OP posts:
anyoldname76 · 25/10/2016 18:20

we open stockings in our bed 1st thing, then downstairs to open the rest, me and dh open our gifts once our dc have opened theirs

bloodyteenagers · 25/10/2016 18:23

Stockings as soon as they get up. Usually stuff in there to keep them occupied until everyone wakes up.

Have breakfast and then open presents. They are placed randomly under the tree and I pull stuff out it gets slowly passed to the recipient. Slowly cos they are cheeky and try to guess what each other has. Which is made harder because I have been known to put little things into big boxes, or wrapped with extra packaging like the huge bubble wrap stuff Some places use.

RaingodswithZippos · 25/10/2016 18:24

DH and I exchange one small gift at midnight before going to bed, then DS bounces in with his stocking at sparrowfart (even though he is now 16 he plans to do exactly the same) and opens his stocking perched on our bed (unless DH is at work then DS comes in the bed for a warm and to open his stocking). Then main presents with a cup of tea, then go to my parents at lunchtime to open our presents there and have dinner. I can't imagine waiting till after dinner, but then we can still be eating at 5pm as we do crackers, quizzes, philosophical chat over dinner.

Original poster
BrianMolkoismyPlacebo · 25/10/2016 18:24

Great idea bloody I might try that this year!

OP posts:
notagiraffe · 25/10/2016 18:27

Stockings, then breakfast/brunch (teenagers - not 5am risers anymore but still just as excited), get dressed, then presents. Then play with/build/listen to/try on presents, walk in woods, make dinner, eat dinner, watch Christmas TV and eat chocolate.

AndNowItsSeven · 25/10/2016 18:30

Stockings in bedrooms, two presents from Santa before church. Then rest of Santa presents after church followed by Christmas dinner.
After dinner we open tree presents from family and friends. Finally after supper the dc each get a present from myself and one from their dad.
So presents last all day really.

Lovewatchingrainfall · 25/10/2016 18:31

After breakfast. The stockings are done in bed as a family. Then we all check Santa has been then once I have had my cup of tea and all had breakfast we then open the rest.

Last year we went to my mother in laws and stayed Christmas Eve, so had to stick to her tradition which is no presents till after lunch which was about 4 in the end. I felt like I had missed Christmas and my 2year did not understand why she could look at the presents and not open any. Will not be going there again for Christmas.

dalmatianmad · 25/10/2016 18:31

As soon as they open their eyes and we all rush downstairs! We don't have santa sacks or stocking, presents are put under the tree (they usually cover most of the living room floor) when dc go to bed on Christmas Eve.

Dc are teenagers and this is how we do things! I sometimes wrap the opening of the living room door before we go to bed on christmas eve so that they have to smash through it on Christmas morning Grin

AuntieStella · 25/10/2016 18:32

Stockings as soon as awake (and as DC like to do it together it means we're all woken when the first one wakes).

Tree presents after the Queen's Speech, so 15:10hh.

We like to space events through the day.

OvO · 25/10/2016 18:34

Stockings are opened when they wake - about 8am but sometimes they sleep until 9am (if I'm lucky!). They open them on my bed.

Presents are opened as soon as we go downstairs.

My parents visit about 1pm and we all swap gifts then.

After dinner and games Santa sneaks back with a special present for the DC's and leaves it under the tree to be found.

The special Santa present is sometimes whatever the new games console or other tech is. If they got that during the day that would be the only thing played with. So they at least look at their other presents by doing it this way. Xmas Grin

2014newme · 25/10/2016 18:34

As soon as we get up, about 7.30
Everything on Xmas morning, nothing on Xmas eve no tree presents whatever they are, nothing saved till after dinner or queen or what. Its not carnage generally one at a time we like to see what everyone gets.

d270r0 · 25/10/2016 18:37

We open stocking when we wake up. Last year for the first time dh and I had one too, (my sister made me mine) which was great. They are fairly small with just little cheap bits and pieces in.
This year I am going to put some breakfast bits in them too (nutrigrain bars, fruit juice cartons) so we can have breakfast upstairs and get dressed before going down. Basically keep them upstairs as long as possible- then go downstairs to find tree presents. I put these in large sacks for the d (aged 5 and 3) as when my eldest was 2 I didn't, and he frenziedly opened all the presents, no matter who it was for and it was hard to keep track of who got what. So now they get a sack each and we keep them away from ours!

Stiddleficks · 25/10/2016 18:42

We open stockings in bed, then downstairs open a present or two while breakfast is sorted. Try and get breakfast into the eldest in between playing with what's already opened. The rest of the presents are opened as and when we feel as we let Dd play with things when their opened so it can take a while to get into the next. Helps take up the morning, then we go to my parents for more presents and lunch. Then home mid afternoon.

SquedgieBeckenheim · 25/10/2016 18:45

Stockings as soon as woken up in bed.
Rest of the presents one at a time spread through the day. Eg - 1 after breakfast, 1 before lunch, 1 after lunch, 1 at tea time, 1 before bed. We've always done it like this since I can remember. It spreads the fun! As kids we still had presents to open on boxing day.

pklme · 25/10/2016 18:49

Stockings first- we all have them. Then family breakfast, church, Christmas dinner. Presents Christmas pudding and Christmas telly! No one has ever struggled with waiting' it's just what we do!

Waiting4cakes · 25/10/2016 18:54

Kids open their stockings in their rooms as soon as they get up. Then they come into our room around 7:30, eat their orange from the stocking.

Then at 8ish DH goes downstairs first to check if Santa has been. Kids have the toilet then we go down when DH says it's ok. The presents are all mixed under the tree and the DCs take it in turns to find one with their name on one and open it. Whilst they are opening presents they are allowed to eat a packet of chocolates or sweets.

Then we have proper breakfast around 10 once all the presents are open. Then the DCs pick one present to take to the ILs and we have dinner there around 2, we don't get home till 9pm usually so it would be difficult to open them any later.
But it works because they don't really get a chance to properly look through/play with their presents till boxing day so it tends to keep the excitement going.

CatchIt · 25/10/2016 18:56

We have a Swedish Christmas so open presents from my family Christmas Eve and all other presents Christmas Day.

I love being part scandi!