Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

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 your presents?

79 replies

Minidoghugs · 07/10/2017 10:54

I do a stocking as mentioned on the Santa thread. Dd used to wake really early for that and we have always got up early anyway to let the dog out. Then we open presents after breakfast. So all the present opening is done pretty early.
I have a family member who does the stocking but makes her dc wait till after dinner, for main presents which seems ages, but I guess it spreads out the fun a bit.

OP posts:
HerOtherHalf · 07/10/2017 14:05

Whenever the kids woke up, which could be as early as 5 or 6 but got more civilised as they got older. Now they're all grown up we usually have at least one of them with partner and our grandkids staying over so we still get it. Nothing beats the chaos of christmas morning, watching excited kids tearing into their presents, everyone still in PJs, the dog helping with the unwrapping and me and mum rustling up breakfasty nibbles and helping assemble toys.

confusedlittleone · 07/10/2017 15:39

Straight away that way it shuts them up we can cook without to many interruptions as they're to busy playing with their new stuff!

BendingSpoons · 07/10/2017 16:07

Stockings straight away on waking, then breakfast (nothing particular, often involves chocolate), church, Christmas dinner at about 1pm and then presents. Always did it this way growing up and I liked it, kept the fun going all day. I was clearly a boring child! DD is too young to object so far Grin

Dinosauratemydaffodils · 07/10/2017 17:50

Stockings first with breakfast/cups of tea and then presents.

Eringray · 07/10/2017 18:51

Early morning on December 25th before breakfast.

Crumbs1 · 07/10/2017 18:56

Stockings on our bed from 7am (bit later now) then church, drinks at friends house, home for late lunch, the Queen then presents.
For us presents are not the raison d'etre of Christmas so we have never made them the main event.

yikesanotherbooboo · 07/10/2017 19:04

When I was a child we had stockings first thing, Mass breakfast and then presents before lunch.
I don’t know how my mother found the time.
We aren’t church goers but have still always waited until after lunch for the presents. No whining as it is expected. The main treat of Christmas for everyone is lunch and visiting family

AgathaOHara · 07/10/2017 19:32

It's slightly different for us. The kids get Santa sacks at the end of their beds with their medium sized presents in...books, games, Lego etc. They drag these into us and open them in our bedroom which is a bit chaotic but fun.

Then it's downstairs for stockings (everyone gets one, even guests) which are hung up around the fireplace.

Big breakfast, then tree presents about 2pm with dinner at 5.

NoWordForFluffy · 07/10/2017 19:36

We do ours first thing.

This year will be the first year of stockings in bedrooms (to keep them in bed / their bedrooms longer!), then it’ll be downstairs to eat breakfast while opening presents. (We text / call the in laws as soon as we know the kids are awake so they come and join us for breakfast / to watch the opening!)

Polly99 · 07/10/2017 19:37

8am, when everyone who needs one has a cup of coffee in hand.
It has been that way since I was a child.
All presents / stockings are opened in one shot (which can take ages as we all want to see what the others have got), followed by a late enormous breakfast with champagne and then playing with presents.
Is v civilised and fun.

wendz86 · 07/10/2017 19:42

Stockings as soon as they get up . We all have a quick breakfast , cup of tea then open rest .

Nicae · 07/10/2017 19:44

We were at my inlaws for Christmas last year and they made my toddlers wait until after lunch for presents- it was such a boring morning and really took the fun out of things for them (and me!) by the time we did open things there was no time to play with anything. We're staying at home this year (and for ever more!).

onlyonaTuesday · 07/10/2017 19:44

When mine were little we would open a present on Christmas Eve ( would be new pjs)
Then stockings at the end of the bed.
Any presents that needed assembly would be built and left out under the tree so they could play as soon as we came down .
All other gifts would be about 1pm, when family and friends arrived

ilovetea14 · 07/10/2017 19:54

We leave a sock at end of the bed with chocolate if it's full it means Santa has been and can go downstairs to see what he left for the kids. There's a sack each left under the Christmas tree with kids names on it from santa and a stocking with more sweets and bottle of coke they open their presents straight away. While I put Christmas music on my Dh and I give each other presents to open. We have breakfast let the dc play with their presents for awhile before we head to my in laws where the Dc open presents from them. We head to my sisters for Christmas dinner where dc open more presents. I couldn't wait till lunch to open presents I do be too excited!

Annwithnoe · 07/10/2017 19:57

Santa presents are opened first thing in the morning. Which keeps the dc busy playing while we're cooking/drinking
Then other gifts are opened just before dinner. The dc reluctantly sit to the table, and then dash off to play with the new stuff as soon as they are able while the adults have seconds and thirds.
Works well for us, but the kids always object to the waiting.

Mustangsallyis · 07/10/2017 20:00

Pre DC it used to be just after midnight mass, then went to midnight and now (since DC) at about 10-11pm on Christmas Eve. DC will do theirs first thing on Christmas Day.

This was all a bit of a culture shock for DH when we first got together as his family used to wait until after the Queen’s speech!

HeyMicky · 07/10/2017 20:02

Stockings first thing. Presents after the queen's speech, after main but before pudding and cheese course

rachrach2 · 07/10/2017 20:06

I’d be too excited to wait until lunch. My in laws let the children open after breakfast but adults have to wait until after lunch. We don’t like it as then we can’t play with the children so we are staying home this year.

Stockings in our room at 7am. Down for brekkie and then family parkrun followed by tree presents. We take it in turns to open so we can see what each other gets. I will hold a few back in another room for later in the day.

AndNoneForGretchenWieners · 07/10/2017 20:10

DS17 comes into our room with his stocking at sparrow fart and opens his stocking presents on our bed. We then go downstairs and have a cup.of tea, put Christmas music channel on TV and open our gifts to each other.

At about 12pm we go to my parents house with presents for them, my nan and sister, and we have a Bucks Fizz, I help my mum prep the veg for dinner or make the starter, then we open our gifts from them and they open their gifts from us. After that we have our Christmas dinner.

leesmum · 07/10/2017 20:25

The DS's open their stockings on our bed, it's gives me and DH the chance to have a nice fresh cup of coffee in bed and have a laid back start to the day.... Then we go downstairs and open all the other presents up Xmas Smile

SleightOfMind · 07/10/2017 20:39

Stockings get brought into our room as soon as they wake up, then downstairs for a quick breakfast (hunger+excitement=trouble for my youngest!).
Father Christmas presents straight afterwards, then family and friends pressies after lunch.
They get the morning excitement but the fun is a bit more spread out.
Also, this way, anyone we have for Christmas dinner is part of a present opening sesh too.

MrEBear · 08/10/2017 01:15

Stockings as soon as LO wakes up. When he was about 2 he was over the moon with it and thought that was it. The next year he again though that was it and was gutted. Took us ages to calm him down and get him downstairs.

Once we went to ILs who waited until between courses of dinner which totally sapped any excitement out of it. Never again !

confused123456 · 08/10/2017 01:37

When our ds is ready (he's 2). So it's usually his bottle of milk while we have coffee and tea. Then presents. We don't have breakfast so it's just he has his breakfast as normal after.

churchilllounge · 08/10/2017 05:53

Stockings first thing and then our presents. The kids then tend to go to grandparents houses while I cook lunch (and they open their presents there)

Then all other gifts after lunch- we eat at 12 so it's normally about 1330.

MuddlingThroughLife · 08/10/2017 08:43

Kids bring their stockings in to our bed to open as soon as we're all awake. Once stockings are open we all go downstairs and open everything. No waiting around for breakfast or until after lunch for us!