When do you open your presents?

[Minidoghugs]

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.

As kids we'd do stockings in our rooms then race upstairs before it even got light to jump in to mum and dads bed and do main presents.
I loved it.

But now, we wait til after christmas dinner and it's crap. I hate it and all because my brother hates Christmas and goes out and gets pissed on Christmas Eve and stays in bed till food is served.

I love giving presents and can't wait to see the enjoyment on people's faces when they unwrap them but now my brother dictates how we do Christmas it's turned in to a miserable affair.

That's crap conspicuously, how unfair that on person is allowed to bring the mood down every year.

Stockings altogether in bed. Downstairs then DS opens his present from Father Christmas. We then have a drink and DS opens the rest. Then we begin to open ours while we all drink and eat breakfast (bucks fizz, ales, croissants, bacon)

Can you not just leave him in bed and everyone else had Christmas day how they want it? I wouldn't let him dictate your day. If he doesn't want to join in then let him miss everything, its his problem not yours

When I was a kid, presents appeared in a sack at the bottom of the bed and they were opened at 5am in nano seconds. By the time we made it downstairs nobody knew who'd given what and bits could already have been lost...

When DH and I got together we adopted DH's family tradition of stocking pressies to be opened early (kids decamped to our bed whilst we had tea) with enough stuff to amuse them for a couple of hours then big tree pressies after lunch. Children responsible for handing out to everyone then everyone opens their loot in turn (obvs children first) and stuff is passed round to be admired before getting down to serious playing. All good if you want to see the excitement of the recipient.

This did backfire the first year we hosted christmas (pre children) and I had put some saucy suggestions into a business card holder I'd bought for DH. I was startled when the gifts were amassed opened and passed round. It was ok until my FIL looked inside the card holder (which DH hadn't...) and started reading one out loud...and then stopped very quickly...

Big stocking of mostly things under £5 in bed first thing. Then down for a big breakfast, usually pancakes and bacon, strawberries, Buck's Fizz and loose leaf tea etc. Kids are desperate for us to finish but i like to keep the suspense going. I'd hate for it all to be over first thing. My parents did this except it was a big fry up, and we'd be betting for them to hurry up but I'm glad about it now.

My dad used to make us choose a present from the pile to save for the next day too which I do as well.

Conspicuous I'd just start opening yours with your kids. If your brother wants to stew in bed he can, but I'd be saying to your parents that it's your kids' Christmas, they're only young for a short time and you aren't going to have their excitement spoiled by one adult who can't get out of bed.

Stocking first thing then one present before breakfast, then the rest. After lunch it happens all over again with birthday presents.

Always santa when we wake, but my in laws always had presents before lunch round 3, I had to explain to hubby you can't make kids wait to open santa stuff, so now we open santa only in the morning then other presents after mass and visiting my own parents. My sil open their presents on Christmas Eve after mass and before the pub, cause her Dads a farmer isn't there till late Christmas morning, I don't actually know what happened when they were kids and santa used to come.

I have friends that grew up with the whole opening after lunch who hated it so haven't repeated with their own children

I'm one of them. Me and my brother hated it! With my own family we do stockings first thing and presents after breakfast.

We open them as soon as we wake up and are downstairs. Couldn't be doing with waiting until visitors arrive or after dinner.

Stockings when they wake up which they bring onto our bed to open. Then Mass, then I open something sparkling, do a quick 10 minutes on the lunch and then we open presents under the tree. My MiL will come over after lunch (we eat around 1) and give them gifts. Then the rest of the family over the next week or so, spreads out the excitement!

Stocking, santa present (he brings the stocking and on main gift) and presents from us first thing in about a ten min flurry. Then all those zillions of family presents under the tree are done throughout the day, one at a time. It makes it last all day.

We have three sets of gifts
Stockings in bed usually stationary, choccy coins, hair ties etc.
Main presents before church and breakfast.
Tree presents after dinner, novelty/funny gifts and games we can then play as a family.

Stretches the day out, tree presents are my fave part of the whole day!

Stocking first thing.

We have Mass, a load of family visits and calls to make, and getting the turkey on.

When we get home from the visits, we first turn on the oven and throw in a tray of M&S nibbles, getting the turkey prepped and fire lit etc. Once we have the turkey in the oven, things in the kitchen organized (not a load - maybe turning on spuds to parboil, or wiping down after the last lot of prep work - we do it all in stages on 24th and 25th not all 1 slog), and the fire crackling, we pour a glass of something nice, take the nibbles with us, and start into the pile under the tree.

That's usually at about 4ish, just starting to get dark, kind of time. We might have to get up and do something in the kitchen to break up the session, for 10 minutes, and then continue.

There's then about an hour or more to relax, finish gently organizing dinner, set the table etc, before we eat. Then relax for the rest of the night (other than stripping the turkey carcass and putting the bones in the slow cooker for making stock on 26th).

It's all very relaxed and genial. DD has had a few things in/with her stocking, we have a nice breakfast, and then we are out and about, and have a very short time being busy, before we get to open them.

Stocking first thing on our bed, then go down for them to rip open all of it really! Then breakfast and building of Lego or such like.

SO looking forward to Christmas at home this year!

In DH's family, his DM would hand you a pile as you walked into the kitchen at 7am, and all hers were already open.

DSIL makes everyone wait until after Christmas Lunch (and her taking another hour to finish wrapping things!), everything is handed out from under the tree, and then opened by each person in turn starting with the youngest (so the adults are waiting hours, kids are all trying to play with their toys - and we have already been late leaving to go to my DPs as lunch was late starting and finishing!!).

My DPs have always had presents in late afternoon as well - but after mass they host a gathering for friends and neighbours lasting until early afternoon (alcohol on empty stomachs is NOT good), which then has to be cleared up, turkey (Finally!!) put into the oven and prep work done, and then everyone can sit down for presents. But they are handed out for people to open as they come from the tree.

My DGPs house has the tradition of only opening presents after dinner, as they also have an "Open House" until quite late afternoon, so about 9pm or later. I was there when I was very small for a few Christmases, and the year that DD was born (went into labour there after dinner!). But DH and I had already opened our own when we popped back home after mass, walking the pier and a couple of other calls we make locally; and before going to DGPs in later afternoon. I couldn't do that every year....

We have always had the noone is allowed downstairs until 8am rule because that is, of course, Santa's last delivery slot!

That way they have never bothered with 5am wakeups!

We then go down, make a cup of tea and open presents whilst chucking pains au chocolat in the oven to eat whilst doing so. (Only time we have chocolate based breakfasts so a treat)

After breakfast but before getting dressed. We do stockings, then sacks, then tree presents. There is no opening frenzy here we each take it in turns to open one at a time.

Stockings first thing and then presents after breakfast :)

As soon as the first dc wakes up everyone gets woken up then we all go downstairs to watch kids open presents. We don't have stockings just one large sack per child left in front of fireplace for Father Christmas to fill when he pops down the chimney (dcs when little were scared of him coming into their bedroom at night)

We're still working ours out. Last year, the girls were 22m and 10w. We brought them into our bed and DD1 opened her stocking while we had a cup of tea and I fed the baby. She was over the moon! She had no idea what was happening but she liked it I had a little stocking for the baby as well so DD1 helped her with that. And then we went downstairs, Santa brought a toy kitchen which was set up and ready to go so DD1 was thrilled and we had another cup of tea and started opening presents straight away.
My family came round after dinner with their gifts so we had a second present opening in the evening. That was probably a bit overwhelming but it kept the day going.

We do stockings first. The DC'S bring them into our room and we all sit on the bed while they open them.

Then it's presents from father Christmas, usually 4, something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read.

Then it's presents from under the tree. I always try and make sure they have the same number to open then we do a raffle. If they have 10 each I stick numbers 1-10 on each set of presents then the same numbers in a jar. The DC'S take turns picking a number out of the jar then they both have to find the corresponding present under the tree. It makes the opening bit a bit more interesting and it lasts a bit longer!

Stockings in bedroom at the absolute crack of dawn, then all other presents as soon as I have a cuppa in my hand. Take a break for prepping breakfast if it’s taking a while!