Opening presents on Christmas Eve.

[JKCR2017]

Hi all, so this year myself & OH have decided that we want to stay in our own home all day with DD & DS on Christmas Day. On previous years we have visited both our families but it takes out a huge chunk of our day and would like a relaxing one at home this year.

We are thinking of going to see my side of the family on Christmas Eve to spend some time together and exchange presents etc.

My mum really wants to see DC open the presents she got them so I just thought that they’d open them on Christmas Eve (they will get plenty from us on the day) and we will give them their presents. OH thinks we should take my families presents home with us wrapped to open on Christmas Day. But does opening presents a day early with family really matter?

My mother wants to see the children open them. 😊

The Royal Family open their presents on Christmas Eve, so you'd be in illustrious company .

But does opening presents a day early with family really matter?

What harm is it to let them open them on Christmas Day?

I thonk your OH is being a bit daft. They wil have plenty to open on the day. Let your family see them open them.

If Santa visits your house opening presents the day before will take from the excitement of this. I agree with your dh

DP always wants to open his presents on Christmas eve and it drives me nuts. But in this instance I would say let them open them on Christmas eve so your family can see them open them. I'm sure they will still have lots to open on Christmas day anyway

If Santa visits your house opening presents the day before will take from the excitement of this.

No it wouldn't it's completely different.

Don't stop your family from enjoying the sharing of Christmas joy in order to perpetuate the lies you've made up about Santa. Just add a new lie if thry ask. Surely Santa doesn't give them those presents anyway, Nanny does and anyway, Nanny knows Santa and he said it was OK as long as it was just these presents etc.

My parents visit us on Christmas Eve every year and the dds open their presents from them while they're here. It's lovely, it makes it clear who the presents came from and they get the chance to play with them separately from the mass of stuff they get on the day.

We see mil on boxing Day and we open presents from her when we see her as well. My dds love opening presents from their grandparents with their grandparents. They tend to get a board/card game that they can play together.

Our children have always opened presents from nan and gramps when we visit on Christmas Eve, (and they open theirs from us). It is just one of those 'traditions' that has developed over the years. The children get plenty more presents on Christmas Day from other family so it doesn't make it less then.

My parents always give my kids their presents early as we don't see them on the 25th. It makes it quite special as their focus is just on their gifts not on various different ones.

I’d let them open in front of their Nan on Christmas Eve.

I have had exactly the same this year but in reverse. Invited to SIL as wont see them xmas day and tgey want to open all pressies to and from them on that day. I have said no its totally a personal thing no right or wrong but to me xmas eve is all about the build up to get excited xmas day is tommorow. I just think it will spoil it and not make it as special. I might be wrong as I have never done it but the anticipation for me is what xmas eve is all about.

I would let the children open the presents with the grandparents. After all part of the joy of giving presents is to see the reaction

Aww i think u should let then open them xmas eve with the family so your parents can see their little faces, means alot to grandparents.i would let mine do that if i were u x

We've always done presents with various family around Christmas - big family so we never get everyone together at once!

I don't think it takes anything away from Christmas Day itself and it means a great deal to the grandparents, aunts, uncles etc seeing the DCs open and play with their presents.

We have two mock Christmas days in the run up to Christmas Day and everyone opens their presents on that day - means the grandparents can see the presents being opened and strings out present opening really nicely. Go for it!

We have a polish background and the big celebration Is Christmas eve - the evening is when jesus was born and therefore the time to celebrate and open presents.
As I have married into an English family -we kind of take the best bits of both cultures.
The gwiazdka (star) brings some gifts on Christmas eve and we have a delicious Christmas eve meal together. Then go to bed and hang stockings so next morning there are gifts to open from father Christmas and mummy and daddy.
We will then have an English Christmas lunch.
Family presents are opened as and when we see people, so they know who gifts are from and to thank in person.
(Our star and father Christmas stocking tend not to be extravagant gifts....)

We don’t always see MIL on Christmas Day and we exchange gifts and open them, including children, when we see her. It can be before or after Christmas it doesn’t matter we have a mini Christmas with her. Our DD’s don’t think anything of it because that’s the way it’s always been and doesn’t take anything away from Christmas Day itself, even if we’ve seen her a few days before.

I'm with your DP!

But if it meant a lot to your mum, or MIL. I would probably relent (through gritted teeth!).

We always opened gifts from my grandparents on Xmas eve because they wanted to watch us open them. We never really saw them on Xmas day so that's how we did it. It was a yearly tradition, plus she made an amazing Xmas eve buffet for us 😍

My kids always open gifts from my parents on xmas eve while they are here, means the big day is saved especially for the excitment of Santa. Never changes any of the magic for them

My DH is Swedish and we moved from London to.Sweden a few years ago. In Scandinavia prsenrs are.opened after the big Christmas meal in the evening. So like the poster above we cross both cultures. Presents from Farmor (Swedish Granny) and Aunt, and one present from us on Christmas eve. Christmas morning, stocking and rest of the presents. Magic and ecitment is still there and it lessens the ripping off paper and moving on to.the next thing. We have a small family so there is not a child high pile but when they were smaller it did become overwhelming to.have it all in one go.

Let your parents see the kids open.the presents. What's the harm?

The presents are from the grandparents why shouldn’t they share in the joy of seeing the kids open them? How mean to accept gifts but then not let them see them opened!
Kids often get a bit overwhelmed on Xmas with too much so spreading out can only be a good thing imo.

We are in the US and I suspect our gift opening traditions owe something to Scandinavian or German/Polish (or European in general) traditions.

We open family gifts and gifts from each other on Christmas Eve after a nice meal and dessert. They are left under the tree as they arrive either by post or with the gift giver, once they get wrapped and labeled. We sit around and open them in turn.

Space is created under the tree for Santa Claus gifts, which are the only ones left to be opened on Christmas morning. I wait until everyone has gone to bed before hauling out the SC stash and placing it all in five little piles, one for each DC.

There is a clear distinction between family gifts and Santa gifts in my house - the big Christmas morning event is not spoiled at all. The DCs always understood that people give each other gifts and that SC also gives gifts.

Thanks all. Lovely to hear your little traditions. I think we will be opening Christmas Eve with the grandparents! 😊