which presents are from Santa in your house?

[heyduggeee]

Hello!
I'm so sorry if this has been done before but I can't find anything.
Me and my partner can't agree on which presents should be from Santa / us. This is the first year DS who's 3 is starting to understand, the youngest is only 1.
my DP grew up with stockings + one big present under the tree from Santa, everything else he knew was from parents.
In our house the big guy bought everything - but we didn't have stockings.
My parents weren't too bothered about keeping the magic alive or family traditions. I can't recall what we used to do Xmas day as a child, so I think I'm trying too hard to make everything perfect tbh and over thinking everything.
But just wondered what everybody else does?

I didn't know people did it differently from us when dd was tiny. My MIL tried to impose "her" way for DD's first Christmas and I jumped on it immediately.
In my world, most presents are directly from the people who actually bought them with some bonus surprise presents from Santa. There is no confusion; no Santa delivery/DPD service.
This way "Santa" presents turned up long after I stopped believing. Mum and Dad said "Santa will always come if you have Christmas at our house ". I have said the same to my now secondary school dd.
I remember popping around to my neighbours our first Christmas here before dd was born to give them a little present for their son. They panicked that he might see it because, apparently, Santa delivered them all.

In our house, FC does the stocking and leaves a new board game under the tree. It’s what my sister and I had as children and we’ve both continued this tradition.

Stockings from santa, everything else from whoever bought them.

I have three reasons for this

1. I want DC to understand that people who love them have gone to the effort (and expense, although they wont understand this yet) of buying them a present.
2. I want my DC to help with choosing presents for friends and relatives, which doesnt make sense if they think Santa brings every present.
3. When they start school it is unfair on kids from disadvantaged families when they hear that santa brought their friend a bike and a huge stack of presents, but they only got a 3 things. Were they naughty, does santa hate them? Easier to understand if santa brings a small quantity of presents to everyone, and parents "top up" with extra presents.

Stockings from Father Christmas, everything under the tree is as per the label, although Father Christmas does deliver it all.

The dc have never really questioned it even though some of their friends will have a different set up.

Stocking from Santa, everything else is from us.

Stocking is from Father Christmas plus a few other things the children have asked for usually in a sack unless they’re too bulky eg barbie dream camper. These are left under the living room tree and are opened first thing. Then present from us are left under the dining room tree and are opened a little bit later on. It seems to be working well, although I do feel like we end up buying more.

Stocking and main present from santa and then everything else from me or whoever sent it.

Stocking of small bits (colouring book, chocolate, book etc) and a main present from Father Christmas, we don't give anything else from us. Family and friend presents are from the givers. I think once they get to an age of properly comparing they perhaps don't really fully believe anyway.

With our son, Santa brings everything and the elves make it etc. However, We have always told him that mummy/daddy/Nana/Grandad etc. Have to order the presents from Santa and send the money for them to be made/delivered.

That way, he knows who has bought him what and he also appreciates that things cost money, he is very lucky and we can't have everything.

It seems to work well - he very much enjoys the magic of Santa etc. so it hasn't spoiled it.

In our house Father Christmas brings one gift. Not necessarily the biggest or most expensive but it was always something we knew she'd love, something to play with there and then. It was all set up and unwrapped - waiting to be used. It gave us the chance for her to see it first and okay with it whilst Dh went to make hot drinks (and some fizz) and a quick snack breakfast to keep us going until the rest of the presents, from us, family and friends, were opened.

We don't do stockings.

Dd is an older teen now but FC still brings one unwrapped present to have first.

When I was growing up Santa was life of a delivery service than anything else. Presents arrived under the tree or into a pillowcase in the sofa overnight. Labels said who had bought them but Santa delivered them.

In our house Father Christmas is just the delivery man. DS knows that mummy and daddy send money to FC who then decides what he can have for it. He also brings presents from grandma and grandad as he picks then up on his rounds,

Stocking and one (not very expensive) present is from Santa. Everything else is from us / family / friends so DC can thank the relevant person.

Stockings only from santa here. For all the reasons mentioned already.

We do stocking and then some other gifts from Santa which go in a sack then a few from us.
Stocking on bedroom doors and sack by the tree, our presents and those from other relatives under tree.
Also a gift from/to each other.

This is a mash up of mine and dhs childhoods.
We had all presents from Santa including a stocking he had a sack and presents from parents as well.

My little one has a Santa sack with 4 presents (want, need, wear, read presents) and a main present from santa under the tree. Everything else is from friends and family

I don’t understand, if all presents are from Santa, how a child can be grateful for them. Christmas often inspires the worst selfishness in kids - we should be encouraging them to thank the people buying them gifts, not give them yet another excuse to be greedy.

Stockings and then I have 2 gift bags to reuse that one contains books and the other a smaller but desired gift are from Father Christmas.
The rest is from us.

Stocking and one gift are only from Santa.

One present is from Santa and everything else is from people that have bought it. This is for a few reasons:

1. I don’t believe she should base some good behaviour on amount of presents she gets. Why are her friends getting 20 presents but she only got 10 etc why do some children get 1 when she gets lots?

1. Gratitude for the people that have spent money buying presents (and that includes sacrifices we make as parents to gift our children things)

1. Watch any Santa movie and go and see Santa and the list a child gives Santa when asked is usually one toy - in the movies Santa always brings one present each so why does each child get a sleigh full from parents?

1. Easier to explain the Santa concept as he makes a special toy per child rather than a hundreds

Santa presents are also not wrapped. They are left by our chimney and she writes a letter once a year thanking Santa and asking for her toy. It’s harder to explain why some of her friends tell her that Santa brings them 20 presents and her only 1 (a lot of children like to brag I find) so I tell her that actually Santa only brings them one too and the rest are from their parents but not to discuss that with her friends as their parents don’t want them to know.

I find it is easier to also discuss the Santa lie when they are at the age to stop believing; if you’ve seen the thread on how to turn a child into Santa Claus when they stop believing- the concept is they have to become a Santa and deliver a present to someone that needs it. It suggests that Santa isn’t a single person but many people gifting things to people that need it and when a child is old enough they can become a Santa as well to gift a present to someone without letting them know it was them.
You deliver one present from you as her Santa Claus and when she’s old enough she becomes Santa and gifts a present to someone else and someone if gifting her Santa present to her. It’s a lovely concept

Stocking only from Santa - how it was when I was little, and I’m glad we’ve done it that way for the reasons RhymingRabbit3 gives. Plus I’d hate not to have presents under the tree before Xmas, especially with an artificial tree.

It feels like it makes it a bit easier to keep the stocking going as kids get older too (DD is 15).

Santa brings a sack of gifts. Ranging from socks to Lego. We get the children 1 gift from us.

We do a stocking and a gift from Santa, everything else is from us. This started with DSS when he was 3, his mum always did all presents from santa and we were always very aware that we didnt want him to think santa brought him twice as much as he did for his friends, so we said santa brings a stocking and one present to our house.

Now DSS is 10 and DS is 3 and we do the same. DSS still believes but this will probably be the last year he does - and he hasn't asked why Santa wont be bringing his brother a pile of presents when he himself will have a pile waiting at his mums in the afternoon, but if he does I'll tell him it's something that parents can opt out of it they are able to afford to buy everything themselves so that santa has more resource for families that cant afford as much.

When I was little everything was from Santa.
With my dc I overthink things and because I worried they’d wonder why I bought for other people and not them they get one present from me and the rest from Santa, which avoids awkward questions about why I’d buy for other children in the family but not them.

@BinkyBam me too! All the gifts used to be from Santa, though I’d say I would send him money to pay for these (which is quite conflicting because then they’d come from me), but after that post I now do two or three gifts from Santa (dolls, Hair World doll) and the rest from me.