What are your present traditions?

[Neversleepingever]

Growing up, we opened all our presents in one go first thing on Christmas morning. It was always a manic, exciting chaos. But then once it was over. It was a bit of a comedown. Almost a bit sad because it was all over after all the anticipation - The come down after a big high.

Now im grown up, This is the first year I think my DS will have more of a concept of Christmas. He'll be 3 in March and I'd like to start some Xmas traditions and would love if you would share yours.

Maybe a present on Xmas Eve? Open all in Xmas morning but save one for boxing day to keep the excitement going? A hidden present in the tree you find only when taking the decs down?

We have a Christmas Eve Bag for DS which contains new pj's, sweets and this year will have a smores kit and hot chocolate stirrers.

Christmas morning DS comes through at 7.45am (no earlier, I need decent sleep to function!) with his stocking which is hung on his door. After that's opened we go downstairs and watch DS open his santa sack and he helps the dog open her santa sack too. Then it's presents from each other and far away family/friends. We just open them all.

Play with presents, breakfast (croissants this year) then take the dog a walk around the village saying Merry Christmas to anyone we see. Wave to nieces if they are at their window, wave to mum and dad if they are visible at theirs (all live in same village).

Family come over for Christmas Dinner for 1pm or we go to theirs for it. Presents from and to them get opened after clearing up plus the box from my uncle which alwats contains strange gifts and is quite entertaining to see what he's picked up this year. He's a big traveller and out of the box thinker. Kids go play together (2 nieces close in age with our DS). Adults have coffee and chill.

Small snacky dinner at home.

Normally, we hang stockings on the outside of the kids bedroom doors and they come through to our room at 6am to sit on our bed and open them (DS in particular is an early riser but 6am is the absolute earliest for us on Xmas day!) . We then go downstairs to see if Santa's been and all take turns at opening the presents after coffee is made. After that we have breakfast - usually Pannetone, croissants and chocolate! Various family members pop by throughout the day and we swap and open presents with them too.

This year will be very different as DH is working nightshift over Xmas, so we will wait til he's home after 8am to open presents. I'm in a support bubble with my DSis so we will likely pop round there for a while when DH is sleeping and presents swaps with other family members will no doubt be done in the week leading up to the day.

Growing up, our parents set up the presents on Xmas eve, toys all assembled and not wrapped. They always had a lie in so I dont have any memories of them being with us when we first saw our presents. It was fine at the time but I can't imagine doing that myself, part of the magic is seeing their faces as they open things up!

We spread it out a bit but that’s because my dc’s dad doesn’t live with us, they are teens now and we have changed the way we do things several times as they have got older.

We used to do a Christmas Eve gift or box, this year it will be a board game. Christmas Day they open their stocking when they wake up, we then have a big breakfast and they then open gifts from me and from friends, after lunch we open presents from other family members, my dad usually comes over with gifts. Boxing Day they open presents from their dad and his side of the family (usually cards and cash now).

A few days after Christmas we usually go shopping with their Christmas money, usually to buy add on items to what every they got for Christmas.

Letting our little kids out to play on bin collection day. They love looking at all the neighbours piled up empty toy boxes and torn wrapping paper. Can’t get them back inside and it saves me a fortune!

Dc open stockings together as soon as they wake up, then come in to show us what FC has brought.

Special breakfast, then phone/Skype family. Then out for a walk, then prepare lunch while Dc enjoy their stocking presents.

Open presents after lunch, everyone takes it in turns to give out their presents to everyone.

That means that presents under the tree from other people that we aren't going to see in person will be left over until Boxing Day.
There's usually just one or two because we normally see family on Christmas Day or in the run up to Christmas.
This year it will be just us, so fewer presents on Christmas Day itself, and most of them on Boxing Day, but Dc have already said they want to do everything the same as normal.

December is one big treat-fest for my DC. But I find spreading it out prevents any over whelm. As a DC we always had piles to work our way through - all at the same time. I hated it - found it noisy, confusing, upsetting not seeing someone open what I'd given them. I prefer our calm, organised ways!

On 1st Dec when the DC get their advent calendars I give them craft things to last the month - to make cards and decorations and pictures. On the 5th December they have St.Nicklaas when they get their yearly Dutch treats. On 24th December they have CE boxes - pjs (if needed), used to have Christmasy books and dvds but we have plenty now. Often a bath bomb or fancy showergel and always snacks for watching The Muppet's CC. This year they have a cuddly each that can be heated in the microwave to help them sleep. Christmas morning first thing they open their stockings - they are hung by the fireplace and I watch them opening them. We then have breakfast. After breakfast they open their main present(s) from me. They exchange gifts with me and each other. Then after lunch they open presents from a few members of extended family who send gifts. On Boxing day they have a gift bag with some smaller presents from me. They always have to take it in turns to open a present as I like to have my full attention on the DC opening the gift to share their excitement and suprise! Can't wait to get started!

Following because I'm interested

We didn't have stockings so all gathered around the tree after we all woke up and one of us would hand out the (all) presents. As we got older we would wait and see what each person got. Then tidy up the paper, breakfast (french toast and bacon) then mass. Back home my mum would cook and I'd dress the table - we ate around 5pm and always had a few guests join us, they'd get a token gift and they'd open them, some would bring us presents but usually not.

When I was little, the day started with stockings on my parents' bed - my dad brought them upstairs as we never had them in bedrooms, largely because of my pronouncement that I didn't want a strange man coming into my bedroom! Stockings were generally useful things - shampoo, bubble bath, toothpaste and toothbrush, underwear - with satsumas, some chocolate and a couple of small fun things, like bouncy balls or fortune telling fish.

Then we got dressed and my grandmother arrived for breakfast (always french toast and maple syrup), and then presents under the tree from Father Christmas, my grandmother and overseas relatives. Presents were opened one at a time so we all saw what everyone got. Then my grandmother left to go to one of my aunts' to do their tree presents, and we had lunch (bagels and smoked salmon).

Afternoon was quite quiet, playing with presents, until 4ish, when we went to my aunt's for the big family Christmas meal. There were four families plus my grandmother and assorted others, so lots of presents to exchange with cousins and aunts and uncles, and then turkey and all the trimmings. The food preparation was shared out, so nobody was left slaving all day in the kitchen.

Finally, there were games, generally charades or pictionary.

That meal still continues (not this year, obviously) but has been moved to the weekend before Christmas as we are scattered over the country, and as we have settled down, there are far more in-laws to add into the logistics.

Christmas Day for us know is the four of us. It's complicated by the fact that DH is a vicar so has a midnight service and then two or three on Christmas morning, one of which is at 8.

Assuming someone else is doing the 8, we start with stockings - one of us goes downstairs to see if he's been and brings them up. Santa does the stockings for DS9 and DD4, and DH and I do each others. Then it's breakfast and church, and wait for DH to get home.

After lunch we start on presents, but we take it slowly, with frequent stops when something has been opened which the kids want to play with. Last year it took so long that we had to hurry up and finish on the 28th as we had friends coming to stay!

Christmas dinner happens on Boxing Day unless that's a Sunday, in which case it moves to Monday.

It sounds tricky for small children to wait so long to open their presents, but to them the Christmas they have is just normal. I think bringing in a slower Christmas could be challenging, but if you can start before there are memories of last year, it will probably be pretty smooth (depending on your children's personalities, of course).

Sorry, that was rather an essay!

Stockings in beds

Come down and open 1/2 presents

Crack open the champagne and watch The Highway Rat or similar. Have breakfast. Baked ham on hot buttered toast. Or cinnamon buns.

Get showered and dressed and have a walk round the village and wish neighbours a merry Christmas

Grandparents come and we eat starters (lunch) with champagne or chilled rose. We eat smoked fish, oysters etc, and we have a table presents. Then we have another walk and watch some tv, play with games etc.

Grannie then becomes the present giver and all the presents are handed out Sherry or Kingstone Black aperitif

Supper of turkey etc with crackers, white burgandy and then games. Then perhaps a film and gin and tonics.

The then pudding and cheeses with my fave red.

Then maybe an eve buffet if we can face it!

Lots of feasting and lots of presents all day long!

I follow on from what we did as children. Before they go to bed on Christmas Eve, we light the Christmas candle for the window sill and leave out the stuff for Santa -cookies we baked earlier, mince pie, carrots for the reindeer and a glass of milk. Then they take their stocking off the mantelpiece and lay it out on the armchair or the part of the couch where Santa will leave their presents. Christmas Day we wake up (at the crack of dawn!) and we see what Santa got them. They play with their presents, we have breakfast, go to mass then a light lunch and walk by the coast. Back home, they play with Santa presents, watch some Christmas tv while we finish preparations for the dinner. In the evening after dinner we open all the presents under the tree from family and friends. We open them one by one, seeing what everyone got. I love doing it this way and I remember the excitement as child knowing, as we were eating dinner, that there was more excitement to come with the other presents.

Stockings in our rooms, waited for mum and dad to get up, dad would don a Santa hat and we would open presents under the tree.
We then had a 'tea time treat' in a special present style box, that would be opened in the evening. Sometimes it was a little gift, other times it was a main present (mainly phones/tech in our teen years) we had a scavenger hunt that started from the box, it was always good fun.

We open everything in the morning but we'll go to grandparents for lunch so they get more things then.

Stockings hung up on Christmas Eve (to be filled by Father Christmas with little bits and bobs - other presents are all from whomever they're actually from) and opened first thing on Christmas morning.

All other presents opened around the tree once everyone is dressed and breakfasted. Presents opened one at a time, usually distributed by one of the children.

We always (in non Covid times) get at least one more day of presents though, with whichever side of the family we didn't spend Christmas Day with. (Usually spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with one set of gp and Boxing Day and next day with the others, alternating each year).

When I was young , it was stockings first thing, then downstairs to see if santa had left anything there. Then presents under the tree, which would be from my parents and my nan, who stayed with us on christmas eve. Then breakfast and get dressed before other family arrived around lunchtime. Round 2 of presents would then take place either before or after lunch.

In more recent years DP has been working so I've generally spent Christmas day with my family, then travelled back on boxing day, gone to DP's family and done the whole thing all over again. DP and I generally exchange presents whenever we get a spare moment. Some years it's been the 22nd!

This year DP is working christmas day again so we're doing the whole thing on the 24th. This will be the first time we've opened presents together in the morning. So excited!

our Christmas eve box, always magically appears under the tree after we get back from walking the dog. Dc are teens now so it contains new pjs, fancy bath bomb, some fancy hot chocolate bomb/stirrer and the same plate, cups and book we have every year to drink our hot chocolate, leave Santa's treats (none of the DC believe but we still do it, dd even bakes some santa cookies christmas eve morning) and a cuddle up and read the night before Christmas.

The children have washes and and then they always open their gift from their god mother Christmas eve.

Christmas day the children open their stocking when ever they wake, they are not allowed to wake us till 7. Then they come show us whay they got. I usually prepare breakfast while dp takes the dog out. After breakfast we take in turns to open our presents.
Parents visit around 11am and we open more.

Dsc come over around 4pm, they open their gifts and all dc do a secret santa exchange.

We see dpils boxing day for more gifts and
The rest of my family the day after for gifts, adults on my side also have a secret santa exchange.

Stockings as soon as DC wake up, which used to be about 4.30 but now they're a bit older closer to 6.30/7. They bring them into our room to open. Depending on time DH and I will then go back to sleep or get up. If PIL are staying then kids go in and wake them up and show them the stocking presents. Breakfast about 8, usually croissants and coffee for the adults and a box of 'treat' cereal for the kids.

My parent arrive about 10 and we have coffee and open one present each, then open all the rest after lunch, which we have at about 1.30.

This is what we did when I was a child and it does spread the presents out nicely. The first year we adopted the DC we let them open everything first thing in the morning and the rest of the day was long and tedious.

I'm in the same position as you OP, have small DC and they are getting old enough to understand Christmas so want to start setting those traditions :)

We always opened all of our presents first thing. I do like that, but I think I would like to spread it out a little. This year I was planning on doing stockings (which we never had) first thing, letting them play with their stuff while I make a Christmas tea party breakfast, and then opening the under tree presents.

I don't think all of the excitement hinges on opening the presents, some of it naturally is playing with them!

I was thinking once they've opened their tree presents and me and DP have had a coffee, that would be a good opportunity for them to play while I make lunch. We would then have a little time to digest and then break out the games! They will each be getting a board game for Christmas, and we also have a couple of festive console games that we love to play :)

So I wouldn't worry about needing to have stuff to open all day. I do like the idea of a Chrisrmas scavenger hunt, but I think mine are a bit little and I don't want them being disappointed that there isn't a never ending supply of presents to open

Argh I just can't wait

We never had stockings when I was growing up.

For my kids its stockings opened on our bed at no earlier than 7am. This is just chocolates and things, but enough to excite the kids until DH and I can wake up a bit more. Then it's downstairs..

We have always dropped chocolate coins from our rooms, down the stairs and to the xmas tree as if Santa had a hole in his pocket. So the kids use their stockings to collect those as they go down. This also delays them long enough for me to get downstairs, switch on the lights and things and get the kettle boiling.

Then the kids come in, we sit round the pile and I hand out a present to each person to unwrap in unison. This year I'm going to get DD11 to do that part, I think she'll love doing it.
We open everything there and then and the rest of the day is playing/using their new stuff.

My mum used to do tree presents after lunch, one year I got a tape of PJ & Duncan and it was the best gift ever!!

I havent done that with my kids. We do have a basket that appears after dinner on xmas eve which has wrapped PJs in from the elves