Do you have an 'order' to present opening?

[LajesticVantrashell]

Not with kids, I understand that's a rabid free for all, but with partners?

DH has 10 gifts this year, ranging from welly socks to new Vans trainers. I like him to open them in a specific order so he gets the less good (read: crappy) ones first and the better (more expensive) ones last.

Am I the only one who does this?!

You're not the only one, I do it to everyone but the kids. And sometimes I'll do it to the kids.

My sister numbered mine once, years ago.

We just take turns opening. Adults and kids (but kids have more turns).

I do want DDs to open their main presents together though.

Have always done this too!

Absolutely not!

No order here but now wondering if we should!

No order here, the children pick a present from the tree and whoever it is for opens it. I have put a couple of good ones for them at the bottom though so the children will save some for nearer the end.

Haha yes I’ve tended to do this over the years!

Last year I hid the DC’s main presents (they’re teens/pre teens and it was tech/phones). They were so grateful for all their other presents that I almost forgot their main presents which were hidden in the back!

I also do it with DH’s presents and he does it for mine. Occasionally we’ll do it the other way round - so main presents first, little presents after.

Depends on the type of presents etc. So you’re not the only one.

No, there's no order to my gifts at all. No separate piles. Everything goes under the tree and we dive in read the names, pass them around.

Only if it makes sense.

I read on here once that a mum had saved up really hard to buy her DC an Xbox console, and it was a strict secret within the family.

The exMiL turned up with a Christmas Eve gift and insisted on it being opened 'first' and it was an Xbox game, which kind of spoiled the surprise.

Not particularly. Tend to hold back any large surprises though. Last year we waited until the DC’s were eating breakfast and sat a new TV on each of their beds. This year DD is getting a switch she covers but hasn’t asked for so it will be her final gift to unwrap.

No. But we only give a couple of token gifts within our little family (three of us have birthdays in Nov-Dec and we make a bigger deal of those).

In Denmark where I’m from everyone takes turns opening one gift at a time and everyone else watches you open yours, so it takes a long time to get through them all!

Ohhhhhh, kids was not a free-for-all when I was growing up. It went:

• First round, youngest to oldest each open a present in turn (so, from my littlest cousin up to my grandad).
• Subsequent rounds, the order could loosen a bit, bit presents were still opened one at a time, not everyone all at once. The one exception to this was presents designated as a 'simultaneous opening' (ie two or more people were getting the same thing) - those were, as the name suggests, opened simultaneously.
• Final round (which was put aside somewhere towards the end of opening, to ensure everyone had something left and that it was something reasonably good), reverse age order from oldest to youngest.

There were at least a dozen of us there so yes, this did take all day. It was great! We still do much the same with the smaller Christmas we've had more recently. Very much looking forward to the baby ceremonially opening the first present this year!

One at a time here so we can all watch.

I remember my first ever Christmas away from home at my boyfriend's family home. It was a free for all with nieces and nephews just opening everything. Even adults diving in. I was so shocked. I just sat there frozen. It was horrible!!

Just to add, im sure it was lovely if that's what you're used to but I wasn't at all. Traumatised!!

One at a time randomly pulled from under the tree (including the DC); although sometimes I do try and put the main presents hidden at the back and the cheaper little gifts at the front.

I dish them out in a certain order, my dc’s are teens so it’s not longer a free for all, we try and make present opening last but staggering it. I need to make sure dd doesn’t open her iPad case before she opens the iPad as it’s a surprise 🤣

No, there's no order to my gifts at all. No separate piles. Everything goes under the tree and we dive in read the names, pass them around
Same here.

Traumatised at people opening their presents?! Hahahaaa! I can’t think of a more traumatising Chatham one where everyone is forced to sit and watch each other open presents. Sounds dull in the extreme.

We take it in turns so we can watch each other and it's lovely. It's relaxed and chilled. The kids chat to each other. They aren't grabby.
Having manners isn't boring. We're not sat there reading all day long or playing chess. We just like each other's company

@LajesticVantrashell

Not with kids, I understand that's a rabid free for all, but with partners?

DH has 10 gifts this year, ranging from welly socks to new Vans trainers. I like him to open them in a specific order so he gets the less good (read: crappy) ones first and the better (more expensive) ones last.

Am I the only one who does this?!

I do the "not so good presents" to the "good presents" in that order too 😊😊😊😊🙈

I would seriously hate everyone opening things all at once. It would be carnage. And besides, as far as I'm concerned - and this was true even when I was fairly young, not just as an adult - the fun of Christmas is more in giving presents than in getting them, so I want to be able to enjoy their enjoyment of their gifts rather than have those moments lost in a tornado of ripped paper.

I've had boyfriends in the past who said they utterly detested Christmas Day because they were forced to watch family members opening presents and 'reacting', and to be watched opening theirs and putting on an acceptable performance.

Which, as one said, is pretty grim when someone's given Great Auntie Anne 'a lovely packet of knick-knicks' for Christmas and you're an 11 year old boy required to murmur enthusiastically in the background, dreading opening your own gift from the family knicker-giver.

No. We generally encourage ds to do his stocking first. Then keep his big presents from Father Christmas and us until last. But that's it

Nope for the DC, bloody annoying memories of there being a strict order that fitted my dm idea of what "should " be ! Then including her 20 minute diatribe at df bewailing the fact that he had got her more than him , and having to discuss the ways and wherefore of every present we were given. Nope ,it killed any form of enjoyment.

So DC have stockings in bed while one of us goes to make the adults the sanity saving coffee (to prevent the also childhood memory of having to sit on the stairs waiting while df had coffee shower dressed and considered the world economy before we were allowed to even look at the presents).

Then dc can open at the same time. They do get calmed down if it becomes feral but that's been very rare, they are pretty good and get excited for the other one when they open something cool.

I am going to give them family presents later in the day but more because it gets a bit confusing between father Christmas etc. (I suspect this is the last year for ds1 believing so making the most of it ).

Dp and I usually only really get each other one thing so we open it during any relevant lull and we don't get presents that is not money into an account from anyone else so that never comes up.

I admit total transference but all the controlling of presents to be opened in an order really does remind me of dm using it as another way to make a day all about her (ex dysfunctional relationship disclaimer admitted I fully recognise that is not all the case)

@hawaiianhal

We take it in turns so we can watch each other and it's lovely. It's relaxed and chilled. The kids chat to each other. They aren't grabby. Having manners isn't boring. We're not sat there reading all day long or playing chess. We just like each other's company

This, I like to see people’s faces when they open things, we like to discuss what we have opened, we like to take our time. When DD’s were small it was carnage and all over far too quickly. Now presents all go under the tree (apart from stockings), i dish them out and we open them slowly, it takes us a few hours and sometimes we will save a few to open after lunch.

Kids opening all santa presents at same time. 2 ds's close in age so generally get same presents or similar. I try to manipulate the order a bit if i can. We then play, have breakfast. Then relatives visit and we give them their gifts and open theirs when theybare here. Me and DH open ours whenever theres a free moment. Generally we know what we have got as don't waste money on unneeded things now