Why do people wait until Christmas Eve night to do the wrapping?

[00100001]

So many people talk about having to get excited kids to sleep so they can do the wrapping.

Why leave it til then?

I don't mean to leave it to the last minute, but it seems to be my modus operandi, for present wrapping and everything else in my life TBH.

At 51 yo I have accepted that everything gets done in time, it's probably just more stressful than it needs to be.

Also, in my head it will take a couple of hours. This is not true.

How many presents do you people have to wrap

I normally wrap as I give. So aunt (I only give to one) I wrap early dec as I normally see her one weekend in dec. friends (actually only buy for one) similarly mid dec when I see them. nephews get wrapped and posted early dec ( in Europe). Ddepending which parents we are spending Christmas with, one set i’ll wrap and give the weekend before Christmas, the other set i’ll wrap Christmas Eve along with dh’s And the kids main gifts. So 5 max morning Christmas Eve.

I don’t wrap stocking gifts here Santos never has in my family.

Santa not santos!

My parents did this! I don't think they intended to, I think they were just so busy they didn't manage to do it sooner. They'd stay up till 1/2am and we would be awake at 4/5am!

I always say I want it all done by the end of November because December is so busy- never ever managed it!

We have this rather romanticised idea that it will be all Christmas music, wine, and snow falling gently outside.

In reality, it's a slog and we are pissed off after an hour and squabbling over tape dispensers.

I would still rather this tradition than being someone that wraps as they go (in October, sister-in-law, I am thinking of you and your joyless life).

All done here...months ago but only buy for about 3 friends so its easy...they always want socks or t shirts....!!

1. I don't have great storage and if i wrapped it all up and store it away it would be crammed and get ripped.

1. I like to lay all the presents out in the days leading up to Christmas to make sure i haven't forgotten anything

1. Me and my partner every year without fail get the kids to bed early, order a takeaway, have a drink and wrap the presents with a Christmas movie on. And we bloody love it.

1. None of anyones damn business.

Enjoy your early wrapping 😊

Because I enjoy doing it then, in front of the fire with a glass of wine. I think about the people I'm wrapping presents for and it's a special peaceful time. Also, we don't go mad with buying presents because Christmas dinner is the main feature of our day, so the wrapping only takes a couple of hours.

Had a job and three small children. I was making a lined, hooded velvet HP cloak for DD1. DH had been sent to buy the fabric and had bought ruinously expensive silk velvet instead of cotton. By the 24th I still had not even started. I was scared to put the shears to it, probably because it cost so much. I was also working without a pattern. Went to midnight service, came home about 00.30 and set to.

Finished about 03.45 and had not even fallen asleep when the first child woke and came in! DH sent them back to bed.

Cloak was a massive success, still exists. DD2 was ecstatic with joy and wore it to church that morning. I had an afternoon nap. 😂

Also, Christmas stockings: for some reason 'Father Christmas' had the bright idea of putting a satsuma in the toe which of course has become family tradition. Sadly, doing this any time before Christmas eve is not the best idea as the fruit invariably gets squashed. If I could go back in I'd use a Chocolate Orange instead.

*in time.

Tradition!

It's what my parents did so I did it too. Once. Just the once. I near lost my bloody mind and was hallucinating with lack of sleep by the time I took the turkey out of the oven on DS's first Xmas. My sister asked why the fuck I hadn't wrapped the presents beforehand and I realized I didn't have an answer, so I've never done that since. Now on Xmas Eve it's just a matter of getting all the presents out and setting them up nicely, while watching one of those BBC 4 slow telly things and having a mulled wine. Living the dream!

Because I have ADHD and however I much I try, I always end up with a ton to do at the last minute. Will be trying again this year to get ahead of myself.....

It's quite exciting.
I know someone who had put up her decorated tree with lights and things, with about 30 wrapped up presents underneath, on the 1st of October, so her children have just got to look at all the presents, until they have them on Christmas day. loopy woman !

Because I'm working until that point flat out and I always leave it until the last minute, it somehow feels more "Christmas" be to frantically wrapping

I wrap everyones except my dd. That is done on Christmas eve when she goes to bed and I have a baileys and me and hubby watched Scrooged

I always plan to do it in advance - it just never happens.

I even wrap on Xmas morning sometimes for family who pop over on the afternoon.

I wish I was a better person 😐

@00100001

So many people talk about having to get excited kids to sleep so they can do the wrapping.

Why leave it til then?

Because wrapping on Christmas Eve is a thing.

I tried it but found it involved too much rushing & ended up missing sleep. Now I spend a couple of school day afternoons in early December wrapping, with a movie, hot chocolate & festive snacks. Non-household gifts go under the tree for when we see people, DH & kids presents are hidden away without bows,etc so they don't get squashed.
I save bow/ribbons/decorations for Christmas Eve, so I still feel like I get to finish the wrapping then but it doesn't take hours. Santa wraps stocking presents in tissue paper here, no sellotape involved so it doesn't take long.
On a side note, I don't think wrapping on Christmas Eve was as stressful as putting together a wooden kitchen or Cosy Coupe at 2am 😂

It's easier to hide gifts in plain sight if they're not all gaily wrapped and yelling I'M A XMAS PRESENT!

We once managed to stash DS's bike (still in its box) in the back of his own wardrobe for weeks without him noticing!

Previous NDNs of ours had 3 young DC, who were absolute masters at finding any presents in their house, no matter how well hidden.

We offered to store the presents in our house (plenty of space, no DCs) and DH and I used to love Christmas Eve then!

NDNs would text us when the DC were asleep, and we'd take the presents through, have a glass of wine or two, mince pies, and wrap the presents. It was brilliant!

I have children with December birthdays, so Christmas starts late in our house. DH comes from a family where the tree and decorations didn't go up until Christmas Eve so we keep some of that Christmassy feel for Christmas Eve and wrapping on Christmas Eve is a part of that.
Mostly we just like it that way.

We do it then because we like to, it's part of our tradition, me & DH watch a crappy film and get everything ready. It's Christmassy!

I do mine in the last week before xmas. It's part of the fun, getting dc off to bed, then glass of wine, log fire, xmassy film or music, stacking them under the tree.

DS comes down each morning to see what's been added. It adds to the excitement nicely.

But not Xmas Eve. I need an early night.

Always do wrapping on Christmas Eve. Tradition. DH and I stay up late and have a drink and wrap and put things under the tree.