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Original poster

Presents left discarded for days

77 replies

RacoonRocket · 28/12/2021 10:30

The pile of presents that SIL opened on Xmas day are still laying strewn where they were opened on Xmas day, untouched. I just can't get my head around the lack of care or organisation.
All my presents are sorted into a neat pile as they are opened, and then put into a bag or stored out of the way.
After 24h of her books, biscuits etc being stood on by excited children, I broke... and pushed them all together out of the way under the tree. They are still there, and clearly won't be moved until SIL leaves. AIBU to think people should take a bit more responsibility and care for their gifts?

OP posts:
Keladrythesaviour · 28/12/2021 19:28

This is where a dog comes in handy. The moment we got up from opening gifts I say "anything that you don't want chewed, needs to go upstairs" - tends to sort the issue out. Anything left, I move myself and say "oh I didn't want the dog to get it"

PurpleParrotfish · 28/12/2021 19:42

@museumum

Our resents are still in the living room. They’re to be appreciated and absorbed. If we put them away soon as they’re opened we’d never remember what we had. This way I can pick up a book, look at a candle, consider opening a jigsaw or box of chocolate in a slow relaxed way as they take my fancy and catch my eye. Part of the joy of this between time is being surrounded by lovely things.
Maybe ‘presents strewn over the floor’ isn’t great but surely having piles of presents piled up in the corners of the living room for a few days is just part of giving and receiving presents and being relaxed and enjoying them. Getting them out of sight as fast as possible seems a bit like tidying away the Christmas tree on Boxing Day.
Glitterbells · 28/12/2021 20:02

I can’t stand gifts left lying under the tree whether neatly piled for admiring, or carelessly strewn.

I appreciate I’m probably in the minority. I find it a bit lazy.
I don’t have a show home but I like things put away and back into some order for guests coming Christmas Day

Plus In a family with a couple of dc or more and a few guests it just leads to clutter building/chance of things getting lost

NumberTrain · 28/12/2021 20:21

Perhaps she's like me. My home is spick and span but I'm not one of the many women in my family who have some sort of compulsion to fold everything in sight and continually make people around them miserable by hiding things. After two days of continually feeling on edge watching my mother fold the dogs blanket up (for her to immediately mess it up again) and push frequently used items like high chairs and brand new Xmas toys for the 3yo into cupboards, i started leaving things obnoxiously messy to irritate her back.

OverTheRubicon · 28/12/2021 20:56

@Kyliealwayshadthebestdisco

Wow people are harsh, everyone is different. This would have been me for a long time. I hate that people have the attitude that the presents are not appreciated or cared about if not beautifully tidied away immediately, some people like myself are just not naturally super tidy. It drives me as mad as anyone else and I’m trying hard to understand it and to change. I actually have a thing where I almost forget things exist if I put them away too quickly so actually they are much more likely to be used and appreciated if left out. If you look at Clutterbug I’m what she calls a butterfly and I need to have things where I can see them - there are ways to be organised as a butterfly but traditional organising systems don’t usually work and it’s very difficult if you’re not in your own house.

If it was annoying people I’d happily move them (if someone asked me nicely to do so rather than screaming at me for being a messy pig etc) but things being left out doesn’t mean they’re not appreciated or cared about, in fact it’s the exact opposite as I’ve explained. Everyone is not exactly like you.

If they've been left out underfoot, she's not a 'butterfly' Hmm, she's being rude.

I'm naturally messy, and quite a few of our presents are still in the living room near the tree, but they're put safely on tables or the bookshelf, not strewn on the floor. I'd take extra care of something that someone had just given me, and also try to be respectful of someone else's house.

Pixxie7 · 28/12/2021 21:31

I am sorry but I would take it that she isn’t pleased with her gifts, I am not particularly house proud but if I am given a gift I always make sure I say thank you and put them somewhere safe.

NinaDefoe · 28/12/2021 22:22

Put them in one of those bag for life bags and place by the front door with her shoes and coat 🤣

Tangled123 · 28/12/2021 22:22

My hubby left half his presents from Christmas, his Chinese from last night, a backpack he took to my parents house on Boxing Day, and 3 tins of sweets sprawled over the living room floor all day while he sat playing Xbox. They would still be there if I hadn't cracked and shoved them all into the corner behind the Christmas tree (obviously the Chinese went into the kitchen).
I'm not tidy either, but I can't cope with other people's mess.

Original poster
RacoonRocket · 28/12/2021 22:46

Loving some of these replies!

I'm not really that pissed off - I just find it amazing that someone else's brain works so utterly differently to mine.

To confirm, yes it's my house, she's in her 30s, and the presents were initially left literally scattered where they had been opened right in front of the door to the room, so fairly high chance of being trodden on.

OP posts:
Timeisavirtue · 28/12/2021 23:05

I move mine half way through the day whilst the dinner is on the go. Gets moved to my room in a neat pile until I have enough time to sort out properly which is usually Boxing Day.

starfishofbethlehem · 28/12/2021 23:13

I find it really strange that so many mumsnetters spend several months preparing for christmas and no sooner are the presents opened than all the decorations are taken down and hidden away.

jamandmarmaladethesecondcoming · 29/12/2021 01:08

@starfishofbethlehem

I find it really strange that so many mumsnetters spend several months preparing for christmas and no sooner are the presents opened than all the decorations are taken down and hidden away.
again yes. there are 12 days of Christmas...
IMarchToADifferentDrummer · 29/12/2021 04:36

@Fairylights25

The fact this is annoying you so much probably means it is time for her to pack and leave before you get the bin bags out Grin

You are deserve a medal for putting it up with it for this long! My tree and presents and every last scrap of Christmas is already in the attic, thank you notes now being written!

Time for her to go home

You've put your presents in the attic?
Cocogreen · 29/12/2021 06:46

@ivykaty44

We all have decorated cardboard boxes for out presents for this very reason. ^I like to keep my presents in one place for a while for easier gloating and admiring ❤️😍fgrin*

this is a thing?

Did that when my siblings and I were school age but not as adults.
Juanbablo · 29/12/2021 07:01

This would drive me crazy! The children packed their presents into their sacks and got out what they wanted at any given time during Christmas Day. Dh and I took our few gifts upstairs. Boxing Day the dcs sacks went up to their rooms. Yesterday we unpacked it all and put it all away. It's not as regimented and mean as it sounds, they can get anything out any time they want but I can't stand it being strewn about the place.

Fairylights25 · 29/12/2021 08:15

No, the presents are tidied away and now have a home. All decorations are tidied away, labelled in boxes and we have had a full spring clean here. The idea of stuff being strewn all over anywhere would not be something I would feel comfortable with.

venusmay · 29/12/2021 08:20

My dm always made us take all our Xmas presents up to our rooms after we'd opened them. We always resented it and her weird need to clean constantly. She's still the same way.
Once the gift is given really its up to that person what they do with it.

venusmay · 29/12/2021 08:21

@Fairylights25 God that sounds so anal

burnoutbabe · 29/12/2021 08:33

If I was I my own house without guests then presents can just sit around.

But as an adult, in someone else's house? They get put into a pile/bag for life and then taken up to our room during Xmas day.
Very rude to leave a communal room, like the lounge which we are all using over Xmas, in a mess.

Happyface120 · 29/12/2021 08:43

Kids have trees in their rooms here, so before Christmas Dinner starts presents move from the family tree to their own. We need the space as we host and have lots of guests. We also go from being a 1 dog house to a 3 dog house over Xmas, and the visitors have a tendency to chew Hmm

TheWelshposter · 29/12/2021 08:59

@museumum

Our resents are still in the living room. They’re to be appreciated and absorbed. If we put them away soon as they’re opened we’d never remember what we had. This way I can pick up a book, look at a candle, consider opening a jigsaw or box of chocolate in a slow relaxed way as they take my fancy and catch my eye. Part of the joy of this between time is being surrounded by lovely things.
This is my house too! Obviously we do pick them off the floor an d tidy the piles but it's all part of the Christmas holidays to enjoy the present s downstairs.
DueyCheatemAndHow · 29/12/2021 09:39

God love MN. A full spring clean and it's only 29th December.

Fairylights25 · 29/12/2021 10:05
Grin
ThirdElephant · 29/12/2021 10:18

Meh. Life is far too short to get het up about how quickly people tidy up their Christmas gifts.

Iamkmackered1979 · 29/12/2021 10:25

You’re surprised that peoples brains don’t work the same as yours? Not everyone is super organised tidy and clean although I wouldn’t have left them strewn all over the room for more than a morning , they’d have been nearly put under the tree for her.

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