What is Christmas morning like in your house?

[slipperypenguin]

What is the typical Christmas morning like in your house? If you have children are they up super early? Do you open presents first thing or get food first?

For us DS7 and DS5 will grab their stockings from the hallway landing and bring them in to open in our bed as we wake up. We have DD1 who just turned 1 this year too. In recent years they have slept til around 7.30 but they are both at very excited stages this year so who knows.

We then head down stairs after making sure the fairy lights are all on for a nice festive glow and the boys open their gifts from Santa and family, in between several
Cups of tea and bin bags to
Collect the rubbish!

Grandparents tend to turn up around 8-9am and have breakfast (for some reason we have a tradition of French toast) whilst the kids play with their toys

When dds were young, once it was a reasonable hour they’d very excitedly bring their stockings or pillowcases to open on our bed - luckily we had a nice big one, since Ddog and Dcat would be there too, very interested to see what everybody had got. And dh and I would open ours, (though dds knew we did them for each other, Father Christmas had quite enough to do without grown ups, too.)
Happy days 🎄🎅🏻

😂😂😂 I love that.

The children usually sleep in a little because they're excited the night before. They have stocking in their bedrooms they open and compare together. Then they come to us and we go to the living room where me and dh battled the night before to put wrapping paper across the door opening. They burst through. Open presents. Then we have a fancy breakfast.

Kids wake at goodness knows what time, but know not to wake us till 7am.

Into our room to open stockings then straight downstairs. I make a cuppa and DH switches lights & bits on. Then kids open their presents.

After that we get washed & dressed & let the chaos begin.

My mum is bedding down in our lounge this year, so may have to persuade the kids to sleep in later.

We have ds (15) and dd (9), dd still believes though this may be the last year that she does. They will get up between 6 and 7am to find their stockings in the hallway outside bedrooms and bring them into our bedroom. Dh goes downstairs to make drinks and switch on the tree lights and feed the cats and then bring drinks up to our room where we all open stockings on our bed. Then downstairs for breakfast of Buck's Fizz, juice, coffee and pastries. Presents under the tree after breakfast then we all get ready to go to PIL's for more presents before going home for dc to get presents out properly and lunch at about 2pm. After lunch it's usually a film/Christmas special on TV and turkey sandwiches, cheese etc. later if anyone has room. Boxing Day we go to my parents to do it all again but with cold meat, chips and pickles for lunch and buffet for dinner.

For the last 5 or so years I've had to go wake my girls up! Admittedly it's 7.30/8 but I'll have been awake for aaaaaages because I love the magic of Xmas.

Routine is "supposed to be" as set by DH. Few presents, breakfast, few more and then video call grandparents and open their gifts, dressed and then for a walk, another present.....

Nope, usually ends up all presents opened first thing (always a gift on Xmas table) video call, breakfast, dressed and then by time the kids have faffed about, the dinner needs to go on so no walk 😂

The girls (17&23) will wake about 8.30. Sit on our bed and open stockings. Then they will nip downstairs and get their Santa presents. Then DH will get us a coffee and we will sit in the lounge and spend the morning opening presents whilst drinking Buck's Fizz and eating scrambled eggs. We will play games, watch tv. We will all prep dinner and spend from about 3-7 eating. Play some more games, get drunk and watch Xmas tv. Just how we like it. Hopefully no one will call.

@Vermin @miltonj I'm pleased it makes you smile, too 😁

This is fascinating! We appear to be weirdos for not doing stockings in the same way as everyone else.😂

We run Christmas very roughly as I did as a child, which means stockings/sacks (ours were sacks as a child) and big presents from parents in the morning first thing, and then “tree presents” (from extended family and friends) in the afternoon after a late lunch.

We don’t really have a fixed routine - we started alternating Christmas between our home and my DPs after DC1 was born. Then late pregnancy and Covid meant we spent three Christmases on the trot at home just us. This year we’re spending it with my family but I am questioning the wisdom of this in terms of logistics! We also have the complicating factor that DC1 shows some ASD traits (in early stages of assessment) and it’s easier to keep things on an even keel at home.

We have had some lovely peaceful Christmases at home despite Covid, my favourite probably being the first one when I was very pregnant with DC2 and DC1 was 4 and a True Believer.

I do maintain that we might not have a traditional Christmas dinner next time we’re at home, as it takes me away from the kids for too long and DC1 always ends up being difficult about it.

When DD was younger and her Dad and I were married she would bring her stocking into our room and snuggle under the covers and open it whilst her Dad and I prised our eyes open. Then once I had a mug of tea I my hand she would open her presents.
Presents from relatives would be opened when we saw them.

When we separated she was with me on Christmas Eve to Christmas Day afternoon so opened presents from me and Stepdad then and the ones from her Dad later at his place.

Now DD is grown up and it’s just DH and I then we have hot drinks in bed and open our presents after breakfast.

DD is a late riser but DH is always up early, I'm somewhere in between so we are usually waiting for her to wake up to open stockings. My DM comes over around 9 for breakfast and round one of gift opening before MIL appears mid morning.

When DDs were young they were waking up very early. Last 2 years I woke up first.

Presents opened before breakfast.

Carnage

I set alarm so i can hear them wake. And whisper to each other that Santa's been. They bring stockings into our room and we all. Open stocking on our bed. 6 of us its bedlam. Then one of us will run down put all the lights on tree. Kids come down to all the presents under tree.
Once opened i bake pastries (frozen ready made)
We eat, play. Then normally early dinner 2 ish.

This year were out xmas day from 12. So no dinner rush

Arguing 😂

We are in our first "who knows" year... kids are at uni, UK and abroad, they may or may not be "home" depending what adventures may call on them.

MIL with dementia normally stays a couple of days but has (literally just) said she can't manage the stairs, so she would like to come for the day but DH could take her home.

So I'm just pootling along merrily assuming some or all might be here for some or all of it.

I will wake at 7 and feed/water/let out/medicate the dog and potter about in the kitchen til everyone gets up anyhow... 7 til 9 is my time for me, to relish the silent solitude of the early morning before it all gets busy.

Wake about 7-8 and then into our room to open Christmas stockings (sacks)

Then shower and dress. Downstairs for breakfast. Usually Buck's Fizz and something nice... E.g. croissants or pancakes.

Then main presents under the tree.

Then over to parents for lunch. Eat lunch.

Then presents from parents / us

Then play board games, tidy up etc.

Have tea,

Open presents from wider family

Play games and drink

Bed

When they were younger it was awful. They didn't sleep and I had to do stockings and was woken up early. All I remember is feeling sicky tired all day and muddling through.
It's nicer with tweens and teens. I get to sleep properly then do parkrun. We may all eat together if DD is in a good mood.

When my 3 were younger, it was wake up and open stockings (small gifts to keep them occupied and chocolate and fruit!). Breakfast, maybe church, Christmas dinner - everyone helping, The Queen and then opening presents from under the tree. Playing and later a snack tea and bed. We’d always be with family as well.
Now, it’s very similar but no stockings!

DC 18,25,27 now so a little different. Will open stockings first thing used to be in bed now living room at 9ish. Breakfast of smoked salmon blinis, fruit and Prosecco. Maybe get dressed/showered then open presents under the tree. Bit of Christmas tv potentially then cook lunch together. Past 2 years was about 4pm has to be earlier this year as we have to drive an hour down the road to see family. Will probably aim for 2pm! Tv or Christmas movie. Leave the house at 6pm ish then have big Christmas party with about 30 odd members of family. Will be the first normal Christmas we’ve had since 2019 (1/2 of us had covid last year!)

The kids aren't allowed to wake us until 7 but they're older now so it's not so hard. We go downstairs and do stockings, then have breakfast of croissants, bagels etc. Then proper present opening after that. Then we Potter, ideally going for a walk before Christmas lunch about 1-2.

My parents, adult dc, grandchildren and my siblings and their partners and dc will all be visiting me this Christmas. It is likely to be calm on Christmas morning as my dc and DGC will probably lie in as they will be spending most of Christmas Eve travelling.

My parents and my siblings will arrive, together, with my 5 nieces and nephews about an hour before dinner is served. My in laws will be visiting their dd for Christmas dinner this year but will join us on Boxing Day for a few days.

Christmas afternoon will be total chaos! Bring it on! I love Christmas family get togethers. It’s the only time of the year we are all together

*doubt

Too tired.

The bit about you ringing the bell made me tear up.

I need to buy a bell...

Dc wake up around 6 or 7 and tear into the presents! We have a special breakfast of chocolate waffles/pancakes whatever they want. Then we sit and play with the presents, I drink coffee and we'll watch a Christmas film on TV. Later on I'll have my breakfast of smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, muffins and a mimosa 😋 Around lunch time I'll cook dinner (roast chicken this year). Then we all just chill out, watch some more TV and I get gently pissed on good wine.

This Christmas is a special one for me because its the first Christmas ever without a man getting drunk/stoned/high in the background. First it was my ddad, then ex dp took over that role. This year will just be me and the dc in our cosy, peaceful home and I can't fucking wait.