Stockings/Father Christmas presents/presents under the tree, how do you do it?

[SillySausage81]

I'm dithering over how to arrange things, as this year will be our first Christmas where my DD (2.5) will actually know what's going on.

So when I was a child, we had our Father Christmas presents which were left in our rooms, and then our presents from family under the tree.

Father Christmas would bring us all our presents from our parents - we'd have one or two "main" presents plus a few surprises, which would all be left in a pillow case or sack at the end of our beds. We didn't really have actual stockings or "stocking filler presents". We'd open our Father Christmas presents as soon as we woke up on Christmas morning.

The family presents (aunts, uncles, grandparents) would sit under the tree for ages before Christmas. We were very lucky to have a big family which meant a massive stack of presents under the tree each year. We'd open them with the whole family after going downstairs.

I always thought that's how everyone does it, but now I'm hearing other things from different people, so just really interested to hear how everyone else does it.

My DD only has a couple of aunts and uncles so our tree present pile will look a lot smaller if we do things the way I did them as a kid, so looking for inspiration of other ways of doing it...

Are your kids' "main presents" from you or Father Christmas? Do you have lots of presents under the tree too? Do you have a stocking full of little gifts?

Main presents are from us if it's a "big thing" but usually everything is under £50 for our kids (we probably spend about £150-200 and it's mostly stocking filler stuff).
Xmas tree presents are from family/friends and then FC leaves a sack on the sofa downstairs - I run down in the morning and place it there!

We do stockings (hung in the living room for easy filling!) from FC as well as a couple of presents underneath also from FC. Then under the tree are all gifts from us and rest of family/friends. Their 'main' present(s) tend to be from us but FC will also bring one or two things from their list, hence the need for an extra gift or two that won't fit in the stocking.

No Christmas eve box
Pyjamas on Christmas eve at bedtime in a wrapping paper that is exclusive to Santa. The elves dropped in early with that one to signal to Santa that he should visit this house (you made the nice list yay!)
Stocking hung empty in the sitting room gets dropped full on the bottom of the bed after they're asleep and that is free rein before you get up.
One "traditional" toy that is a complete surprise in the same recognisable Santa wrapping paper that they can open really early and play with before any one else is up if they make their way to the tree area.
You have to hide that santa paper but you can use it up year after year.
Everything else is from parents et al: opened when everyone is together.
At 2.5 you will be policing a lot of the timing but I found as they grew up they learned the drill - it made everything more manageable with timing and also giving credit (and gratitude) where it was due for all the other presents.
Santa only has room on his sleigh for one toy per child! If he brings everything your child gets then that is stealing space on the sleigh from other kids and the whole concept of Santa (to me) is learning sharing and giving!!

Presents from friends and family under the tree. No stockings - but Santa left a sack on the sofa for each of the kids. Trying to decide at what age the Santa sack is ditched (all the DC are at least late teens! 🎅). When they were younger they used to get up early and it was so exciting watching them run down the stairs to see if Santa had been.

When I was a kid it was stocking at the end of the bed and then more downstairs from Santa. Nothing was from my parents and apparently one year I asked why they didn't give me anything! (I don't remember this conversation so don't think it scarred me for life).

My DC are young but we're going with stockings on the beds filled with little things. Socks, chocolate, crayons, bubbles etc. Then a sack by the fireplace from Santa alongside their main present, which will be unwrapped. There will also be a gift from us and from their sibling under the tree. Family gifts are given as we see people, so that will be my family on christmas day and DH's family on boxing day.

We also do table presents. Nothing lavish, just a little something to play with at the table to keep them quiet while I serve up!

We do a stocking from FC all wrapped in different paper. Included in that is a couple of things (small) the children really want that aren’t super expensive.

We then do presents from us, the odd friend who sends gift under the tree.

We don’t exchange gifts with my DH family at all so few gifts under the tree.

We have always done it this way so the children realise not everything comes from FC and they need to thank whoever.

oh and FC doesn’t bring the main gift… we do!

Stocking of (not wrapped) little bits and bobs is from Father Christmas. Everything else is from whoever actually bought it, and is under the tree.

The idea of Santa is magical. I cannot imagine giving a little stocking and saying ‘there’s the magic part’ but the rest are all from ME ME ME . It seems a bit frugal but it is interesting to read how others do it.

I don't understand how it's frugal?
Your parents giving you loads of things you want... they've put the care in to get a lovely surprise for you! Better than from a magic stranger in my opinion! I remember thinking how well my parents must know me to get the exact Spectrum games I wanted (because I'd been banging on about them for weeks, probably! )

Anyway we're now in the slightly tricky situation where eldest kid knows the truth about Santa but youngest doesn't... so could be interesting!

As a kid everything was unwrapped and brought by santa, no stockings really (decoration more than function) etc...

Now I have added loads of traditions in so we have:

• sofa gifts (unwrapped and out like as a child, delivered 'by' santa)
• tree gifts (wrapped from us under tree)
• santa sack (from santa, only cheap 'classic' toys in this)
• stocking (just a few little bits like stickers, bubbles, pens and sweets etc...)

Nothing in bedrooms ever (who needs that stress lol) and we dont wrap stocking fillers.

Stockings arent from Santa here they are 'in memory' of St. Nick who was a real man not a magic entity.

We also do

• Advent (just chocolate calander delivered by the gonk)
• St nicks feast (with a boot full of chocolate and xmas stuff like jumper)
• Christmas eve box (PJs, toothbrush, book etc...)
• 12 days (usually sweets/biscuits for kids, drinks for adults)
• Befana on Epiphany (basically like a second stocking)

I would love to do Wassail too, I have tried each year but failed to make it successful lol.

Im trying to decide this too... I have a 14 year old and wondering should I stop at 16 or 18.

We have never stopped stockings for our ds and my mum still does a stocking for my sister and I. I do one for DH.

The 1st of December we have 'Christmas breakfast' and the DC get their advent calendar. The 5th they leave their shoes out for St.Niklaas who leaves Dutch sweets and biscuits. The 24th they get new PJs. Christmas day they get stockings from FC (stockings hung on the fireplace, not wrapped - the excitement is in dipping your hand in and seeing what you get!) they open them before breakfast. Then presents under the tree are from us and other family/friends. We open the ones from us after breakfast and the ones from others after lunch. Then on 6th January (3 kings) the kings leave a book each and traditional Spanish chocolate figures of the 3 kings.

Stockings - from FC as you put the empty stocking / pillow case out for him

FC present by the fire- children wrote to FC. This was often a big bit of plastic tat....

Presents under the tree from parents- other gifts such as games, toys and clothes

Presents from relatives, godparents and friends j see the tree. There is only usually a few of these.

We also explained about other families having different arrangements to ours.

Presents are put under the tree in the lounge from when it’s put up right upto the day before. These are the ones from friends and relatives that we’ve received in the post (we are overseas) or who are visiting and also the ones from sibling to sibling, child to parent, parent to child, visiting relatives etc. They still get gently squeezed to try and guess what’s in them.

Stockings hung in the lounge filled by Father Christmas for everyone including adults. These are organised by the elves and follow a formula of “categories”.

Father Christmas leaves the main gift, usually 1 but if it was a big item there would be an accessory to go with wrapped under the tree. These are wrapped in gold or silver paper and left under the lounge tree.

There used to be an “overflow” small sack or small pile of gifts per child left in the dining room during the magical years with the selection box, annual, games that wouldn’t fit in the stocking. Always a couple of stray paper bashed gifts somewhere in the dining room or hallway or some years in the garden. Still have the stray gift or two and the selection box in the dining room.

The dining room sack/pile were opened first in the frenzy of excitement, nowadays no frenzy but the selection box is still opened first to start eating straight away whilst breakfast is gathered.
Into the lounge to open the stockings together whilst eating the breakfast and then straight onto the gifts under the tree.

Sometimes there’s a little surprise gift on pillows at bedtime or other years on Boxing Day. The only consistent bit is the stockings and tree gifts as we changed it around a bit each year so not everything became expected and still continue with this.

Santa fills stockings and also brings the main gifts here too

Presents under tree, stocking in room by leg.
Buy two of the Same stockings so you can swop it easily.
There's nothing like waking up to a stocking!

Mummy and dad's normally bring something small just in case...he can't make it.
We have few presents from other family so it's definitely mostly us in the guise of FC.

Running down to the tree...in the morning is sensational.

Stockings are from Santa (and even that is a stretch for me tbh). They open those as soon as they wake up. All other presents are from named givers among family and friends. I think it's really important that they learn to be grateful for gifts and so to associate the gift with the real giver.

At ours it's always been

Father Christmas brings one present. It is not the biggest or most expensive usually. It used to always be a toy that she would have been wanting. It would have been a surprise too. It's setup, unwrapped, and ready to use/play with. Often hints of elf magic dust could be seen sparkling in it. Usually quite close to where FC;s mince pie and bring was left.

All other gifts under the tree (or in sofa when smaller and presents were bigger boxes) are wrapped and labelled from who has bought them, including from me and dh.

We've never done stockings.

The Christmas fairy ( No idea why a fairy 😂) sends a Christmas Eve box on the 24th. It contains PJs mainly. Also has in the past included a book or film, hot chocolate, etc. My mum talks to the fairy about organising all that, not me. Dd is now 20y and yes, that Christmas fairy still arrives with new PJs. The drink treat these days is often a Christmas cocktail kit or a baileys hot chocolate, etc 😂

*Anything else or bigger things were from parents,

How do you avoid being pestered and nagged for gifts you don’t want to buy eg VR headsets or phones. For me it’s very easy - Santa doesn’t bring phones or electronics.*

Exactly as I would do at birthdays or other times of the year.
Too expensive, not age appropriate, etc.
It was never an issue.

It's such a short time window of a few years, I've never known before NCT mum said she would never give Santa the recognition for her presents?
I've never come across that mindset before.

They will know it's you soon enough.

I do like the idea of saying there is limited space on the sleigh however and putting the special gifts with sparkles near fc sherry's and cake