Santa help

[Dawbie]

Hi all. I’m reading so many horror stories about children who think Santa brings expensive gifts such as iPads and rare-as-rocking-horse-s* items. Seen parents say santa JUST brings stockings ect. Please help so I do Santa right from the start.

We had Santa bringing the gifts but we paid for them so there was a budget

There is no right way. Everyone does it differently.

How was it done when you were a child? How did your partner's family do it? Biggest question is how YOU want to do it for your children?

It’s completely up to you. There is no one way. We do santa brings stocking and everything else is from the people who bought it. It stops the expensive product requests. For Santa and us don’t bring everything on the list, they are just ideas.

And gifts from other people were from them. It was just gifts from me/dh that were Santa gifts

We wrote a christmas list 3-5 things we really wanted - varied in price. Santa bought one or two of the smaller things- this kept the magic alive. They were put in a stocking wrapped with chocolate and bubble bath and usually fluffy socks. We opened this first thing.

We then had tree presents, these were always from friends and family and sometimes we got the bigger things or similar- these were from parents/family… the key being we appreciated them and said thank you!

So I do same for my kids.

That’s one way of doing it. Secret is to encourage small/cheaper things for the very important list!

We do stockings from Santa, that's how it was in our house when I was young. My OHs family done a stocking and one main present from Santa

Mine have never questioned the difference between our house and people who have Santa bring everything, my eldest knows where I stash the (wrapped) presents so knows where they come from.

I find it works best this was as we aren't high income, so it means I can gently set expectations in the lead up to Christmas, and my eldest never asks for anything 'too expensive', he's never asked for tech at Christmas for example, and will discount higher value things himself (he would rather have more smaller presents than one big ticket item)

Father Christmas brings stockings only.
Christmas isn’t about getting all the things you want, it’s about nice surprises.
Put the stockings somewhere you can easily access them when the child is sleeping and where they won’t see them if they wake at 3am. I put them in the living room on the advice of a friend who regretted starting the tradition of them being at the end of the bed.

My DD’s best friend got a puppy from Santa.

dd desperately wanted a puppy and we had refused many, many times.

I told her that sometimes parents pretend a gift is from Santa when it really came from them. Santa definitely does not transport live animals in a sleigh and bring them down chimneys.

there is never going to be a standard approach across households. Best to plan something to placate upset ahead of time and just do whatever you want.

Something that may be worth consideration. Our son has just found out about Santa but we have had many years of him asking for really bizarre presents (he is that way inclined) and when I said well I'm not sure Santa can get that he said "don't worry, Santa is magic, he can get anything!. It hasn't always been easy!

We did parents buy everything and send it to Santa to deliver when I was younger but partner doesn’t agree with that and wants everything to be from Santa! We have compromised and the stocking is from Santa DD is 3 so this is the year we need to set the rules. Luckily she’s asked for small cheap items from Santa (think fidget toy and Kevin the carrot teddy) so we are all good for Santa’s gifts fitting in the stocking this year!

Theres no such thing as 'right' and honestly we overthink it more than kids do, I knew Santa was fake at 5 year old, in my childhood everything appeared on xmas morning (no stockings/sacks/wrapped gifts under tree) and have no idea if everything was 'suppose' to be from Santa or not because I always KNEW it was my mam lol.

We do:

• Christmas eve box is tradition (not gifts and not 'from' anyone)

• Stockings are St. Nick tradition (not 'from' anyone)

• Santa Sack 'from' Santa (ONLY cheap traditional toys like yoyo, teddy, whistle, hula hoop etc...)

• Presents 'delivered' by Santa (these are bought/paid for by us but stored at santas warehouse... its the big stuff that can't be wrapped)

• Presents under tree a from us (wrapped and appear throughout december)

Thats our 'narrative'... how much of that the kids pay attention too or care about who knows lol.

Oh also we don't do lists and our kids don't ask for presents, its the suprise of it thats fun... whats the point if you know what your getting?

We always wrote long lists and were told Santa would choose a few to bring us. We'd never get every single item on the list.

Those who do that santa brings gifts, but you pay - do your children never wonder why their parents don’t buy them presents?
Don’t you want to have the credit for a great gift that you chose?

Stockings come from Father Christmas here, all other presents are from who bought them. I want the credit for the expensive things 🤣 mine will write a list, but it’s just small items and they know that they don’t get everything on them x

I'm our house

Santa fills the stockings

Santa will read a list and the elves will make some things for the child

Santa will NEVER bring electronics like games consoles/laptops/phones because it's up to parents when a child gets those

Santa never brings animals

Family and friends bring gifts because Santa et all mimic the idea to give being better than to receive and to find the joy in giving and making someone happy

When ds was too old for Santa we explained adults pretend about Santa to teach little kids the joy of receiving and working hard to earn something, and that now he knows about it, he was in on the adults tradition side of giving joy

First, they dont wonder as they know we buy gifts that santa stores because they are too big or had to be bought early

Second, they DO get gifts wrapped from us under the tree

Third, I cant think of anything more sad/pathetic than an adult that needs/expects praise from a young child, we're the parent thats NOT the kids responsability or job

In our house, Santa brings stockings and 2/3 small to mid-range gifts that won't fit in the stocking, e.g. this year it's a £25 toy boat and an £8 hooded blanket.

Santa makes certain toys, others are purchased from shops and sent to Santa for safekeeping. He delivers all toys, we have to pay for them all.

I'm not working hard all year to pay for presents and then Santa gets the credit!!

There is no right or wrong way. Do as you want.

For us everything is from Santa when they are little, as they have gotten older they realised some gifts came from us, mainly due to them actually looking at the gift tags and realising it said from M&D. Usually any family gifts are given separately, but on occasions where we have put them under the tree, mainly during covid, we obviously say who they are from.

List rules are 2 Santa gifts and now 2 gifts from us. They also get to put a backup Santa item in case Santa can’t get their first choice. Once lists are posted they can’t change them, not that it always works, my 5yo has done a “list” at school with pictures from Smyths catalogue, which she is convinced Santa will bring everything from it, so I’m having some difficult conversations with her right now. The earlier they get the lists in the better chance Santa can get what they want. I like to have them done by September so I’m not hunting around for that one gift they really want last minute. I’ve also been known to heavily influence their lists to include what I’ve already bought 😁

Everything else they get on top of their lists is just a bonus.

We have always told them Santa works with parents and he makes sure parents are happy with what they have asked for so he’s not going to bring a phone if the parents have rules on phones. My DDs wanted ride on toys when they were little but we had no room so we told Santa not to bring them. This helps manage their expectations.

I never had stockings or sacks as a child so really didn’t know what to put in or do with them. Sacks were introduced last year as my DDs wanted them, but I actually don’t like them as I like to spread all the gifts under the tree to make it look BIG. Stockings for us are mainly chocolates.

Santa brought the stocking presents: unwrapped, free of packaging and a mix of quirky small toys, puzzles, chocolate and suitably sized books. Nothing that was high value.

Stockings from Santa
big gifts from any adult who buys them

Not sure why ‘all’ gifts are from Santa it’s rude to those who send gifts.

I agree with presents in the living room - hate to sneak them in when they are up all night!

I'm doing the stocking and a want, need, wear, read from santa 🥰

I dont think that what 'all gifts from Santa' means... obviously any gifts from 3rd party are from the 3rd party but the things is lots of people don't tend to HAVE anyone else that buys gifts so its not really a concern at all.

I assume our childhood was meant to be 'all gifts from Santa' (but as I said I didnt believe so knew it was my mam), my mam was a single mam living away from family so we didn't really get gifts from others but on the very rare occasion someone would send something we knew it was from them, it wasnt 'Santa' because it arrived differently, wrapped in paper and we thanked them afterwards.

Gifts from me and dh were from Santa. Gifts from friends and relatives were from them, not Santa.