Do you have a present opening routine?

[ThePlantKiller]

Growing up, DSis and I would find our presents all set out, unwrapped, on the sofa so there wasn't much in the way of actual present opening when I was a kid and our parents would still be lying in bed long after we had started playing with our new toys.

For several years now DH and I have the kids bring their stockings into our room and we watch them look through them, before we all go downstairs together and everyone takes a turn opening a present. I'd say I much prefer this to my own experience growing up.

What does everyone else do, I'd love to hear what your traditions are (if you have any - a paper ripping frenzy is possibly a tradition of sorts too!)

Stockings first in bed. Santa gift(s) once we're downstairs (usually 1-5 gifts depends on what they've asked for.) Breakfast and afterwards everyone gets showered and changed and then onto tree gifts. Everyone usually takes it in turn to open a gift until all gifts are opened.

We get up and have breakfast and coffee before anything else. Then about 10 am we sit in sitting room with our sacks and open one present each in turn. We look at what each other have got. Then move on to next person. We do this for about an hour then pause and DH, DS and FS take dogs for a walk and I put the dinner on. I set the table too and put out some Xmas snacks. Then DH comes back and starts making his lentil loaf he eats every Xmas. We pour some champagne. Then we facetime my DD and SiL and DGS's to see what they got for Xmas. We then resume gift opening about 12.30-1 pm. My DS is an adult now and FS is almost 18. Main gifts to each other get opened around 5pm after we have eaten dinner and listened to Kings speech. Then we do facetime calls with my sister's and BiL's and MiL.

Father Christmas brings stockings and one main present for each of the children. These are opened first thing, usually in our bed. Stockings are decent stockings too, with small proper presents in as well as chocolate and sweets and a couple of more novelty items.

Then we all get dressed and have breakfast and start on lunch prep. Champagne is poured and we go to open main presents which are handed out one at a time. If it’s just the six of us we all watch each other open them before the next is handed out but if there’s 24 of us there’s more of an overlap to speed it up a bit!

My children have only ever complained about having to wait when ILS took over an hour to peel some carrots!

I can see that if your stockings are more basic or if you don’t do them at all there’d be more urgency to dive in to the main presents but there has always been plenty in ours to keep them happy.

@RosesAndHellebores I get why your ds opened his birthday presents later on to have some distinction between the two but I’m wondering why your dh opened his Christmas presents later as well? Was it just so he could focus on handing them out earlier on?

Just dh and I ...we open after we've eaten...about 5-6pm.

Stockings in bed, then get up, have breakfast, go to church, and then main presents at lunchtime-ish with bubbles and nibbles.

@Foxrouge just because he can be an awkward, stubborn sod. Nowadays he'll leave them until Boxing Day and had to be nagged. I think the roots are in a very dour childhood where fun was frowned on and there was little joy in giving.

We had the same with present all out unwrapped on the couch but mam definitely got up with us... she would go down first so she could see our reactions to the room full of toys. I did LOVE xmas as a child the visual effect of everything was amazing.

We didn't really have wrapped presents (unless a family member sent one which was rare as we didn't have much family and they usually gave money etc...) or stockings.

Now we do ALL the traditions for our own kids:

• Presents from US are wrapped under the tree, they start appearing under the tree throughout December. We take turns opening them, it takes all morning as there no rush and inevitibly we have to stop put batterie in something or grab breakfast or find a screwdriver etc... Kids LOVE it.

• Presents delivered BY Santa delivery (big stuff thats set up ready to play with often some second hand) are all out like the sofa presents where as a kid.

• kids get a sack of small presents FROM Santa, just cheap classic toys (yoyo, ball, hula hoop etc...) with something noisy they are normally allowed (whistle, recorder, harmonica etc...).

• Stockings are now done but they aren't 'from' anyone just for tradition (like crackers etc...) we keep them downstairs hung on door handle (really hard to attach them to the mantle when heavy and full) and we do them last (before bed on xmas day, which according to mumsnet is REALLY weird).

We don't do anything in bed, as soon as the kids wake (usually 6am) we all get up and go downstairs. I go in first to watch their reactions (like my mam did) and they take a few minutes to take in the sight then we sit down to open presents. After presents are done about noon we start prep and cooking and the kids play with their toys. Then we eat dinner probably around 4pm, do crackers and play a family game. Then its Sack and Stockings then just wind down play until bedtime (as its usually 6-7pm by then).

Thank god I'm not the only one on earth do do it that way lol.

I was starting to feel like we where 'doing it wrong'.

What on earth are you on about unwrapping?

Sorry you never got to experiencing walking into santas workshop with a visual smorgasbord of things where ever you looked and no wait time to enjoy them.

Honestly the worst thing as a little kid was when something was boxed and needed building and took forever and you had to spend 10 minute cutting cable ties and inevitably didn't have the specialist wrench needed and no one could understand the instructions or you where missing a P335ui battery no one ever heard of that was needed.

Would suck to have that on every single gift because no one had forethought to set the fiddly shit up in advance.

We do it exactly as I did it when I lived with my parents. DC are now 17 & 20 so stockings are mid - late morning rather than 6am. They bring them into our bedroom and open there on our bed.

We have lunch about 3-4, and then the DC rummage under the tree and divide up all the presents into chairs/sections of sofa for each person. We then go round one by one and open and gasp and ooh and ahh. 7 of us this year so will take a few hours.

Then we will play games and vegetate.

@RabbitsRock I guess we really didn't know any different tbh. We never went and woke our parents up, not sure if they told us not to, I really can't remember.

But yes the presents were all built up, none were wrapped. I didn't find this out until I was older but in our house all the presents, even those from relatives, came from Santa.

I remember as a kid we didn’t do stockings in our house. We’d go to sleep after putting two pillow cases at the bottom of our beds and then we’d wake up to feel them with our feet rustling. It was exciting! My little brother and I would go downstairs and watch some cartoons about 5am whilst everyone still asleep. I don’t know where my older sister was. I suppose she was still asleep. Then they would wake up and we’d drag our pillow cases full of wrapped presents downstairs and we’d all open them in a big frenzy. I think mum and dad always did theirs afterwards as my dad would be recording us on video opening.

My 2 year olds getting a skuttlebug too and some Elsa boots (shes not into dolls much but looks shoes and accessories).

@housethatbuiltme I don't know where the doll thing has come from as she loves her big brothers monster trucks and cars. But she's getting a carrier (she still uses one) and buggy too. And a singing elsa book (in case you haven't seen them).

Father Christmas is bringing an anna rag doll (she has elsa already for bedtime) for her stocking 😁 Asda has tutu pjs of elsa and Anna (and all other princesses) that are proving super popular here!

My dc are older teens now but we have always done stocking upstairs in their rooms (to go me extra time in bed as dd would wake extremely early), then have breakfast before opening presents under the tree. Now they are older we open them slowly and sometimes take a break in between to look at things, when they were smaller it was a bit fast and furious ripping off paper 😬.

This is exactly how my Christmas was as a kid, we didn’t have stockings, we had sacks and they were placed by the fire before we went to bed for Father Christmas to fill. We would get to open presents as soon as everyone was up and as soon as my parents had made a cup of tea (and got the bin bag ready for wrapping paper to go in).

We all go downstairs together (I quickly nip down first to put on the tree lights and make it look cosy then head back up for everyone),
Children have their own pile with their stocking on top so we know whose is whose, kids open presents as fast or slow as they want then under the tree are the gifts from family and friends which we pass around

Lovely family traditions.
We have stockings downstairs, I’m usually first awake and pop down to put the tree lights on while dc still sleeping.
I put the kettle on and start making a brew, kids usually awake by the time brews are made.
We let the dc lead the way downstairs, and into the lounge.
All presents of dc is in sacks and the stocking are close by. The dc find their piles of gifts, and we take it in turns to open.
once we get about half way through, we stop for breakfast, and then back to opening gifts. We like to make it last as long as possible, as for the dc it’s the most exciting bit!

We don't do stockings so we just all go into the living room, where the presents are laid out in piles, and the kids just go to town. I like to leave my presents until a bit later, to make it last a bit longer.

Same as you. Now they are grown no more piling on to our bed to open stockings. Downstairs, coffee, bacon sandwiches on, stockings. Then each in turn. When my sister stayed from Australia she took that back, and she said it made everyone appreciate what they had and enjoy others opening the presents they gave them rather than everyone just ripping in.

Up and all sit near the tree, one person acts as elf hanging out the gifts from under the tree and take turns appreciating what each person got and thanking the giver. When I was a child (60s and 70s) we only got two or three gifts each. Didn't do stockings. Always wrapped though!

Handing out the gifts!

Stockings from FC located by fireplace downstairs and opened on my bed upstairs (even though late teens and over), then presents opened in the morning with coffee/Buck’s Fizz, and snacks rather than a big breakfast.

I don't understand why you wouldn't wrap presents!?!