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Original poster

Different traditions re Santa

156 replies

daisyflowergirl123 · 08/12/2023 08:43

Hi all

Needing some insight into people's Christmas traditions please!

For me as a child, Santa would bring a sack which had a selection of presents (small things like pjs/books/chocolates) and these would be specifically from and delivered by Santa. My parents would then have main presents under the tree from them.

DH has discussed that as a child, the parents that Santa delivered were actually from his parents, so no presents under the tree but his tradition was that the presents in the Santa sack/stocking delivered by Santa were from the parents.

Now my DD is at the age of starting to understand Christmas's were having discussions over which tradition to follow!

So what is/was the tradition in your household?Xmas Confused

OP posts:
Derdiedasdie · 08/12/2023 12:15

We got everything from Santa - stocking plus gifts. Gifts under tree are from family members (aunties uncles etc) to be opened later. Never got gifts from parents.

booksandbrooks · 08/12/2023 12:17

In our house Santa brings the stockings and 1 small or medium ish sized gift under the tree. Everything else is from us.

Ponderingwindow · 08/12/2023 12:34

Stocking plus a couple of presents wrapped in red and white. Typically whatever is large and bulky and wasn’t going to fit nicely under the tree.

family gifts are under the tree in advance.

its all pretty low-key though. We are a family that celebrates the solstice with the cultural trappings of our family history and community type of family. We didn’t ever sit down and tell dd that Santa wasn’t real, but always treated it as more of a game. One that we still play even though she is far too old.

steppemum · 08/12/2023 12:43

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 08/12/2023 09:00

3 generations of, Father Christmas brings relatively little things in stockings or pillowcases. All opened first thing.

Presents from parents and anyone else - named on tags so they can be thanked - go under the tree, for opening later, maybe after breakfast.

this is us too.

stockings, open when you wake up, lots of small bits and bobs.

Big gifts including those from parents under the tree, open after breakfast/church.

I really like this double layer opening. It spreads Christmas out a bit, I find it is bit sad that some kids race downstairs at 6 am and have all paper rippe doff and done by 6:30!
It also lets them play with stocking toys. They usually climb on our bed to open them, and so we don't have to get up.
Now they are teens one of them even makes us a cup of tea!

Pipistrellus · 08/12/2023 12:44

Quite a few saying stockings only from Father Christmas. What do people do about the bigger gifts that they ask Father Christmas for? Things that can't go in a stocking? Do you just say he can't get any of it so you bought it for them yourselves?

My little one doesn't believe but when the older one was younger he didn't ask for big things. Also, of course he wouldn't always get something just because he asked.

MuggleMe · 08/12/2023 12:45

We gloss over Santa, so do stocking from Santa only. I do think if more people did it that way it would balance the different budgets. It's weird some children get a switch 'from Santa' and nothing from their parents or only something small when some get small bits and pieces.

Original poster
daisyflowergirl123 · 08/12/2023 12:56

This has blown my mind how everyone does things or has been brought up with different traditions, gosh how naive I am!

I do remember wondering when I was young why Santa always brought my cousins larger and quite expensive things, compared to my sack of sweeties and colouring pens...now I know some kids gifts were purely all from Santa and this was just a different tradition to us.

Thanks all for the insight 😄

OP posts:
steppemum · 08/12/2023 12:58

to be honest, small children are much less concerned about the ins and out of it than their parents.

they respond to the 'magic'
So we hide all presents, no matter who from until Christmas Eve. Before they go to bed they put out the presents they have got for others under the tree (we have encouraged that from an early age, usually things they make or cook).
Then we fill stockings and put them on their bed when asleep.
We pile all the gifts from everyone under the tree.

They come down in the morning to a WOW moment, and really couldn't care less if we put it there or santa. And when they compare notes with friends they all seem very chill with each house being different.

psuedocream3 · 08/12/2023 13:11

We've never said anything to the kids about who brings what, it's never been a conversation and they've never asked.

I expect they would think everything is from Santa as that is typically what they would see in Christmas movies and Christmas kids cartoons.

We've never been asked if Santa is real either, I imagine as we've never really said anything about it. We know when they don't believe when they start saying thank you to us for their presents.

mummyof2boys30 · 08/12/2023 13:16

All mum and dads presents from Santa. Familes presents from them with tags etc on. Both non believers now. If i had to do it again id do main present from parents, rest santa

saraclara · 08/12/2023 13:30

Stockings and one present from Santa (one from their letter to him). The rest from us, family and friends..

Petitedress · 08/12/2023 13:30

Growing up, all presents from 'Father Christmas' were actually from my parents. We didn't have stockings. Presents from other family members were labelled. My baby doesn't understand Christmas but I'm debating on whether to continue this tradition.

ManchesterLu · 08/12/2023 13:47

In my day Father Christmas brought all the presents, and my parents brought us something like PJs and a dressing gown for under the tree. I never questioned it, and it was never a competitive thing with friends etc.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 08/12/2023 14:01

Pipistrellus · 08/12/2023 12:44

Quite a few saying stockings only from Father Christmas. What do people do about the bigger gifts that they ask Father Christmas for? Things that can't go in a stocking? Do you just say he can't get any of it so you bought it for them yourselves?

My little one doesn't believe but when the older one was younger he didn't ask for big things. Also, of course he wouldn't always get something just because he asked.

We always said that FC only brings relatively little things, nothing too big (room on the sleigh) or expensive. And he’s not keen on greedy children who ask for lots of expensive things!

DuckDuckGoose23 · 08/12/2023 14:08

We had a stocking from Father Christmas that usually had smallish gifts (fun bath bombs/bubble bath, sweets, a book, socks, art/craft bits and other ‘stocking filler’ type stuff) and then a couple of medium sized presents (usually toys like a lego set or Barbie).
Then he’d include something our parents wouldn’t buy us (nerf gun, bubble gum, make-up, slime)!
We’d open our stockings first thing, sat on my parents’ bed.

Our main presents were always from my parents and under the tree. We usually opened these after breakfast.
My grandparents/other relatives would give us gifts when we saw them later in the day or on Boxing Day. The presents were always from them and we were expected to write a thank you note after Christmas (which would have been strange if Santa brought the presents instead).

ImthatBoleyngirl · 08/12/2023 14:27

Comedycook · 08/12/2023 09:30

All presents under the tree are from parents. These will be the big ticket items.

Santa brings all stocking presents which are smaller but there are more of.

This is what we do. Like hell is Santa getting the credit for the awesome gifts!

Fluffyc1ouds · 08/12/2023 14:31

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 08/12/2023 14:01

We always said that FC only brings relatively little things, nothing too big (room on the sleigh) or expensive. And he’s not keen on greedy children who ask for lots of expensive things!

Show quote history

My child definitely hasn't asked for anything expensive, his lists are always very short and simple. But the two things we're getting him from Father Christmas that were on his list are just too big for the stocking. So they'll go under the tree.

I also agree with others that it helps address the reason why some kids get more expensive presents than others.

mathanxiety · 08/12/2023 14:37

All presents under the tree on Christmas morning, big and small alike, are from Santa here. None of SC's gifts are ever wrapped. We open gifts from relatives, grandparents, etc, on Christmas Eve when the DCs were small. Those presents would have been placed there as they arrived in the post. Now we do a gift exchange among ourselves the five DCs get each other gifts and everyone gets one for me too. I do Santa Claus still.

ExH's family opened gifts from aunts, uncles, grandparents, godparents, etc, on Chritsmas Eve, with SC arriving overnight and depositing presents under the tree.

As a child, we used to just have the Christmas morning thing, with SC gifts not wrapped and gifts from relatives and godparents wrapped.

I really like the festive Christmas Eve. We usually have a simple dinner of pizza or lasagna followed by a fancy dessert and coffee, and open the presents.

mathanxiety · 08/12/2023 14:39

Oh and we don't have stockings per se. We have tiny stockings that I fill with chocolate coins and Aldi Santa figures. They start the Christmas season on the tree and migrate to the mantelpiece on Christmas Eve, then get put with everyone's Santa pile on Christmas morning.

Rhombus79 · 08/12/2023 14:49

Well our Christmas traditions differ quite a bit from our parents'.

My mum used to hire a Santa, usually a student who wanted to earn a bit extra, he brought a sack and my parents provided the presents. Santa then did his thing, child had to recite or sing something Christmas related and then got their presents. Always on Christmas Eve.

Nowadays we usually just put the presents underneath the tree, brought by Santa. But we kept the Christmas Eve thing.

mathanxiety · 08/12/2023 14:49

How does the big things from parents and small items from SC address the disparity in the haul?

It's surely just underlining the fact that some parents can afford to give more than others?

How does the comparative element creep into all of this anyway?

mathanxiety · 08/12/2023 14:51

@Rhombus79
Did your mum have Bavarian or Swiss-German heritage?

I know the festive Christmas Eve tradition in exH's family came from German forebears of his.

Rhombus79 · 08/12/2023 14:56

mathanxiety · 08/12/2023 14:51

@Rhombus79
Did your mum have Bavarian or Swiss-German heritage?

I know the festive Christmas Eve tradition in exH's family came from German forebears of his.

Yes, we are German. I think that is still quite a typical way to do it in Germany. I know my sister does the same with her children.

Living in the UK now, we adapted a bit but the presents on Christmas Eve I still prefer to keep.

Whataretheodds · 08/12/2023 14:59

mathanxiety · 08/12/2023 14:49

How does the big things from parents and small items from SC address the disparity in the haul?

It's surely just underlining the fact that some parents can afford to give more than others?

How does the comparative element creep into all of this anyway?

Kids know that anyway. But Santa supposedly brings gifts to good children and coal to naughty children, so it makes sense to decouple nice/naughty judgement from the biggest disparity in gifts.

bookworm14 · 08/12/2023 15:04

mathanxiety · 08/12/2023 14:49

How does the big things from parents and small items from SC address the disparity in the haul?

It's surely just underlining the fact that some parents can afford to give more than others?

How does the comparative element creep into all of this anyway?

Because you can explain that some families have more money than others and therefore some children get more/fewer presents from their parents, but it’s hard to explain why Santa would bring your friend a Barbie dream house and a PS5 when he only brings you a few small items. The comparative element happens because kids talk to each other!