* Light hearted * - Overthinking the wrapping paper for Santa gifts

[Bringautumnnights]

Help me decide the future of my children's Santa gift wrap as I cannot decide aha. Now my 2.5 year old is getting to an age of knowing Santa I wanted to pick the way I do Santa gifts for the rest of his (and subsequent siblings) childhood. Do I:

1. Wrap in brown/green/red Kraft paper every year and a gold 'from the workshop' stamp so its exactly the same paper each year. But means i'll refrain from using these on other peoples gifts.
2. Each year buy a different wrapping paper for each child but make sure that the design is always Santa focused, again with a gold 'from the workshop stamp'. So not the same paper but same design.

It literally doesn't matter but cant decide aha, so why not have a light hearted poll.

In our house Father Christmas only does the stocking. Mainly because I want credit for the big presents under the tree 😂
and it saves kiddos expecting anything they ask for no matter how expensive (for example this year ds6 really wants a Nintendo switch which including a game he wants is over £300 and we just can’t afford that this year- but I can explain mummy and daddy can’t afford that as it’s a very expensive present; whereas the narrative is often that Santa brings whatever you ask)

we wrap the little presents from Santa in the stocking in green and red plain wrapping paper.

When my DS2 was little, I had (note -had) a friend who's son was the same age. We used to buy a little something for each others son for Christmas.

One year, she asked me to re-wrap her sons Christmas present, as I had used "santas" paper.

She was also a bit nuts about my DS's birthday. It's just before Christmas, she didn't like her son coming round on DS's birthday as he got a couple of presents that her son had asked for Christmas and she didn't want to spoil the magic.

My DC in teenage years now so it no longer matters. However I still do this because it's Right and Proper.

Big presents that are being exchanged between family members not from santa go under the tree in a carefully chosen mix of 3 papers which go together and match the colour scheme of this year's tree decor. Each year the leftover paper from this that wasn't needed and any big bits of paper from larger presents that are in good enough condition to use again get donated to Santa's workshop for them to use on next year's presents.

So the santa stocking presents end up wrapped in a cacophony of dozens of different papers including some that were used for tree presents several years ago. A lot less care and precision goes into the wrapping as those elves are very busy!

Amazing, how did you manage to get around him not coming into the house? My DS is only 2 but don't think he'll go along with that one, but definitely wanting to steal that for myself, I don't want no strangers in here 😆

This tickled me, how nice of Santander 😂

This has driven me bananas in my house for years.

Each year Santa uses a different paper for each child (x3) so he doesn't get muddled up when stuffing stockings after too many glasses of Christmas Eve wine. Then Santa's chief elf shoves all the wrapping paper in the Christmas wrapping paper bag that lives in a cupboard.

The following year I get out all the wrapping paper in the bag and simply cannot remember what was used for what. So the family presents and sometimes the next year's stockings get wrapped in a mish mash when the paper bought for that year runs out and I am too mean to buy more.

My children on the other hand have an encyclopaedia memory of what paper Santa has used over the last decade and question relentlessly when "Santa" paper crops up in the family wrapping a year or more later. I wasn't as clever as @LoftLaughLoads and never came up with a convenient explanation. So my 7 year old goes on and on and on about it.

I also have zero recollection of noticing or caring about this stuff when I was a child. Either my mother was better at subterfuge than me or my children are more intelligent / observant than me. Or both.

I always wrap in a different colour per child, as easier when quickly filling stockings in the dark to see whose is whose - it means I don’t need to bother with labels.

I can usually find different colours of plain paper each year, but it’s not the same colour every time.

I still hide it away and don’t use it for any other gifts - mine are well past believing, but no need to let standards slip, I feel.

One child gets red crepe paper and the other gets silver crepe paper. Same every year. Makes it easy for me... err, Santa :>

I do the same as SmartiePants. Some of my DC are now adults & they still have their own wrapping paper for presents from father Christmas (helps me distinguish each pile from the others). Different paper completely for presents under the tree from family.

I also use stickers from www.thestickersite.co.uk for personalised stickers for each present for the DC from father Christmas which helps differianate them too. Littlest DC really loves these & helps them believe still

1 genius idea

Haha!!

@issantahereyet we don't like strangers in the house so I emailed FC and requested a revised delivery plan. He was very accommodating.

Save yourself a massive headache and do not wrap Santa gifts.

I have never wrapped them - too much money, time, mess afterwards, and danger of little toys getting thrown out with the paper.

It's just as magical to see the gifts unwrapped. It also avoids the danger of a child finding the wrapping paper and guessing what's really happening.

This is my daughter, my god, last year I felt like I was being interrogated and she was only just 4 then. I'm nervous for this year!!

In response to OP, I did Kraft paper and ribbons last year for Santa's presents. Love the idea of a stamp! I'll be doing the rest of the presents in different wrap for each kid so no need for tags!

😂😂😂 Santander drops the presents off to you? What a very helpful bank!

@Bringautumnnights I've come back as I've realised no one has mentioned the most important thing. BUY IDENTICAL STOCKINGS. Child goes to bed taking one empty stocking with them; at a suitable moment, you swap that stocking with the full one which you have filled previously, possibly hours, days or even weeks earlier.
There are two key risks with this plan. First, that child finds the pre-filled stocking sometime in advance. Hide it well! Secondly, that you forget to remove the spare stocking. I think that you could come up with a cover story for that

My biggest regrets and tips. Big presents came from Santa as kids wrote him the list. Mistake because they reach the age where they ask why you as a parent aren't getting them anything, or only something small. So do small pressies from Santa and make it clear the list is from you!
Different paper for each child.
Santa always uses paper with Santa on it in this house! Not once has the fact he's changed the design been questioned. However, why it has the shop name on the inside has - for shops like M&S that print their name on the inside. Only made that mistake once!!

Mine are too big for Santa now, but when they were little I’d do a colour theme for each.
Kraft paper with a different colour from us and then a colorful themed one (different one each so easy to tell when wrapping/storing) from Santa in a Santa sack. Only one label needed on each sack that way!

Yes @sangriaandsunshine identical stockings and if you plan more than one child get more so you don't discover that those stockings are no longer available when you want matching ones. Or if you like me you make them and buy a lot of fabric in case one gets damaged you can easily make another.

I completely agree with @GuffyTheDustBuster FC/Santa only fills a stocking with token gifts, the children then know that the presents under the tree are from us and whoever else gives them presents. We make a point of telling them who bought the gifts so they can thank them if they are not being handed to them directly.

Our presents to the children are in a ginormous sack, again made by me from fabric with a drawstring top, one for each child with their initial sewn on applique style. I made these with my Mum, she died 14 years ago so they have huge sentimental value too. We are taking credit for the main present and the rest.

We bought cheap wrapping paper, several rolls of it to last through the years. I was hidden so not visible if you looked inside the loft. Our wrapping paper was different.

When we go to wrap the stocking gifts Dh and I separate out the matching presents so I wrap for one child, he wraps for the other and we stash them separately so we know whose is whose.

My children are now 21 and 18 and we still do stockings. They know exactly what most of the presents are inside the stocking because it is tradition and you don't monkey with tradition.

This reminded me that I used to wrap the Santa gifts and hide them away so that on the off chance they found them, they might only have spotted wrapping paper which could be changed, but not seen the whole haul at a glance.

Having the same paper year in year out might be a concern if you’re prone to slip ups like me.

and kudos to you @mathanxiety for not needing the extra levels of security!

When mine were little I'd buy a new roll each year for each of them for Santa gifts. I was usually able to find something that 'suited' then E.g. DD (still does) loves ballet and I found paper with elves dressed as ballet dancers.