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Original poster

How do you do stockings with tree presents...

54 replies

HopscotchBanana · 21/07/2025 21:41

Just wondering, if you have young DC how you do stockings when they just want to rush downstairs and see what's appeared under the tree.

Basically, DTwins (age 5) put their stockings at the fireplace, whilst I read the night before Christmas, then leave a mince pie and a drink for the jolly old chap, then go to bed.

I fill their stockings and take them up and leave outside their door for them to wake up too. Being smaller kids, their main presents tend to be quite large, so the main "wow" stuff will be placed under or around the tree downstairs. They wake up Christmas morn, open their door and squeal at the stockings, but virtually tuck them under their arms to bolt downstairs and see the tree presents. It's more the wow factor because inherently being twins, there's double presents plus we have other DC, plus that's where DH and I leave each others things.

They love the ritual of leaving the stockings, so I can't lose them. How can I navigate this that they open their stockings upstairs and enjoy the little gifts? Ideally they would open them in the morning, play with the little toys and then onto their main bits later. But I can't prevent them from wanting to rush down to the bit that's most magical to them. I can't bring the presents out later because it's really not the same with me lugging the whole family's presents into the living room in ten trips to carry everything, while they watch.

What do others do?

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SomeOfTheTrouble · 21/07/2025 21:42

Ours like their stockings best! They only have small bits in but apparently opening stockings on our bed before going downstairs is the best bit.

Bertielong3 · 21/07/2025 21:45

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This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

Hedjwitch · 21/07/2025 21:47

Stockings are opened in bed,theirs or ours. Tree presents are for later.

Original poster
HopscotchBanana · 21/07/2025 21:47

SomeOfTheTrouble · 21/07/2025 21:42

Ours like their stockings best! They only have small bits in but apparently opening stockings on our bed before going downstairs is the best bit.

This used to be the case with eldest DC, but he's now old enough not to believe, and wants a lay in. It's the littles. They hype each other up and just want to get downstairs, then with all the tree presents for so many people, it all gets a bit lost with present after present being rushed through.

OP posts:
Original poster
HopscotchBanana · 21/07/2025 21:48

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This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

Yes, exactly this, it's over too quickly and it's borderline overwhelming for them

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TheCurious0range · 21/07/2025 21:51

We don't go downstairs straight away, DH goes and makes coffee and brings it up to bed I put some Christmas music on and we all open our stockings together on our bed. Then we go downstairs. I really hate seeing children just tear through presents without acknowledging them. It used to frustrate me when he was younger that DS will open, inspect, play with/build things before moving on, but now I really like it, there's no rush.

DayOfSummer · 21/07/2025 21:52

Same as you but once stockings are filled they stay in the living room. When they wake up they go in and see the filled stocking and presents under the tree at the same time. They open their stockings immediately but have to wait until everyone who is visiting has arrived before they can start opening presents.

TheCurious0range · 21/07/2025 21:53

We also have always said only stockings are from father Christmas though, so that makes them special.

CandyCane457 · 21/07/2025 21:58

Not sure how helpful this is really, but when I was younger, I’d always wake up so early on Christmas morning, and open my stocking excitedly in bed…then I’d go to my brothers room where we’d show each other our presents. We knew we had to wait for mum and dad before we were allowed downstairs. They’d come around 7am and then we’d show them our stockings, then we’d all go downstairs together. We just knew that was the rule, but it didn’t feel like a rule necessarily, as we were excited by the stockings.

FanMeNowPatrick · 21/07/2025 21:59

Stockings are from Father Christmas and all other presents are under the tree. Any presents from family are given to them directly over the Christmas period so they know who bought them what.

I never wanted them waking at 3am to open the stockings so they are downstairs on the fireplace where they hung them and years ago they had to come to our room first, mainly because the house alarm was on.

They open those stocking presents first in front of the fireplace then move to in front of the tree to open those presents. We have always done it this way and my youngest is now 19 and they still have a video saying they are hanging up their stocking for Father Christmas.

ExponentialDelivery · 21/07/2025 22:00

We've never left stockings downstairs, they go on the foot of the bed to be filled. Then you know he's been because you feel the heavy stocking with your feet. I'm in my 50s and still love that feeling even if it's me that put it there before going to bed (it is usually DH). When the DCs were little they always brought their stockings through to open on our bed with us, then moved to doing it in their own beds, then we'd all go down together. That was always the rule, no one went down till we were all ready, we still do it that way now they are young adults, we all go down sometime between 7 and 8, make tea/coffee and take turns
opening the tree presents. It's still magical, the last thing we do before bed on Christmas Eve is all
put our presents to each other out in the living room.

Krytococker · 21/07/2025 22:01

We open stockings upstairs in bed, then have Christmas Day breakfast and only after that do we move on to the tree presents - which we open one by one. My kids are young adults now and this is still the routine (still trying to wean them off stockings - they’re shrinking year by year!)

Original poster
HopscotchBanana · 21/07/2025 22:26

Krytococker · 21/07/2025 22:01

We open stockings upstairs in bed, then have Christmas Day breakfast and only after that do we move on to the tree presents - which we open one by one. My kids are young adults now and this is still the routine (still trying to wean them off stockings - they’re shrinking year by year!)

This is what I want to happen...

Maybe it's a twin thing that they just get each other in such a state of "oh my god, what do you think is downstairs" that all they want to do is bomb to to the tree, they can barely speak they are just beside themselves.

I thought about putting the stockings downstairs, but it's hard to tell two 5yr olds bubbling over with excitement to leave the huge slide or similar that's been wrapped up once they've seen it and sit calmly opening stockings and appreciate each thing one by one.

It's how to keep them upstairs and focused on the stockings

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Milliways · 21/07/2025 22:42

We did stockings on the bed, then a Father Christmas present that was left downstairs- and designed to have decent play value as main presents are opened after lunch when family all arrived & together, and we have had church in the morning.
We eat lunch at around the 1-2pm time so most of the afternoon is spent opening and playing.

FastPig · 21/07/2025 22:46

We do stockings at the fire place so when they wake it's straight downstairs to those. We put the big presents under the tree bit by bit throughout December so that's less of a surprise. They open their stocking and then it's breakfast and everyone settled in for the big presents being opened. We also have dh inflicted time they can go downstairs at. When they were very small it was any time but now they are older / able to control themselves they can't go down until about 7ish

Makingpeace · 21/07/2025 22:50

HopscotchBanana · 21/07/2025 22:26

This is what I want to happen...

Maybe it's a twin thing that they just get each other in such a state of "oh my god, what do you think is downstairs" that all they want to do is bomb to to the tree, they can barely speak they are just beside themselves.

I thought about putting the stockings downstairs, but it's hard to tell two 5yr olds bubbling over with excitement to leave the huge slide or similar that's been wrapped up once they've seen it and sit calmly opening stockings and appreciate each thing one by one.

It's how to keep them upstairs and focused on the stockings

Show quote history

We do he same as Krytococker.

Stockings upstairs in bed, then it's get dressed and have Christmas breakfast. Then it's tree presents. The tree is right next to the breakfast table so they tend to have a poke around while we're getting breakfast ready but they're not allowed to open any until after. They like to look and see which are theirs!

We've always done it this way, just our normal Christmas routine.

Kids are 4 and 2.

Loveduppenguin · 21/07/2025 22:50

I don’t do stockings, I never had them either. Just main pressies under the tree from Santa and then the rest from me.

Talipesmum · 21/07/2025 23:07

Ours know the presents under the tree don’t get opened till later. They can come down and look but there’s no rushing down and tearing presents open. They start getting opened maybe mid morning? It’s good to spread it out over the day, otherwise it’s all over far too soon! But we’ve always done it like that. Might be hard to change - but should be ok if you talk them through the day in advance.

We used to also do stockings at end of bed, but also a “main” present from FC that was left at end of bed too, it didn’t fit in the stocking but was same wrapping paper and next to it. Maybe that would help? All the under tree presents are from us / family (and tbh we never implied that FC puts them there - we put those there and the stockings / main FC presents were the only ones brought magically).

FilthyforFirth · 22/07/2025 07:29

DH and I argued about this as I always had my stocking at the foot of my bed and then would open them with my siblings/parents. Was the best bit! DH grew up with his stockings downstairs by the fireplace and wanted that for our kids.

I make most of our Christmas decisions so I had to give in on this one... Is it too late to move stockings downstairs? Then they'll do that first before moving on to main presents.

fourelementary · 22/07/2025 07:31

It’s really hard to find a balance of the excitement you’re describing @HopscotchBanana and I guess an ability to have some degree of delayed gratification in order to actually learn to enjoy the build up and appreciate the wow factor.
We have stockings on the piles of presents so the kids know whose is whose (names on stockings). The tree presents are those from other people who won’t be there and don’t get opened until later. Stocking is opened first… then individual pile then breakfast and tree presents later on.
As they’re only little, try to just not overthink too much- perhaps have the stockings downstairs so they can see the wow factor, but they can’t open them until the stockings are done and the whole family there. If there was an obvious present like a slide it could be an exception as it doesn’t really need “opened”. We have done larger surprise presents later in the day hidden somewhere else to spread the fun (and avoid situations like you describe) one year dd got a wooden shop counter thing but it was in the spare room- she was delighted with her fake food and mini trolley that were in her present pile so the shop had a wow factor later on that was exciting too.
HTH

ShesTheAlbatross · 22/07/2025 07:42

I just tell my DC (my eldest was 5 last Christmas) that she doesn’t go downstairs without us. She opened her stocking presents, then came to show us what she’d got, then we all went down together.

Whatwouldnanado · 22/07/2025 07:55

Stockings are brought into our room amid squeals of ‘he’s been!!!” Kids know mum and dad do each other a stocking. Once stockings opened, some chocolate consumed etc either DH or I go downstairs to put fairy lights and kettle on. Santa had usually made a bit of a mess, mucky foot prints, pastry crumbs , spilled sweets and left presents on the hearth. These are sometimes not wrapped (jigsaw, board games, one or two bits dc have asked for) and random stuff. There was a big tent put up one year. These are enjoyed immediately. Presents from each other and anyone else are under the tree and opened during the day, saving a few for after lunch.

Original poster
HopscotchBanana · 22/07/2025 11:26

I think I do need to try and drum it into them in advance as PP suggests. They think stockings and one big present are from Father Christmas - and that one present similar to @Whatwouldnanado is left separately on the hearth amongst crumbs and the half eaten carrot, so it's not that they think FC has left everything - it's just the impact of seeing 5 people's presents all piled up and the gasps when they first see it...and they would just be itching to get into them. If they could sit and wait, it would be lovely, but equally I recognise they are only 5 and ten minutes of staring at presents they know are theirs but not allowed to touch will seem like hours, let alone the 5+ hours they would have to actually wait for when other family arrived.

I'd always been careful for the stockings to be little items, but good to play with, and then FC gets them one of the smaller things from the list they sent him.

It would be easier, I guess to start putting things under the tree throughout Dec, but I always think back to a chap (a thief, who thankfully through my workplace has turned his life around, I don't hang around with burglars lol) who told me Christmas Eve and the days leading up were the prime days for him to break in because people left their stuff under the tree literally waiting for him - especially if he could see it easily through a window.

Maybe I do just resign to them tearing through the lot for another couple of years. Does anyone do that wrapping over the door thing? I wonder if I block it off that way, over the shut door, so they still get the reveal but not immediately. That would get them through breakfast as least without being distracted by the tree

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MandarinsAreNotTheOnlyFruit · 22/07/2025 23:48

Santa brings stockings; they are opened in our bed. Then breakfast. Tree presents later.

mathanxiety · 23/07/2025 02:35

I have tiny stockings that stay on the mantelpiece until Christmas Eve, when I put chocolate coins into them and leave them with the tree presents. Neither exH nor I grew up in families where stockings were a thing. The DCs always enjoyed nibbling their chocolate as they opened their presents.