Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Original poster

Do you put your Christmas presents under the tree once they are wrapped?

146 replies

Christmasagain123 · 30/11/2025 17:52

This was always the tradition in my house growing up, presents were placed under the tree until Christmas Day.

Dh said you shouldn’t because if the house got broken into, they’d know where to find the presents.

I can’t get that thought out of my head now.

Do you?

OP posts:
IndigoIsMyFavouriteColour · 30/11/2025 21:53

We wrap them all on Christmas Eve so yes

Ketzele · 30/11/2025 21:57

No, because the cat would have a field day.

DaisyDukesAuntie · 30/11/2025 21:58

Yes because if I had to hide them somewhere I’d probably forget where I hid them!!

Applesinapie · 30/11/2025 21:58

We have a tree in the lounge and one in the kitchen. Gifts going to other family members go under the kitchen tree. Gifts for us that people have given us if we’ve seen them early or that we have for each other go under lounge tree as we wrap them. Kids get very excited seeing the pile under there grow. On Christmas Day they all get sorted into piles for us all.

kids also get a stocking from Santa (although they don’t believe any more.) we didn’t do that Santa brought every single present. Some are from us, some from grandparents, aunties etc.

the tree looks amazing with the presents under it. We’ve always done it, even when the kids were toddlers and the dog was a puppy. Everyone just left them alone. Not worried about burglars due to working from home and also dog

justasking111 · 30/11/2025 21:59

No because at night the Labrador chews them. Ditto any low hanging baubles 😞

TwoMintsLoose · 30/11/2025 22:02

Isn’t part of the fun to give the gift a sneaky shake and see if you can guess what it is?
But not with a child 3.5 ish or under.

Though of course not the stocking Santa fills up! (& a gift or two if you do it that way - I know lots just do stockings from Santa!)

TeenLifeMum · 30/11/2025 22:05

Yes because we run out of space to hide them! But, we live in a very safe area, at the bottom of a very nosey cul de sac (someone hit my parked car and 3 neighbours told me and all had details/photos!), we also wfh a lot so there’s someone home 90% of the time. I probably wouldn’t in a high crime area where I was out and break in more likely.

Mydadsbirthday · 30/11/2025 22:07

Have teens and no pets. I put them out as I wrap from mid Dec onwards. I like seeing the wrapping!

Timble · 30/11/2025 22:13

I remember my uncle was burgled just before Xmas many years ago, I was a child so only remember little bits about it. They smashed up some bits that they didn’t want and took the rest. It was awful as my uncle didn’t have much! To be fair he still puts the gifts under the tree early now so it didn’t stop him but ours go under the tree Xmas eve. When my kids were younger one of my favourite things was seeing the look of happiness on their faces at the presents under the tree. It’s not as exciting if they’ve been there for weeks.

DiscoBeat · 30/11/2025 22:22

We don't put any under the tree until late on Christmas eve (even though they're older teenagers now).

mondaytosunday · 30/11/2025 22:26

The kids insisted on no presents until ‘Santa’ delivered them years after they figured it out. I’m sure they were teens by the time I convinced them to let me put gifts under it as I wrapped them. I am not worried about burglars!

FortnumsWeddingBreakfastTeaPlease · 30/11/2025 22:26

Christmasagain123 · 30/11/2025 18:09

In our house the stockings are from Santa and the main presents are from us.

It sounds as though not many people do put them under the tree. I would love to leave them under the tree but I can’t now after dh mentioned getting burgled.

I became friends with an ex professional burglar. Long story but essentially through a rehabilitation work connection)

He horrified me with how easily patio doors "popped" out. And showed me how easy my home was to break in too. One of the things he said was that the week before Christmas was prime pickings because people shoved hundreds of brand new premium gifts under a lit tree then went to bed. Christmas Eve he "cleaned up" every year, as did most burglars. It's a lesson I do my best to never learn the hard way.

Mine go under the tree, Christmas Eve at about 1am. And that's just some of them. I hold some back and sneak them under mid morning before the rest of the family arrive.

EmeraldDreams73 · 30/11/2025 22:26

God, it's never occurred to me not to. Now feel v lucky to live where we do.

Although we don't put the tree up till mid December, presents go under the tree (not Father Christmas ones). I really struggle to find room for the ones I buy, so if they had to stay hidden till Christmas Day I think they'd end up in a bin bag on the bedroom floor as every other nook and cranny is full!

canonlydoblue · 30/11/2025 22:27

This is the first year that I'm not putting the presents under the tree as I wrap. Only reason is I have a toddler who I know won't be able to resist...

SheSpeaks · 30/11/2025 22:29

Yes always under the tree. With dogs and babies and toddlers and all ages. Wrapped, labelled, under the tree. The pile gets gradually bigger and bigger and more and more exciting.

mathanxiety · 30/11/2025 22:34

We do a sibling plus me gift exchange on Christmas Eve. All the gifts are wrapped and under the tree or left in their cardboard shipping packaging understeer tree. We put them under the tree as they arrive. On Christmas Eve after we've done the gift exchange and everyone has gone to bed, I put the Santa gifts - never wrapped - under the tree. We've always done it this way even when the DCs were tiny and the gifts we opened on Christmas Eve came from extended family and via the cousin gift exchange we used to do.

UnintentionalArcher · 30/11/2025 22:41

Just out of interest, does anyone with young children just do gifts from Santa (i.e. all the children’s gifts actually bought by the parents are from ‘Santa’)? This was how my parents did it and I think it was the same with my friends and wider family as far as I was aware. I’ve only come across the splitting of presents -some from ‘Santa’ some from parents - a couple of times in my life before reading this thread. Is this more common now than it used to be? Some people have given good reasons for doing it - am interested in how common it is as I think about how to do it for my child in the future.

Littletreefrog · 30/11/2025 22:52

UnintentionalArcher · 30/11/2025 22:41

Just out of interest, does anyone with young children just do gifts from Santa (i.e. all the children’s gifts actually bought by the parents are from ‘Santa’)? This was how my parents did it and I think it was the same with my friends and wider family as far as I was aware. I’ve only come across the splitting of presents -some from ‘Santa’ some from parents - a couple of times in my life before reading this thread. Is this more common now than it used to be? Some people have given good reasons for doing it - am interested in how common it is as I think about how to do it for my child in the future.

Edited

Yes that's how it was growing up and what we did with my kids. Even now they are 15 and 18 they just have presents under the tree from Santa. I have never written any gift tag for their presents saying "from Mum and Dad". I mean obviously they know ( well I hope they do)

dontmalbeconme · 30/11/2025 22:54

UnintentionalArcher · 30/11/2025 22:41

Just out of interest, does anyone with young children just do gifts from Santa (i.e. all the children’s gifts actually bought by the parents are from ‘Santa’)? This was how my parents did it and I think it was the same with my friends and wider family as far as I was aware. I’ve only come across the splitting of presents -some from ‘Santa’ some from parents - a couple of times in my life before reading this thread. Is this more common now than it used to be? Some people have given good reasons for doing it - am interested in how common it is as I think about how to do it for my child in the future.

Edited

I don't have young children any more, but I fell into this trap. DD, the first year she was properly aware asked me, "Why does Nanny, Grandma, Grandad, Aunty, Uncle etc buy us presents, but you and Daddy don't? (because we'd labelled it all from Santa).

TheChosenTwo · 30/11/2025 22:58

@UnintentionalArcher we always just did stockings from fc but they had sacks so allowed space for a bulkier item - perfect when they’re small. They’re adults and a teen now, it’s harder and more expensive to fill and no one believes anymore clearly 😂

We always bought and labelled the majority of things from us to go under the tree and presents from family were from whoever bought them.

XelaM · 30/11/2025 22:59

Genuine question for the posters who say 🎅 brings only the stocking - how does that work when children send Santa a whole list of things they want and then get a bunch of stocking fillers and satsuma in the stocking?

Applesinapie · 30/11/2025 23:00

UnintentionalArcher · 30/11/2025 22:41

Just out of interest, does anyone with young children just do gifts from Santa (i.e. all the children’s gifts actually bought by the parents are from ‘Santa’)? This was how my parents did it and I think it was the same with my friends and wider family as far as I was aware. I’ve only come across the splitting of presents -some from ‘Santa’ some from parents - a couple of times in my life before reading this thread. Is this more common now than it used to be? Some people have given good reasons for doing it - am interested in how common it is as I think about how to do it for my child in the future.

Edited

When I was a child I had stocking gifts from Santa and then gifts under the tree from my parents. My mum said she was not letting Santa take all the credit 😆 I have carried on like this with my own kids. Some from Santa and some from us. Mine don’t believe anymore as they’re 10 and 13 but they’ll still have their Santa stocking and then their gifts wrapped under the tree from mum and dad (and other relatives).

Applesinapie · 30/11/2025 23:01

XelaM · 30/11/2025 22:59

Genuine question for the posters who say 🎅 brings only the stocking - how does that work when children send Santa a whole list of things they want and then get a bunch of stocking fillers and satsuma in the stocking?

Edited

I’ve said stocking but it was actually a sack and could fit lots in. Also anything that didn’t fit in from Santa, eg bike, just went by it with a tag on that said from Santa

SleepingStandingUp · 30/11/2025 23:03

good no.
I don't trust my kids

Ivalueloyaltyaboveallelse · 30/11/2025 23:08

No ours all stay hidden until Christmas Eve. Presents from family and friends go under our upstairs hallway tree that is not in view.