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Christmas

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Original poster

How do you do Santa’s gifts in your home?

108 replies

KoreanBeauty · 10/12/2025 19:52

Do you tell DC everything comes from Santa or just 1 gift and the rest is from parents/relatives? Do you use sacks or stockings?
We have always just wrapped the gifts and said everything was from Santa (with different wrapping paper for the few gifts we said were from us or family). How does everyone do it?

OP posts:

OnlyMabelInTheBuilding · 10/12/2025 19:53

All from Santa here, except the obvious presents from grandparents, aunties, etc. Those are handed over directly from the people giving.

OttersMayHaveShifted · 10/12/2025 19:55

All the presents are from whoever gave them. Father Christmas just fills a stocking of little bits and bobs (not wrapped).

DisplayPurposesOnly · 10/12/2025 19:57

Presents from parents and Father Christmas arrive magically in the night in the pillowcase left at the end of the bed. Opened with parents at 6am. You may open one before that if you can't wait.

All other presents go under the tree for opening after lunch, so the day is broken up.

Mrsknowitall · 10/12/2025 19:57

All from Santa

zoomzoomzoomz · 10/12/2025 19:59

majority from Santa in our house, they get a gift each from me and dad and a gift each from each other that they get to pick out and wrap themselves which they love (they are two and six).
relatives give gifts from them when we see them.
I understand why people don't do everything from Santa but I think as long as you teach your children not to act spoilt and gloat to others then there shouldn't be an issue.

dreamum · 10/12/2025 20:00

Santa delivers all the presents but family ‘order’ them from him😂. Then they have one special present from Santa himself, which is usually just a little wooden toy for their dollhouse (something that could be made by elves).

gogomomo2 · 10/12/2025 20:01

santa only brought very modest gifts, don’t want him taking any credit! He brings toothbrushes without fail!

TeenToTwenties · 10/12/2025 20:02

Santa only brings small stockings with approx 8 items.
All other presents from family.
Keeps it simple.

Luxio · 10/12/2025 20:03

Santa delivers the presents here plus a few things they've specifically asked for on their list or when they visited Santa at the grotto.

Everything else if from us and relatives. DS would be incredibly annoyed if he spent time choosing gifts for family and then everything he got was from Santa and it appeared like they got him nothing in return.

MannersAreAll · 10/12/2025 20:04

Santa delivers the majority of presents - all from parents, all from Granny (she lives with us) and all from a couple of other relatives. People do pay Santa though - he makes and delivers them, but people have to pay (my grandparents used this to explain to me when I was 6 why I got hardly anything and other people got loads). There's always one present from Santa himself.

Cornelire · 10/12/2025 20:04

Stocking from santa with token gifts that is hung on the fireplace after Dh telling me he used to be awake at 3am opening his stocking on the end of his bed.

All presents from us parents under the tree in large personalised sacks. That way the children know we spent our money on the gifts. That way they know who to thank.

All other presents usually given directly to our children from grandparents, Aunts etc so they know who to thank.

When he was little Ds did say why does Aunty Annie buy me a present when she doesn't even buy a present for her own children? Aunty Annie has everything from santa for her children.

StarsTwinklingPomanders · 10/12/2025 20:13

Stockings and big presents from father c ...
We always got them some small things in case Fc couldnr make it.
Anything from anyone else was always from the gift giver.

MedusasHead · 10/12/2025 20:17

Stocking gifts come from Santa and can be opened when they wake up, everything else is under the tree and from people. I’ve always felt it’s important to give the bigger gifts from family as I don’t like the idea of Santa bringing lots to those with money, and less to those without. Especially as Santa gifts are culturally tied to being good or bad.

Obviously every family does it differently, but that was always the logic that felt right to me.

readingmakesmehappy · 10/12/2025 20:19

Stockings are from Father Christmas (though DS figured it out for himself). All other presents are from named givers. I have never understood attributing them to Santa. I want the kids to be grateful to the people who’ve made it all happen.

Youhavemade · 10/12/2025 20:34

All presents and stockings from Santa, including for me as a single parent. ( he must be real…😊).
Presents from other family and friends, given by them.

When DC’s were about 8 & 10, I started to add in a gift from me, primarily because one year, it was a surprise skiing trip and I knew they would question how Santa managed to arrange it! Santa did bring them lots of skiing things as well though.

Now they are young adults, Santa still surprises them by leaving a full stocking and gifts under the tree

DiscoBeat · 10/12/2025 20:40

We used to say the stockings were from Father Christmas but everything else was from family and friends. Otherwise they can't really say thank you!

StarsTwinklingPomanders · 10/12/2025 20:46

I think teaching dc to appreciate things and say thankyou is a year long never ending task really

Asking FC for things is always front loaded with appreciation and wishing and hoping. When a child has been longing for something and receives that item with squeals of delight , sheer joy and excitement...that's their body language giving thanks.
That's always been enough for me.
Saying the words can be other gift givers.

mathanxiety · 10/12/2025 20:50

When the DCs were young, family, cousin secret Santa, and godparent gifts were opened on Christmas Eve. We now do just an adult DC gift exchange on Christmas Eve.

The DCs all wrote thank you notes to the rellies, etc, who had sent them a present.

When the DCs were young, I did Santa when everyone had gone to bed, and everything under the tree in the morning came from Santa (never wrapped). I still do Santa, and still leave unwrapped gifts under the tree.

The Christmas Eve gift opening was done by exH's family and it's a tradition we've kept going. The unwrapped gifts is a tradition from my DM and Ddad.

MrsTerryPratchett · 10/12/2025 20:53

OttersMayHaveShifted · 10/12/2025 19:55

All the presents are from whoever gave them. Father Christmas just fills a stocking of little bits and bobs (not wrapped).

This. Prevents 90% of the issues.

And this one is important, means the work done by women isn't attributed to a fat bloke instead.

ClassicBBQ · 10/12/2025 20:55

All presents from Santa, except from family that give directly to them. We don't do stockings.

blankcanvas3 · 10/12/2025 20:56

Stocking from Santa that they open in bed with us (even 17 year old still does!), then presents from us and everyone else under the tree to be opened when we go downstairs.

Sprogonthetyne · 10/12/2025 21:02

Santa brings the stocking and I get everything else. Though when the kids were little (until 3/4) everything was just in a pile and no questions were asked about where it came from. They're 6 & 9 know and don't really believe anyway, but we still play along.

VictorBaucherOrSomething · 10/12/2025 21:04

When DC still believed we would do half their presents from Santa and half from us, relatives gifts were from them.
When i was growing up, all our presents, even the ones from family, were from Santa. I never questioned why my parents never got me gifts and I've never come across anyone else who experienced or did this

Clefable · 10/12/2025 21:11

Stockings and one medium gift from Santa, rest from whoever bought them. But we are very vague about it and don’t do much to disguise it’s really us, as DD1 already doesn’t believe (little cynic that she is!).

WorkCleanRepeat · 10/12/2025 21:14

When they were really young everything was from Santa.

Once they went to school and i realised the disparity in what children from different families receive i told them that Santa just brings the stocking.

I didn't want them discussing receiving relatively expensive items from Santa if their friends didn't receive similar types of gifts.

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