I'd much prefer my kids to have lots of pressie's off FC and none off friends/relatives

[debbiewebweb]

There are lots of threads on here about how people are not buying much for their own dc's and they know dc's won't miss out as they have so much off family and friends as well. But for me christmas presents for my dd's should be about what father christmas has brought them, about how he knows what they want and the magic of getting it here. But they have so much off other people it seems to be a competition over which relative/friend gets them the best/most etc. But if we don't get anything then it seems to water down the magic off FC, so they end up getting too much. On christmas morning as a child I wanted to run downstairs and see all our presents off FC. I'm don't know why it bothers me but I'd so prefer my friends and relatives spend their hard earned £££'s on their dc's and let FC look after ours.

There was another thread about this I think. I have always thought a stocking from Father Christmas was appropriate and then presents from friends and family labeled from friends and family.

Could you hide the presents from the friends away and give them to them later?

I just bought presents for my friend's children, they don't even know about 'a santa' (they are 4 and 7) as their parents have never done the whole santa thing, so I made sure there were no santas on the gifts, cards or wrapping paper.

Oh wow they don't know about Santa, that must be tricky this time of year .
We have a big family - dd's have 4 sets of grandparents, 7 aunts/uncles and few close friends that buy them presents. So the pile of 'other presents' is bigger then FC's. We tend to keep my family presents til boxing day when we all get together so there's two christmas days for our dd's

I'd keep the other presents til after Christmas then. My dd gets loads from other people but I make sure she gets family ones first.

wow
I'm really surprised about this
some years there isn't a sinle pressie of fc
they will get a small one signed from FC if I remember

the magic is that santa put all the presents fomr everyone under the tree

I don't do the 'santa' thing, SD gets presents from relatives and friends who wnt to give him them and I like it that way.

SD? I mean DS of course!

There was another thread - where two completely different ways of doing Christmas were clashing. As far as I can see it, there are two disadvantages of FC bringing everything - one is that the children aren't grateful to the family members who did all the work and stumped up the cash, and the other that it's very hard to explain why some children get loads from FC and some almost nothing, even though they've been just as good.

Isn't FC magical anyway? No matter how much other people have bought?

(PS I try to restrict how much relatives get our DDs too - just because I don't want them to grow up spoiled and materialistic, and I don't want a house cluttered with hundreds of toys that are hardly played with!)

im with TR, i was always under the impression that FC just did the delivering, not the buying or choosing. and the old 'lketter to santa' thing i always reqally knew was a front for 'tell mum and dad what you want and hope they can approximate it perhaps if youre lucky'

My DS's always get a present from FC, the rest from us.

This year they each have 4 presents to open.

2 from me that's a shared present (Wii and Wii play).

Then DS1 has - 1 present from FC, 1 token present from me and one 1 present from his brothers

DS2 has the same

DS3 has 2 presetns from me, 1 from his brothers and 1 from FC.

I don't suppose they'll be getting anymore - but I can't say that only getting one present from FC has ruined the magic of FC for them.

FC takes all the present that everyone (well me this year as it happpens ) and his elves help to wrap them for me and keep them safe until Christnas, then on Christmas eve he delivers all the presents to the house and puts them under the tree.

I thought that parents, relatives and friends bought the presents and 'sent' them to FC for him to deliver along with any he may have given. He delivers them because he decides whether you've been naughty or good.

oh I know lockets I agree - I've gone OTT this year with 4 presents each for them

mine get presents from father christmas (smaller bits like hairbands, slippers, books etc plus 1 bigger present this year its a toy laptop each) then they get a main present from us (this yera dd1 has baby born and dd2 baby annabell) then all other presents are from specific people ie aunties/uncles/grandparents I always make sure they know that XX has kindly given you this present so when we see XX they can say thankyou. This year they'll have FC and our present in the morning, they'll have presents from my parents/nan/aunts etc christmas afternoon at my parents house, present from brother/sil and her mum at brotehrs house in the evening (we all live within 10minutes of each other) then on boxing day they'll have presents from il's and sil etc (they are coming to us) they also have about 6 presents from friends/godparents but I tend to filter these through the next few days or they get overwhelmed with stuff!!

I don't get it either.

Surely FC fills the stocking (the proper stretchy stocking, not a sack in a sockish shape) that they leave at the end of the bed? With things that fit in a stocking?

And then you and the family give their own presents themselves?

I don't know.
I can only hearthe gentle thud of pedants' corner fainting

Message withdrawn

Ah I see, there are lots of different takes on this.
Amongst all my family and the few friends who I've asked Santa actually makes/gets and brings the toys for the dc's and then when dc's are older their parents buy them and give them as santa has enough to do looking after the little dc's in the world.
My dd's know what they get from family and friends, are appreciative and write thank you notes etc. But they think FC brings the other toys himself. I think I might test the water with my dd's but I don't want to confuse the whole santa magic this close to christmas.

oh I'd like to add I don't put much effort into gramatical correctness whilst typing one handed, ironing with the other and watching over latest artwork dd's are creating at the same time... sorry

oh I'd like to add I don't put much effort into gramatical correctness whilst typing one handed, ironing with the other and watching over latest artwork dd's are creating at the same time... sorry

see I can't even tell when I've already posted something once !!

I don't get this thing about santa only delivering the presents if he thinks you've been good enough? If your dc had been really naughty would you really not give them their xmas pressies?

It is tricky. I don't have all the answers, thankfully dd's haven't asked too many questions yet. I don't go too much on the no pressies if you're naughty, santa brings toys for all children - except for the unfortunate ones we send Operation Christmas child boxes for. I really don't have the story all worked out

In our family santa brings the stocking gifts and things left with the stockings. My family open the main gifts in the afternoon though and they're all from family/friends.

I'm with AnarchyInAManger on this...the stocking should be one of dad's rugby socks!! You'd be surprised how much FC can cram into one of those, although he occasionally has to leave a couple of loose pressies next to the lumpy stocking at the bottom of the bed!

well mine had a SACK for years,not filled to the brim - but this year, thankfully they are a bit tattered and torn, so i have bought smaller sacks. i looked at the stockings but by whicyh time i had overloaded on "stocking" presents.
10 ish stocking presents
and 2 from us