do you let you children open their presents as they see relatives? advice needed

[emily05]

all of dh relatives and a couple of mine want ds to open his presnts when we see them over christmas. Nobody ever bothers visiting us, so we have to ferry around. so ds will get the majority of his presents on the 26th, 27th and 28th of dec. He will have about 10 presents on christmas day (mainly from us)

How do I explain this with regards to father christmas? does father christmas leave presents at everybody elses house for ds? what do you all do with regards to presents? are the ones you get your children the only ones they open on christmas day?

Hope that this makes sense x

Christmas Day in this house has been the same ever since we had our own family. Our dds are now young adults, but FC still fills their stockings on Christmas Eve (still with chocolate coins, satsuma, writing sets etc., all little bits and pieces).

Presents under the tree, which have been there since tree was put up, are from me and dh, and from dds to us and each other. Presents from relatives are opened when we go and visit them in the following days.

Have any of you had problems explaining your routine to your children if they compare notes with their schoolfriends? Everyone is so different!

In our house Santa brings the presents. There are a few presents from Santa and he also brings all the other presents, from relatives, that have been sent to him. they are all tagged to say who they are from though.

We can't leave the presents under the tree before christmas as dd2 would open them all, so they get sent to santa and he brings them back on christmas eve.

This is the way my family did it when I was little and I've just carried on.

FC was only responsible for the stocking presents here too - everything under the tree was from somebody. Different routines from other families not a problem, but FC using same paper as mum was one year

In our house, santa is a kind of glorified Royal Mail .

People choose their presents, then send them to Santa to be delivered. That way my dd's can send thank yous to the right people, and can also be with me when I buy presents for other people (which obviously I later send to Santa)

Of course, santa being like Royal Mail, does deliver some presents to the wrong houses. (Well, he's entitled to make a few mistakes with the volume he's dealing with). That explains why presents for other people might appear under our tree, and why the dd's get presents at Nanna's as well.

Emily05 - we are visiting all our rels before Xmas day and discreetly swapping gifts,then all of ours will be under the tree when the kids get up in the morning. Luckily christmas lasts all day and DS1 seems to take forever opening them so it's ok. He plays with them all as he opens then wanders off for a while before coming back for the next one. As DS2 is only just 15 months now we're not sure how he'll be but hopefully much the same.

I just can't see it as good to drag my lo's around the country visiting people they barely know,and if they did probably wouldn't like, the same people who can't be bothered to get up off their fat turkey filled bums and visit us!

I like Xmas time at home with my very close family as does DH. We're not that close to anyone else except my mum and it's rare that anyone else visits us - yet oddly they expect us to spend the little holiday we get traipsing around after them!! Bah Big Fat Humbugs!!!

Everything comes from Father Christmas but sometimes he takes things to different people's houses (eg Grandma's). Yes do thankyou letters but as of yet he can only write his name in them so not aware of the rest of the content.

In our house, Santa leaves a stocking, which has little things in pens, colouring books etc. He then leaves maybe four or five gifts in a sack in the living room. However, my two also know that they get other presents, from us, grandparents, aunt and uncles etc. These presents go under the tree when we get them, which can be early on in the month. We don't visit anyone on Christmas day, we have always lived too far away, so all presents are opened on Christmas day. Thank you letters are written to everyone who gave a present, and one is sent by the fairy's to santa, thanking him for his presents. We do it this way as its a mixture of things that Dh and I did when we were kids.

Santa brings 1 present, relatives, friends, admirers, fans etc give presents also. Santa's present goes under the tree for Xmas morning, the rest just get piled up as the month progresses.

Santa's present is clearly from Santa cos it is wrapped in different (posher) paper, with a bit of glitter in the fireplace etc.

I am quite careful that ds does not see me actyally buy his FC present. Dd is way to little to notice!

What I think is tricky is when presents are exchange between kids. I tend to let ds open it there and then tbh.

This is all very interesting, I put pressies under the tree on Dec 1st but hold back a few things that "santa" will bring (being careful to wrap in different paper) My DS has never shown any interest in the pressies under the tree or the small box room suddenly being out of bounds (ie full of santas pressies) but then again he is only 4.
As for when we open them, 6.30 in the morning usually-santa put all his pressies in pillow cases at the end of his bed, which he drags into our room, apart from a few biggies that stay under the tree.

This makes me soooooo cross for little children. I am trying to keep the whole Father Christmas thing going for ds, but BIL and his partner will not give us their presents for him on Christmas day, have to come and visit after Christmas with the pressy, and tell ds that FC left his pressy at their house by mistake. I think they actually buy his present after the sales have started.

All very well but last year ds worried for days in case he had other pressies left at the wrong addresses.

DD only 17 months so doesn't really have a clue but I think SC brings one large gift which isn't wrapped and fills the stocking, everything else will go under the tree and they're from other people. This means when she comes down the stairs she will see her large presents laid out for her.

In-laws coming Boxing Day so we decided she can open in-laws presents then in front of them as on Xmas day she will have so much to open.

Sherry - I hate that too!! I want Santa to be alive and well in my kid's imaginations for many years and certain relatives insist on visiting over the Christm break to give their prezzies. It really hacks me off.

Easy I sort of see where you are coming from but unfortunately you just have to work round it. On Christmas Day DS will be seeing two sets of grandparents, three aunts/uncles, a great aunt/uncle and a great grandad but none in the morning. So he will get more presents later in the day than in the morning. And my MIL insists on stockpiling any other presents from extended family at hers rather than she could have given them to us when we saw her last Sunday. That particularly irritates me. I can understand her wanting to see DS open his present from her but is it really necessary to hang onto the one from Great Aunt X?

The problem is that I then tend to buy more than I would just so that it looks like he has got a lot in the morning IYSWIM.

dd believes that Father Christmas delivers the presents that have been bought for her by us/other people (if she's been a good girl that is) so maybe you could try that one emily?

tbh, come Christmas Day she's so excited that she doens't even mention FC (so far). We don't bother with stockings.

Isn't it funny how we all do it differently! In our house Father Christmas fills the stockings at the end of the beds. That's generally small things, books, puzzles, sweets etc and they get them as soon as they wake up. Then any other presents are from the people who have given them, including a "main" present from us, not from FC. Some people will give us presents in advance of Christmas and they will get them, and ours, on Christmas morning after breakfast, then they get more presents as and when they see rellies over Christmas.

Bummer - wish someone had started this thread 5 years ago. To late to change the rules now!

FC fills up stocking hanging on mantlepiece,it's small and fits a small gift and satsuma etc.

all other presents are from us or relatives.

don't have stockings at end of bed like lots of others,think it's an english thing and i grew up in canada.

I fear i will be told off for spoiling my three-

They get FC presents not in a stocking, but a pillow case. Then they get a stocking (we all do silly stockings, whoopee cushions and the like) at Mum's. Then the presents from rellies etc are opened as they get them.... except for the very large slide / climbing frame combo from MIL as that is not going to be put up until it gets warmer, for the sake of DH and I more than anything else!

The presents from DH and I (one each from each of us- book from me, personalized one, and a craft set from DH) come with the presents rfom Aunts, nanny etc (as it is her house we are at).

It will probably take 2 X 50 mile each way trips to bring it all back.

But hey, It's christmas and it's the only time apart from birthdays they get toys, so the more the merrier!

I fear i will be told off for spoiling my three-

They get FC presents not in a stocking, but a pillow case. Then they get a stocking (we all do silly stockings, whoopee cushions and the like) at Mum's. Then the presents from rellies etc are opened as they get them.... except for the very large slide / climbing frame combo from MIL as that is not going to be put up until it gets warmer, for the sake of DH and I more than anything else!

The presents from DH and I (one each from each of us- book from me, personalized one, and a craft set from DH) come with the presents rfom Aunts, nanny etc (as it is her house we are at).

It will probably take 2 X 50 mile each way trips to bring it all back.

But hey, It's christmas and it's the only time apart from birthdays they get toys, so the more the merrier!

Actually I think stockings on the end of the bed are just a means of keeping the kids upstairs while the parents get chance to rub the sleepy dust out of our eyes!

Do those of you who just do stockings from Santa have the same problem I have? People are always asking dd what Santa brought her and she says "hair bobbles" or "some crayons and then I pathetically feel the need to chip in with "yes but she got a Sylvanian Families caravan from me didn't you darling"

Incidentally, in my house when I was a child FC only brought presents to orphans and poor people, he just used to pop down the chimney and check I had enough

We don't do Santa at all in our house, but tbh I would be REALLY annoyed if a nephew/neice/godchild of mine was told that the present came from Santa! Also I would be very annoyed at being told that the present had to be there for Christmas day, rather than me being able to actually give it to the child. I think I would feel a bit like a cashpoint machine, there to provide even more anonymous presents. Whereas I actually take lots of time thinking about what to get the various children, and certainly with my children, it's nice to say 'this is what xyz got you for Christmas', and then they can remember the person a bit by the present.

Sorry to be dissenting, but I would find that very rude!

I also think it is good to spread the presents out a bit - ds is overwhelmed by more than about 2 presents at a time, so it's great if they are given over a period of time.

In our house Father Christmas has only ever delivered the stocking presents. All others are from us or reletives. DD1 who has just finshed her first term at university was amazed to discover that some of her friends used to think FC delivered all presents!