Opening xmas gifts

[Marilyn. 340]

My family always opened gifts on the 25th after mom made us eat breakfast usually cream of wheat or porridge .... the last few years we would take turns opening presents , sometimes opening presents could take a couple of hours but it was fun to see what everyone got...

hubby's family opens gifts around midnight on Christmas Eve... I didn't much like the experience last year ... the kids are all half asleep and they just tear through the presents and all the stuff just gets dumped into a big garbage bag.... they don't even take the time to look at the present before opening the next one...

this year I told hubby that I want the kids to open our presents before midnight.....

the kid's other aunts and uncle kind of take over when they get there shortly before midnight...

[Ephesia 0]

His family's (read: mother) rule is: only Nana's gifts get opened on Christmas Eve, so that the young ones don't get "confused" by what came from Nana and what came from Santa. Santa's and everyone else's gifts get opened early in the morning on Christmas Day at his sister's house.

This year I told him I am a little weary of that 'tradition' and he feels the same way. So we are going to his mom's as usual for Christmas Eve dinner, and we're going to distribute our gifts to everyone. We don't care when they open them. They can decide on their own. We're also going to skip the gift opening at his sister's house this year because we want to sleep beyond 7am, and enjoy a quiet Christmas morning on our own.

Edited December 7, 2006 by Ephesia

[MissStacey 1]

We always opened our gifts at midnight on Christmas Eve. Now, they are all opened by 8:30 and we're in bed by 9.

[ajames79 0]

All of the non santa gifts from family and friends are all under the tree as soon as they arrive.

We open these on Christmas morning.

Our "santa" gifts are under our stockings at the fire place. I am 27 years old and this will be the fist year me and my sister who is 24 are not getting "santa" gifts! But the tradition is still to open all our presents on Christmas morn. Have a glass of champagne and normally a cooked breakfast of somekind.

I think my future husband and I will keep that tradition.

Ohh and the fire place was closer in sight to my bed room so I could always sneak out and catch a peek when I was younger!

[Marilyn. 340]

My family always opened gifts on the 25th after mom made us eat breakfast usually cream of wheat or porridge .... the last few years we would take turns opening presents , sometimes opening presents could take a couple of hours but it was fun to see what everyone got...

hubby's family opens gifts around midnight on Christmas Eve... I didn't much like the experience last year ... the kids are all half asleep and they just tear through the presents and all the stuff just gets dumped into a big garbage bag.... they don't even take the time to look at the present before opening the next one...

this year I told hubby that I want the kids to open our presents before midnight.....

the kid's other aunts and uncle kind of take over when they get there shortly before midnight...

I am really not sure what to do about Christmas this year, like I mentioned I didn't really enjoy myself last year It was our first ever Christmas together and it kind of sucked... I don't want the same thing to happen this year....

Edited December 7, 2006 by MarilynP

[MaryandMian 1]

Marilyn why do you not make your own traditions up and put them in place this year? Maybe you can visit the family and come home earlier after you deliver your gifts and make cocoa, sit with Christmas music playing and enjoy some of your great cookies/sweets you bake with hubby. Then you can open your gifts when you want either that night or the next morning.

[Kath 0]

gifts under the tree christmas eve....sis an bro's would bring the pressies around to mum's place to be put under the tree...go over for chrissie dinner and they weren't open until after chrissie lunch..

within our own household when the kids were little they would get to open theirs after we got up

now im in the states its just the two of us and its my first christmas here so i am imagining christmas day when we get up we will give each other presents .. but from what my hubby tells me it use to be chrissie eve his family use to open presents...

will be strange this year as australia is a day ahead of us so will ring my family on christmas eve here to see what they got ...so will be making 3 phone calls to my mum an sis and bro's families...its gunna be strange this year not having boxing day dinner at my mum's for the first time...hopefully they will ring us for our christmas day....

kath

[Marilyn. 340]

Marilyn why do you not make your own traditions up and put them in place this year? Maybe you can visit the family and come home earlier after you deliver your gifts and make cocoa, sit with Christmas music playing and enjoy some of your great cookies/sweets you bake with hubby. Then you can open your gifts when you want either that night or the next morning.

well, that is what we did last year.... when we got back we opened presents, it was kind of late though.... I do want to see the kids open their presents.... so maybe we could open the presents early and then hubby and I can leave early..... mmm, we will see what happens...

I was just thinking Hubby and I could plan on doing something special together on Christmas day.... we will probably go visit Noah's grave...

Last year we went to Denny's on Christmas day...

[de_sjiem 0]

When I was younger, we would always open presents around Dec. 5th, for the Dutch Sinter Klaas (kinda like Santa, but for Dutch children!) It wouldnt usually actually be on Dec5th, usually on the weekend before or after, whichever one was easier. It was part of the Dutch tradition (my parents were both born in Holland., my dad moved here to marry my mom.. History sure repeats itself!) We also did it so that we wouldnt confuse the presents aspect of Christmas with the birth of Christ... As we grew up and went to college getting together around dec 5th was nearly impossible, so it has been moved back to closer to Christmas.. but now that some of us are married we rarely get together on the actual Christmas day, so its more when we can all get together! Its usually a good time though

Mike's family (and extended family on his Mom's side) always get together on Christmas Eve, go to Mass (we dont go because neither Him nor I are catholics..) and get together at one of the Aunt's or Uncle's House for a Christmas Eve celebration. Then on Christmas we go to his mom's house... It was pretty nice last year (Our first year), but I wished we could have a little more time to ourselves!

[kittykatwoman 0]

It's the first time I have to celebrate Xmas in a long time, I don't celebrate it usualy, my American inlaws love Xmas, kids around or not they celebrate it.

Most of the Xmas presents are already under the tree and will be opened on Xmas day in the morning tho I don't know how they will explain to the kid that Santa came on Xmas noght since the presents are already under the tree.

[Thingee 0]

Presents are put under the tree as they're wrapped...unless they're from Santa, in which case they go under when the kids go to sleep. The little ones are allowed to open one gift Xmas eve, always a present from me, always pajamas(so they look all snazzy for the pictures the next morning).

On a side note, they aren't allowed to touch the presents under the tree until all teh adults are awake. They dig into their stockings while they're waiting.