Do you have a Christmas present "ritual?"

[LadyAurora]

In my husband's family, they pass out the gifts and everyone opens everything all at once in a big mess. Then it is over and they clean up.
In my family, we always passed out all the presents. Then, starting with the youngest, everyone opened one at a time, taking turns from youngest to oldest. That way, the fun lasts longer and we all get to see what the presents are, and from whom.
Also, we wait until Christmas morning to open gifts.
What are your rituals?

 

[mamamia]

We (my 2 sisters and I and our families) go to my mom's house on Christmas day, sometime in the afternoon and first we have the kids open their presents (there are 9 kids all together; this year they will range from 6 months to 14 yrs.). After they open presents they go downstairs and play and then its the grown ups turn (about 7 of us). We do ours one at a time and try to take our time - since we don't get nearly as much as the kids!!. By the time all this is done its dinner time. After dinner we all open our stockings (each family has to put 1 thing in each stocking; which we seem to never stick to and they are over flowing!).

It took us a few years to figure out this way of doing things. In the earlier years it was just a mad house and nobody got to see anything that any one else got.

 

[momsal]

I love these threads!!

We open on Christmas morning alsso ( We go to DD's in the afternoon to have Christmas there)

We open 1 at a time!!! I like to watch

 

[bclydia]

What a great thread!
In our family, we each open one gift on Christmas eve. It's always a Christmas ornament. On Christmas morning, the family all take turns opening up presents, one at a time. That way we get to watch the reactions as people open up their gifts. The children have a great time picking out the gifts and handing them out. We find it really teaches the children to appreciate each gift and thank the giver! Also, seeing our reactions to the gifts they gave encourages the kids to be cheerful givers! This Christmas will be my baby's first and we're so excited about it!!!

 

[llebrekniT]

Here's what we do. On Christmas Eve day my kids exchange their gifts to each other. This gives them a special time to look forward to and relieves some of their anxiousness.(is that a real word?)

We go to in-laws on Christmas Eve at night. We kind of take turns opening there, but not in a real organized way, more of a politeness thing.

Christmas morning the kids play with their Santa gifts for a while and then we just hand out gifts and they open them as they want. No hurry. Really not as chaotic as you might think it could be.

Christmas night we go to my parents and it's pretty much chaos there. (Too many little nephews).

Looking forward to all of it!

 

[binny]

yep first one is dh and I buy a "special" gift for each other. We open those Christmas eve when we are finally alone.

Then on Christmas morning we pass out all the gifts and we each take turns opening the gifts and THANKING THE PERSON WHO GAVE IT TO US. That's a biggie here.


then we enjoy time together and have an early dinner.
This year will be rushed though we will be driving 8 hours to my moms for Christmas day then Boxing day we will be driving another 8 hours to Calgary.

Wish me luck!

 

[dianeschlicht]

WE have always opened gifts on CHristmas Eve, but now DS and his SO do her family that night, so we might do Christmas Day again this year. We also have each person open the big things seperately, but after the main ones, we all kind of make a mess!

 

[bsnyder]

We open ours on Christmas morning.

Each year, a different child gets to be the "Elf". The Elf gets a gift from under the tree, reads the card out loud, and then gives it to the person. Then everyone watches the person open that gift.

Repeat over and over, until all the gifts are gone.

It takes quite a while. I've tried to make some minor adjustments, to speed things along, but my kids don't want to change a thing.

 

[mtemm]

growing up we always got to open gifts from grandma/great uncle on christmas eve...we moved far away when I was 8 so didn't spend it with them. After Santa left the picture for us we got to open one gift from under the tree the night before, the rest christmas morning.

When I was very small we got to run and open our stockings as soon as we woke up. Had to wait for my parents to get up to go to the tree (different rooms) and grab our stashes. Santa never wrapped, things were just in 3 piles...one for each of my sisters and my self. There were a few morning when apparently I started early... I think I was 4 and 5 or something like that. I'm talking 4am, I'd come out on my own and quietly choose the best gifts from each pile and put them in mine. Hey, nobody would know, right, after all, only Santa knew! My mom loves to tell the stories about how little sleep she got re-arranging things.

Once Santa stopped visiting and things started getting wrapped, we took turns one at a time, kids and parents. No particular order, just making sure everyone got one regularly.

One year when we were teens there was a bit of a problem...mom thought we were checking out our presents early, so she wrapped them with codes instead of lables...then on christmas morning she couldn't remember which code went to which kid.

Christmas was always very special. Christmas eve has always been mass (only midnight 2x...we fall asleep), then dinner with carols on, etc., Christmas morning with a special breakfast and carols on, etc. Lots of great smells...simmering spices, etc. When I met my dh and we started splitting time...x-mass eve with his family, x-mass day with mine, it was a tough adjustment. His mom does a huge open house on christmas eve, but it doesn't feel like christmas to me...no carols, nothing but a tree in the background to feel like christmas. Lots of people, lots of fun, but like any get together. She always cooked a huge meal, but one that took all the time so she never made it to mass, etc.

We've moved away now and last year we went home but this year we are celebrating here, so I get to do what I want

 

[RUDisney]

Christmas Eve is at my parents' house. It is my youngest sister's birthday and is the one night of the year that we can pretty much guarantee that everyone is together. We take turns opening our gifts so everyone gets to see everything and everyone gets thanked.

Christmas is at my monster IL's house. It is a chaotic free for all that thankfully ends quickly so we can eat and leave so the kids can enjoy their presents at home, with us, as a family. None of the packages are marked from whom they are except for ours and the one's from my one SIL, so no one knows who to thank. BTW, no one likes one another at that house, so it is a miserable couple of hours in an otherwise happy day.

 

[Disney Ella]

We have no extended family around, so it's just the four of us and there are no big celebrations. The day before Christmas is the Barbie Christmas. When the kids come down, the Barbies are dressed up having a Christmas party (with their own Christmas tree). The Barbies have little presents to open and there is one small present for each DD. Having one new thing to play with makes the day not drag for them. They really look forward to coming downstairs on the 24th to see what the Barbies will be doing this year.

 

[momsal]

Originally posted by Disney Ella
We have no extended family around, so it's just the four of us and there are no big celebrations. The day before Christmas is the Barbie Christmas. When the kids come down, the Barbies are dressed up having a Christmas party (with their own Christmas tree). The Barbies have little presents to open and there is one small present for each DD. Having one new thing to play with makes the day not drag for them. They really look forward to coming downstairs on the 24th to see what the Barbies will be doing this year.

What a cute tradition!!!! That is something that they will remember all of thier lives and probally do with their own families someday!!!

 

[CamColt]

We usually exchange our gifts(DH, I, the kids) on Christmas Eve while we are waiting for our company to arrive. This year however, at that time we will be eating at Le Cellier, getting ready to go to the CP, so that wont work.
As for Santa, he doesnt wrap. He just leaves a pile for each kid so theres no ritual there.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

We are currently trying to get into our own family ritual! When I was young we used to go to church on Chirstmas Eve. Santa would come while we were gone and we would open the presents when we got home. DH's family always did presents Christmas morning. They have a big family get together Chirstmas Eve.

I have been in a dilemma with the IL's party because it is a great time and we love seeing everyone. BUT we live 3 1/2 hours away and I want to be home Chirstmas morning with DH and DD and have our family time. This year my WONDERFUL SIL suggested to MIL that we have it the weekend before Christmas! I could have kissed her! So now (weather permitting) we will be able to 'do it all.'

I have read some great ideas here that I am thinking about incorporating. Someone said last year that they exchange new Pajamas on Christmas Eve which I thought was a GREAT idea (I love PJ's! ) And I love Binny's idea of exchanging the present with your SO on Chirstmas Eve after the kids have gone to bed.

Since it is just DD she gets all of the attention of course. We let her take her time opening gifts. It makes for a nice morning.

 

[Meriweather]

Christmas Eve we have a special dinner. (no extended family here either).
DD gets a stuffed animal, DS a book (understand my kids aren't "kids" anymore....but it doesn't change!!).
They get new pajamas for Christmas Eve and get to open one present (all 4 of us do that). It takes them forever to decide because, heaven forbid they should pick clothes for Christmas Eve....what would they "play" with

Then we open everything else on Christmas morning.
Some one plays "Santa" and passes one present out to each person and we go around and open them one person at a time.

This will be the first year that there will only be 3 of us DS moved to another state

 

[JetMom]

On Christmas Eve, my 3 DS's exchange presents with each other. They have a $10 limit and they put a lot of effort into choosing and wrapping just the right thing for each of their brothers. We like them to exchange these gifts on Christmas Eve so they don't get over-shadowed by the presents from Santa.

On Christmas morning, we open presents one at a time, so that everyone can see what everyone else got.

My DMiL's house is a bit less organized , shall we say. Things get opened in sort of a frenzy. It is not unusal for me to be putting things away and find a toy or sweater that I had not seen before. When I ask where it came from, the answer is always "Grandma gave it to me"

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

We also live no where near extended family, so we have taken the traditions of both families and combined them.

DH's family used to do Christmas on Christmas Eve, and my family opened one gift on Christmas Eve (after 6pm), then the rest on Christmas morning. His family never had stockings, but my family did. In my family, my sister and I were not allowed to wake my parents up before 6 am, so my sister would actually set her alarm for 5:45, get her stocking, come into my room and we would open our stockings on my bed. Then at 6am, she would go wake up my parents!

Anyway, DH, DDs and I still open 1 gift on Christmas Eve. It has to be an out-of-town gift. But since DH is not patient when it comes to gifts, our combined family ritual is to get 4 gifts for each person's stocking, then starting Dec 20th, everyone opens on stiocking gift (last one opened on Dec 23), then out of town gift on Dec 24th, then Santa and remaining family gifts on Dec 25th.

 

[OhMari]

I wanted to start this thread awhile ago, but I wrote so much on it, I cancelled it out.

When I read the post's that have no extended family, I felt so guilty.

BUT I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE!!!

I have 4 kids, 2 in college and 1 in highschool and 1 in 8th grade. We have been doing the same thing for Christmas for 22 years.

Mother-in-law Christmas Eve. Husband has 1 sister-married-1kid.
My parents Christmas Day. I have 3 sisters married/kids.

I have to go with the flow. I don't have a choice. I finally rebelled and made Thanksgiving my family holiday no going anywhere.

Both sides think I am very mean for doing this, but can't one holiday not be spent with everyone. Put it this way, every paid holiday is spent with family, even the 4th of July.

 

[TimeforMe]

I do a traditional italian seafood dinner on Christmas Eve with Brother #2 and his family. We exchange gifts with them after dinner. After they leave, my kids give us our presents and exchange with each other. We give them their presents from us which is usually something big that they really want and a pair of new pj's. After they go to bed (and all the wrapping is done) DH and I turn out the lights, light the candles and put on Harry Connick Christmas CD and have either a glass of red wine or port. We exchange our presents to each other then. In the morning, the stockings are at the foot of the kids beds and they climb into our bed to empty them. We then all go downstairs to see what Santa has brought. Even though they are now 13 and 15 and no longer believe in Santa, we still do it this way .

We go to Brother #1's house for dinner and exchange with his family.

 

[DD2Disney]

We are still working out the kinks in our 'traditions' when I was younger we would open one gift on Christmas Eve it was always from my Grandma and Grandpa and it was always Pajamas

All other gifts were opened on Christmas morning. We had to wait for our parents, we could wake them up early but we couldnt open presents without them. We did everything one at a time and all our stuff was from Santa Claus even when we were adults.

Now I live far away from my family, its just my DH, DS and DMIL (lives next door) I consider her part of my immediate family. We sometime visit FIL and 2SIL 1BIL on Christmas Eve at some point not really close just exchange gifts. Then we come home and We open one gift on Christmas Eve. The rest on Christmas morning. They are mostly just gifts for my son.

Then we do an early dinner with the four of us.