Do you wrap Santa presents?

[liamandcaili]

Yes, I wrap. The Santa presents are always in the shiniest, most magical paper I can find. If there are big gifts, which there won't be this year as there is no more room!, then they get draped with sheets or tagged with big bows. The family gifts are also wrapped, but in more demure papers.

I completely understand why people don't wrap though. Christmas Eve usually ends for me around 2 AM -- and DH is absolutely no help and has even gone to bed -- depending on what I have to assemble, and Christmas begins by 6. Last year, I was smart and bought everything in advance and wrapped a couple weekends beforehand while my parents watched the children.

 

[allaboutmm]

All of the gifts from Santa are not wrapped( even stocking stuffers). Each child has their own section of toys with big tag with their name written in caligrafey (o.k. I know the spelling is wrong, but you know what I mean!).

 

[kerry34]

Growing up all the presents for me were wrapped, except the stocking. I wrap all of my kids gifts except things that need to be assembled or very large boxes. It takes a long time (5 kids so you get the picture there) but I love watching their faces in the morning contemplating what is in all those boxes. I also enjoy the wrapping especially if DH is helping because it is a nice time to just talk. Sometimes we have a drink while we wrap and listen to christmas carols. After that we go to bed cross eyed to get about 3 hours of sleep only to get pounced on in the morning by five screaming kids. We love it.

 

[rt2dz]

Gifts from family are wrapped. Santa does not wrap his gifts. Everything is unwrapped, out of the boxes, put together and ready to play with. All items are arranged in different piles (for lack of a better word) in different areas around the room with a note addressed to each child from Santa and their stocking next to the gift.

What excitement when we all enter the family room together and each child instantly sees their loot and can go straight to it and start enjoying it immediately. It makes for the best pictures. Besides, with as much work as Santa does, how would he find the time to wrap everyone's presents???

As far as the geography thing goes, I grew up in Chicago with unwrapped gifts. My DH grew up in TX with wrapped gifts. As a matter of fact, most people I know who grew up in the north don't wrap, although a few do. I think it is just a big mix of traditions regardless of where you live.

 

[Priorityonecb]

I am going to try to answer the questions in one post.

1. Santa only leaves around 4-5 presents...the big ones on the list (this year it's a cat stroller for the youngest, a new radio for the oldest). There are about 20ish gifts for each child from mom and dad wrapped under the tree. That is the fun part of our morning!

2. I am 95% done with all my shopping. The only thing I have left to get is the radio for my oldest daughter, and my parents/sister.

3. Stocking stuffers are not wrapped here.

4. I grew up in MD for the poster who asked about geography. Santa gifts were not wrapped in either dh (also MD) or my households.

New question...name one main way that your Christmas is different from the Christmas you had as a child.

My answer: We got WAY to much stuff! We each literally had an entire wall of Santa gifts...not to mention the stuff under the tree. It wasn't even possible to appreicate all those things! We take great care in selecting the gifts for our daughters and there is definately not as many gifts as when I was a child.

Btw...have I mentioned lately that we are giving the girls a Land/Sea vacation for Christmas this year?? I can't wait!

 

[BlondeAlligator]

My DD Santa gift is the only one not wrapped. It is just sititng there ready to go with a BIG bow on it. Advice...depending on your kid(s) age(s), don't change anything up without a good backstory. Kids are sharp and you don't want to spoil the illusion.

Perhaps Santa isn't wrapping anymore in order to save trees? Just a thought...

 

[100AcreWood]

I wrap all the Santa gifts. Each year after the holidays I take a trip to Target to find my special Santa wrap. Normally I pick a paper with pictures of Santa. We only have one dd though, so I can't imagine wrapping for 5 kids.

I don't however wrap the big gifts. Last year dd came downstairs to find Santa had left her a bounce house. It was inflated in the living room thanks to dh who ran ahead when we heard her waking up. I'll never forget the look on her face when she said Mommy it's a bounce!

 

[8 Ears]

OK, let's see if I can recall everything so as I do not have to repost.

Both parents are from the North (Maine) Santa's big gift is not wrapped; this year that may change.... stocking's yes wrapped. Family gifts, including those that are from Mom and Dad are wrapped. Stocking stuffers have their own paper.

Are allowed to look into the the living room and see what Santa brought but may not play with it. Have to ask to get and open stocking. Stockings are opened on or near Mom and Dad's bed while they try to wake up. May play with stocking goodies while breakfast is being prepared , you know, while cereal is being poured, muffins and donuts are brought out

Then 1 gift is opened at a time!! This way it is shown to Mom and Dad, brother; it is stated who it is from, each person gets to make a POSITIVE comment about it. Brother may pick out his gift but not allowed to open it until paper, tags, tape... are in the trash bag. Also allowed is for another family member to pick the next gift for the person's turn it is.

To some this may sound awful but they will be 11 and just 14 this Christmas; basically it prolongs the opening. Pricey gifts = less gifts

I simply LOVE the idea of papering off the living room!! I have thought about it before but think I will do it this year. To enter the livingroom you must go through an arch. Hee, hee looking forward to seeing how they react to that!!!!

How much longer 'til Christmas????

 

[digskat]

I wrap all of the Santa presents. I buy wrapping paper that is special. This year I got ten rolls for $10 of Disney xmas wrap

 

[babytrees]

Santa wraps ours...sometimes the stocking...sometimes not. Santa only usually brings one present per kid and one family gift as not everyone is as lucky as us to have 6 grandmas...4 of which give us gifts. Santa also has his own wrapping paper and a different elf each year makes out the tag. Just so there is no worry over whose is whose....the stocking is near their pile.Mom gets what is left over from the santa wrap to use next year....a step up from coal
As for the anticipation...I am a big kid wrapped in a grown ups body so even with the late hour wrapping I am usually the first one up but so that we get to see the looks on their faces...the girls have to come in to bed and snuggle with mom while dad makes sure Santa came already and to turn on the lights.

 

[sara74]

Santa doesn't wrap at our house. DD (3) was too young last year to think of going downstairs by herself. We had to remind her that Santa had been there the night before!

Our tradition (new as it is...) DH and I stay home Christmas eve - instead of travelling to visit our out of state parents. Our whole street puts out luminaries every 3-4 feet down the street. It is so beautiful! The candles stay lit until about 4 AM. We move all the presents under the tree after DD and DS are asleep. Presents from us are wrapped. Santa only brings the really big thing so it is obvious what belongs to each child. This is how it was for our house and I never bothered to ask DH what they did in his family ! So the kids play with the Santa gift until the cinnamon buns are done and then stockings are opened and then the rest of the presents. At my dad's house everyone gets their own color of wrapping paper and then no one needs tags!

I really like the idea of wrapping the room. We have friends whose parents did that when they were little but they had to line up outside the room and sing carols until Mom and Dad said they could go in, youngest first!

I love talking about Christmas!!! Even though I am no where near finished buying!

 

[EthansMom]

At our house, Santa brings one medium gift, which is usually (but not always) wrapped. Also, Santa stuffs the stockings with some stuff wrapped and some stuff not wrapped. Also, Santa uses PLAIN RED WRAPPING PAPER at our house -- easy to distiguish the Santa gifts from everything else.

 

[ronmama5]

at our house all gifts are from Santa.(adults buy for adults, Santa brings for kids)and all gifts are wrapped in paper the kids have never seen before and any left over is burned before morning .btw we are southern and I never even knew until now some presents weren't wrapped! I finished all my shopping about two weeks ago, but that hasn't stopped me from buying more!! oh, we have five kids 3 girls 7,9,and13 and 2 boys 6 and 15months

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

In our house there are one or two big presents and a bunch of books from me, a couple of presents each from Nana and Uncle, and a lot of smaller presents from Santa (that seems backwards from how other people do it).

Santa wraps in white tissue paper, the same as he did when I was a child, -- he's a bit of an "obsessive wrapper" in that if, for example he brings a set of six matchbox cars or 10 tiny space figures each one is wrapped individually (this results in an embarrassingly high number of gifts!). Even things like a candy cane will get wrapped. The stocking is always full to the brim and then any remaining Santa presents (things like a board game or a puzzle or a science kit that don't fit in the stocking) are leaning by the fireplace behind it.

Presents from the family are wrapped in "regular" wrapping paper unless they are very big or take a lot of assembling. In that case they are usually set up in the basement or our TV room.

We open Santa presents first, once everyone is awake (it's just DS6 and a housefull of doting adults), then I usually say something transparent such as "can you go put this wrapping paper in the trash in the TV room, at which point he discovers something "big" and plays with it while we cook breakfast, after a leisurely breakfast we usually open a few more things one at a time (one for each person in turn), ending on something outdoorsy like a new ball or last year it was a scooter, and then we go to the park to play with that. Then the last few things are opened after the park and before dinner.

I think the biggest difference from when I was a kid (which I don't really like) is how the whole day ends up focusing on just my son. He's the only grandchild, so he has me, Grandma, and my brother all doting on him and buying him too much stuff. When I was a child I had to share the day with my siblings, cousins etc . . which I think is a little "healthier".

This year, however we're going to Mexico so it may have a different feel.

 

[Chris]

I always wrap them! Most people I know though don't. My mom always did so that is what I do!

 

[GEM]

Santa doesn't wrap at our house. He leaves everything under the tree totally assembled and ready for action. He didn't wrap for me when I was little either. That includes stocking stuffers. I can't imagine wrapping all the stocking stuffers! And, yes, for whoever asked earlier - you just go in the living room, jump and down squealing a few times, and dive right in to the playing!

Family gifts (from Nana to Paul, from Mommy and Daddy to Paul, from us to my brother and sister and their families, from them to us, etc.) are all exchanged Christmas Eve night. We usually give Paul Christmassy things on Christmas Eve. This year he's getting the Little People "Night Before Christmas" set, some new red flannel "big boy" pjs to sleep in, and a few Christmas books.

Christmas morning is strictly for the Santa gifts and the stocking stuffers. Usually the little people get to jump in and start playing while the adults relax, make breakfast, have coffee, ooh and ahh over the toys, etc. Then, after breakfast, we all do our stockings.

By the way, we all contribute to everyone else's stockings. We take turns with the stuffing after the little ones are in bed. The rule is that you can add to everyone's but can't peek at yours! Of course, Paul thinks Santa stuffs them all.

My brother, sister, and I still spend Christmas Eve with our families at our mom's house. It's great waking up together on Christmas morning. So much fun!

 

[leight]

so much fun reading everyone's traditions.

Here's ours:

Dh's family left everything unwrapped; mine wrapped all. We have two dds 8 & 5 and I'm pretty sure dd#1 is questioning Santa's existence but dd#2 is soooooooooo into it!

I started taking dd#1 to pick a star off of the salvation army tree which represented a little girl her age that she would buy for 5 yrs ago when she was 3. It occured to me that she was confused why we had to buy gifts for this little girl when Santa would bring them anyway... so I started our own tradition. Although we are not a religious family, I was raised ROman Catholic. So I told my dd that Santa brings every child 3 small toys- to represent the 3 gifts from the wise men to Christ. THis way she would realize that everything else came from family and if some families couldn't afford much the kids wouldn't get much. I just didn't want her to think that she was any better than a child whose family couldn't afford gifts.

So now Santa brings 3 less expensive toys- and these are unwrapped (he doesn't have time!) everything from family is wrapped. They have large stockings and these are both wrapped and unwrapped but are from Mom-& Dad-snacks, hair accessories, socks.Their favorite shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpast- lots of toiletries.

Xmas eve was always most important to Dh's family and Xmas day to mine. I made a decision that since we had to split time between both on xmas that I would hold xmas at my house- so the kids didn't have to leave their gifts and whomever wanted to join us could. We moved from Dh's family in NY to FL last year and my mom and brother are nearby (I prefer spending time w/ dh's family!) So I've continued that and could care less who joins us. Xmas day is for my kids! They get to open one small wrapped stocking stuffer on xmas eve (Dh opened all then) and the rest appear over night to their joy on xmas morning. I love it- the shopping, wrapping, planning, hiding,and most of all their enjoyment on xmas. I take the phone off the hook until the kids are done unwrapping- it's all about my girls xmas morning!

THis year $ is really tight- so I am using the $300 I saved in gift cards from AMEX rewards for TRU to buy toys in increments- $80 at a time with the 5 off 25 coupon and getting the $10 gift card. I got the $300 in $50 increments and am really making the most of it to stretch my budget- but seem to do be getting it all done w/in budget.Lots of effort and short trips to TRU after work but I think it'll be another great Xmas w/o the kids realizing how many corners I'm cutting.

 

[usingthephone]

When we were kids everything was wrapped. Stockings were fair game and kept us buys until the parents were awake enough to focus. We got up EARLY on Christmas morning. My little sister actually set her alarm for 4:30 AM.

I LOL when I read this one, but I hope my kids never figure this out! Santa leaves their stockings (actually the 2 gallon size christmas ziploc bag, contents wrapped) outside their bedroom door, so that they keep busy for a bit longer before waking the rest of the family up.

We also do a tresure hunt for the last gift, it's usually for the "big" gift, but i told the kids this year that it might not be their big gift, At 13, 11 and 10, a lot of the gifts are big (expensive, and there's not always a "wow" gift). Anyhow, i write 6 to 8 clues that have them going from room to room and up and down stairs. One year they just had to "check" something out in the basement, because that's where the tresure hunt ended the year before. i was one step ahead of them, the tresure hunt did end in the basement, but clue 3 took them there and when they went upstairs to do clues 4 through ?, DH pull the gifts from the hiding spot in the basement, so then the last clue was back to the basement to find the gifts. And the best part is, we eat breakfast before we do the hunt. The kids love it and look forward to it every year.

 

[usingthephone]

My DH says I am crazy, but here is what I do with wrapping presents. Did I say DH loves it even though he thinks I’m nuts.



No gift is wrapped in the same paper (unless it is going to a friend or being mailed out). Why? I don’t like to have any of the same paper under the tree. It sounds strange, but WOW it looks so cool. I buy a few (2-3) rolls of paper each year (after Christmas). I have two wrapping paper (upright) plastic holders (the kind you find in Target). I take the cardboard tube out of some of the rolls and roll them up smaller so they fit inside each other. I can have as many as four rolls inside one tube of another roll. With that said, I have at least 60 different types of paper each year. I have adult paper and children paper and a child will never get an adult paper as well as an adult will never get a childs paper. I know this sounds crazy, but it really does look great to have all different paper under the tree.



About Santa… he only wraps in his Santa paper (again all different). I have child and adult Santa paper because Santa always brings mommy and daddy a present also. The only gifts that are not wrapped would be bikes or big things like that. Also he has special gift tags (made off the computer) with his picture on it and the person's name on with a Love, Santa.



Is anyone else nuts like me?

God bless you!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

why would you have to wrap santas persents doesnt he do that ????

LOL