Does Santa wrap presents or doesn't wrap?

[sasywtch]

So why do you buy for cousins, grandparents, mom and dad but not your kids? What do you tell your kids?

I am the opposite. I don't get the presents from the parents. When I was growing up and also when I had kids, the presents at Christmas were suppose to come from Santa Claus. Same with everyone I knew. No one expected a gift from mom/dad. I asked my kids after reading this and they never had anyone at school asked them who got them what. It was more "what did you get?". Not to say it's good or bad, I just don't get it. I'm done with the Santa days, I get the grandma presents now.

I'm also curious for those who don't wrap presents. To me, the fun was watching the kids unwrap to see what's in the package. Is it like storming the tree and grabbing their unwrapped presents and playing?

My best friend's family use to do presents on Christmas Eve. I remember asking her once what there was to look forward to on Christmas day and she said the food. I'm so darned old I still remember her calling me and telling me she just opened up a present and it was a tape recorder LOL Woo Hoo I have to say, my parents generation had it so much easier. I probably did also but still had all the new figures from GraySkull and whatever else my kids were into at the time. Why they only had a limited number of a figure is beyond me but I was fighting my way with everyone else. For my youngest, it became the wanted new Xbox game I had to fight for. I can't imagine how it is now.

Edited to add: my friend called me from a rotary phone on the wall with one of those large curly cords that always tangled so she could go outside to talk to me : )

 

[PollyannaMom]

Santa would also get presents that mom didn't like, such as the Barbie Shopping Mall with a hundred different pieces.

So true! And his friend the Easter Bunny as well - he always brought one special item Mom never said yes to in the store. I think it helped preserve the magic a little.

With my kids, they were allowed to go and see what Santa left but couldn't wake me up until after 6am. Once they got me up they could look at their stocking. Only after breakfast were they allowed to unwrapped the gifts under the tree.

As soon as I was old enough, we could not wake my parents up until we made coffee!

When DS was little, Santa started sneaking one of his presents into his room, so he could play with that while we woke up a little more slowly. (Now, we're usually up and waiting for him!)

 

[jrmasm]

So why do you buy for cousins, grandparents, mom and dad but not your kids? What do you tell your kids?

Sharing holiday cheer? We like to? It’s not that complicated.

 

[AppleDumpling]

Growing up, we had a combo of wrapped and unwrapped. Big items from Santa were unwrapped as were stocking stuffers, and we also had wrapped presents from our parents, grandparents, siblings (as we got older and gave to each other), and long distance aunts and uncles who shipped them early.

Our family tradition was to put up and trim the (real) tree on Christmas Eve, never before. And we never saw any gifts earlier, they were all hidden until the big reveal on Christmas morning.

As a parent, things are done pretty much the same except we put up the tree earlier, usually a week or two before. We have our own Christmas morning celebration at home, and then visit relatives later in the day, where we exchange gifts with extended family.

 

[wenrob]

Growing up, we had a combo of wrapped and unwrapped. Big items from Santa were unwrapped as were stocking stuffers, and we also had wrapped presents from our parents, grandparents, siblings (as we got older and gave to each other), and long distance aunts and uncles who shipped them early.

Our family tradition was to put up and trim the (real) tree on Christmas Eve, never before. And we never saw any gifts earlier, they were all hidden until the big reveal on Christmas morning.

As a parent, things are done pretty much the same except we put up the tree earlier, usually a week or two before. We have our own Christmas morning celebration at home, and then visit relatives later in the day, where we exchange gifts with extended family.

I’ve always wondered how people manage to do the tree on Christmas Eve. For us, a real tree is a two or three day project. We get it, set it up and let the heat in the house help the branches fall. Usually, 12-24 hours. The next evening we put on the lights and garland. By then it’s too late to start with ornaments so that is done the next evening. I can’t wrap my head around doing the tree and setting up presents etc. all in one night. I’d be so exhausted! I have a friend who does it all on Christmas Eve including wrapping the presents. She pretty much just doesn’t sleep.

 

[AnnieEMT]

Growing up, everything was unwrapped. For my kids, Santa wrapped (he had his own paper) - he was a notoriously messy wrapper & used scraps of the paper for tags. The tags were always fun & Santa's handwriting suspiciously resembled me trying to write with my left hand! I still do this for the 2 who are here on Christmas Eve/Christmas morning

 

[DisneyOma]

I'm apparently not putting enough thought into this. Holy overthinking Christmas, Santa and gifts, Batman.

When you have multiple kids, and the oldest has set a trap to catch the tooth fairy at age 5, well, you do get rather inventive. She also looked all over the house for the wrapping paper, even going through the trash for scraps (Yay, wood stove! No scraps!) and trying to find the metallic ink pen the card was signed with. (She found that one, but I told her Santa must have forgotten one and used ours) She has always been inquisitive, and quite willing to put in the time to find an answer. And she doesn't always follow the rules It has served her well - right now she's working on new treatments for cancer, hoping for a cure.

 

[charming23]

Growing up Santa always wrapped presents. My mom would actually take them over to my Aunts house and she would wrap them with special paper. Then she would bring them over Christmas Eve and help my parents put them under the tree once I went to bed. My mom admitted this a few years ago.

 

[blana]

Santa wraps. He's got special paper that he alone uses. He also only brings one gift per child,plus the stockings.

 

[low-key]

Santa always wrapper present better and more beautiful then anyone, but he seemed to stop about the time mom died

 

[DawnM]

Santa always wrapper present better and more beautiful then anyone, but he seemed to stop about the time mom died

Sorry.

 

[DawnM]

Everything is always wrapped. We didn't really "do Santa" but we sometimes put "from Santa" on the box. It was more of a wink-wink than a real belief in Santa.

 

[AppleDumpling]

I’ve always wondered how people manage to do the tree on Christmas Eve. For us, a real tree is a two or three day project.

It’s never been a problem. We buy a tree in early December, remove the netting, place it in a bucket of water in the backyard and let it “settle” for at least a week. On the day we bring it into the house, we put on the lights and ornaments within a couple of hours.

Which is not to say my parents weren’t exhausted. They had six kids, so lots of gifts to wrap, toys to be assembled, etc. and when we were young, were up at the crack of dawn of course.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Everything is always wrapped. We didn't really "do Santa" but we sometimes put "from Santa" on the box. It was more of a wink-wink than a real belief in Santa.

We do that now too (though DS was definitely a believer when he was little!) But we also told him that sometimes people put "from Santa" on gifts when they don't want the credit for one reason or another - that way we could explain items seen by accident or kids at school who talked.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Santa wraps most of ours. Usually there are at least a couple of things that are too big or odd shaped that will go out unwrapped but with tags. Every year it's a challenge to remember where Santa put the special tags that only appear on santa gifts. Santa usually has good intentions to scale things back at our house each year, but always ends up forgetting about that.

 

[nikkistevej]

Santa never wrapped, my DD would get one big present and a stocking from him, the rest were from mom and dad. That's how I was brought up, why does Santa get all the glory? LOL
In DH's family- everything was from Santa though.

 

[Dr.Mickey]

I still remember the day my older brother, age 12 (when I was 7) came into my room at 5am totally devastated. "Marc...Santa wrapped the presents!"

I was the late sleeper, even as a kid. But my parents swear they never saw my brother sleep. He was always the last awake and the first up in the morning, usually before the sun. I think my parents got tired of my brother ruining the surprise by sneaking out so early. There was a big sign that said, "Santa said not to open these until after your parents are awake - no earlier than 6am!!!"

In my house now, we don't have any early risers. So Santa never wraps

 

[dish rag]

The Santa I know has always wrapped gifts.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

When I was a kid, Santa wrapped, brought the presents and the tree - decorated. Mom and Dad also gave each of the kids presents.

As we got older, Santa did less and less, until we got to the point that Santa just brought presents, wrapped.

I figure Mom and Dad were getting tired of being zombies on Christmas morning.

For our son, Santa wraps. But that is all he does. We have always put up the tree.

We also open presents on Christmas Eve.

 

[DLmama]

Santa wraps, but only in his special Santa paper. He brings the one, most wanted gift and that's it. Mom & Dad take care of the stocking and any other gifts. This year we've kind of adopted the something you need, something you want, something to read and something to wear.

DS's elf brings him Christmas pajamas that he opens on Christmas Eve.