Opening gifts on Christmas....

[ksloane]

Growing up my parents were divorced and my stepsisters lived 12 hours away and holidays were NEVER on the "right" day. So...I am a little neurotic like someone mentioned earlier of their friend when it comes to Christmas. We celebrate Christmas on Christmas. We have a birthday tradition too for my daughter, but her party hasn't been on her birthday yet.

We must have multiple Christmases though - with my sister, my mom, my dad, etc. By having "Christmas on Christmas" I mean Santa comes on the 24th and we open as soon as she wakes up on the 25th.

If someone gives my daughter something though, she almost always opens it then. A couple times she's wanted to put it under the tree, but that's rare. I think the person giving to her should get to see her open it too.

I do love the idea of opening "Mom gifts" on Christmas eve though and think we may start that tradition this year. Don't know if I can make it work this year though since Santa is painting her room and totally redoing it....which means I plan on getting her out of house on 23rd and not bringing her home until she's asleep ont he 24th..

 

[emma'smom]

Well, I guess we're really mean...we don't open our gifts until Christmas Day EVENING- after dinner on Christmas Day.

This tradition started when we were kids and my dad, who is a minister, would fall asleep right after we did the Santa gift thing (little did we know it was because he was up all night after the midnight service, setting up the Santa toys and putting them all together).

So now we do the Santa toys/stockings in the morning and have a nice breakfast...then play all day/prepare dinner. After dinner, we do 1/2 of the gifts and take a break for dessert and then finish off the gifts. We usually finish up around 8 pm or so. This makes the excitement of the gifts last all day!!

P.S. We're starting the x-mas eve jammies tradition this year. I had never heard of it, but it sounds like fun.

 

[pbharris4]

My family: We only opened presents Xmas morning. No presents would go under the tree until after midnight or everyone was asleep. My parents always did this no matter how old we were.

DH's family: Everyone would gather at his parent's house, eat Xmas Eve dinner (now at 2pm since they moved an hour away) and then open presents. They pick names. Adults exchange and then the kids exchange and the grandparents give something to everyone as well. Although I'm trying to get them to nake it a little more fun. We should pick a theme every year for the exchange..like this year it would be Pampering, next year it could be Food, then, Entertainment, then Sporty or Fitness, etc. it would help people in figuring out what to buy and you won't get the same white shirt and tie every year! Now I just have to sell the inlaws on it!

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

Another family that only opens on Christmas Day here. Christmas Eve is always spent at home, just our immediate family. Watching Christmas movies, listening to Christmas music, wrapping gifts. I always make either a large roast beef or ham early in the afternoon and have made a soup earlier in the week that I freeze. Dinner is always soup and sandwiches in front of a Christmas movie together. Just before the kids go to bed, they put thier gifts to others under the tree and leave Santa his cookies and milk.

I love the fact that, having seen nothing under the tree for about two weeks, Christmas morning looks AWESOME for them. We open gifts at home and then got o my in laws for brunch and gift exchanges. We have about two hours back at home in the afternoon before we go to my parents for dinner and gift exchange.

Oh, how I love the Holidays! Merry Christmas Dissers!

 

[WantToGoNow]

No PJ's for Christmas here. I will allow each child to pick one gift from under the tree to open on Christmas Eve -- I make sure the most anticipated gift is not there so that it will be saved for Christmas morning.

We will open gifts with my cousin's children the Saturday before Christmas at a little "party" at Chuck E Cheese. On Christmas Eve, we will go to the candlelight service at church and then go over to my brother-in-law's house and exchange our gifts with them. In the past we went to grandma's house in the afternoon of Christmas for this but grandma passed away in August and the Uncles want to do it on Christmas Eve. After we get home, the children will pick/open their one gift and then will head off for bed shortly after. Christmas morning, Santa's gifts/stockings will be sitting out unwrapped -- they will enjoy those for a while and then we will start opening the gifts under the tree. The children will go first, taking turns, then the adults. In the early afternoon, we will get together with the rest of the family for dinner and exchanging of gifts. Usually by the time we get home, it's nearing in on bedtime. We will have another Christmas dinner/exchange the weekend after Christmas with my step-mother's side of the family.