When Do You Open Gifts?

[bethbuchall]

We always opened one gift on Christmas Eve. Then we open stockings as soon as everyone is up on Christmas morning. There was always an early riser or two who would usually watch a little tv or read a bit until they couldn't wait to start waking the rest of us. My kids even did this as they got older, so Christmas morning generally started by 6:30 am. We have breakfast after stockings (home made cinnamon rolls, fruit, etc) and then unwrap the presents under the tree. Neither set of grandparents lives in town. We'd visit them at some point during the holidays and exchange gifts with them.

Last year, my oldest and his wife were at his in-laws for early Christmas morning, so we waited until they came over to start the unwrapping. I think it was around 9:30 or so. This year, he has to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so he and his wife won't be in town until the 26th. For the first time, my daughter also won't be in town until the 26th. Santa will still come Christmas Eve, and my youngest (a senior in high school), my husband, and I will have our traditional Christmas morning--it will just be a bit quieter and smaller. Then we'll celebrate with the "big kids" on Monday and Tuesday. My son and his wife have Christmas plans with her family on the 26th, so it depends on whether they get here early enough to exchange gifts before they head over there. Our "Christmas dinner" will be Tuesday.

So, even though we have our traditions, we've learned to be flexible in the actual celebration. It's easier on everyone that way!

 

[Hikergirl]

My kids open PJs on Christmas Eve. They used to get an ornament too, but now I give them that when we put up the tree instead. The rest of the presents get opened Christmas morning, and my youngest (13) still gets up early and wakes everyone else up. I pop the breakfast casseroles in the oven and after gifts are open and played with a little we eat.

 

[DisAuntie]

Everything is opened Christmas Eve. Stockings are opened after Christmas Eve church service.

 

[dotfurio]

Family presents are opened on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning the stockings are full and the Santa presents are sitting out.

My mom said her parents used to open all gifts Christmas Eve, including Santa's. They would go to an evening church service and when they returned home Santa had been there.

 

[ronandannette]

We open them whenever we are with who ever it is that gives us the gift. We usually get together with a whole bunch of different groups during the season and most people seem to like to have the gift opened in front of them. Gifts are really only incidental to our Christmas celebrations so doing it that way is fine. We'll be at our own home alone on Christmas morning, which is something we've only ever done once before in 20 years; we've got no routine for it. We will have a few gifts wrapped (although some never made it that far ) so I imagine we'll open them as soon as DS gets up, before leaving in the afternoon to meet friends for dinner.

 

[aristocatz]

This year, Hanukkah falls on Christmas Eve. My kids will open their present from their grandparents tomorrow night. They will open everything else Christmas morning, early, soon after they wake up. Due to the timing of the two holidays, we won't do one present each night for Hanukkah. We will do our other Hanukkah traditions for the next several nights after, but the additional presents just seems like overkill this year.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Midnight on Christmas Eve with family.

Santa and our gifts Christmas morning.

My kids no longer believe in Santa so we may open gifts when we get back home Christmas Eve around 2-3 am. Then we can sleep in otherwise my kids will get up at 6 am to open gifts. I will put the gifts under the tree before we head out to family's house.

 

[AustinTink]

Early Christmas morning. Very early. Too early.

 

[Canooknic]

My kids are hilarious, every morning they wake up at 5:55 and are asking for breakfast by 6:15 but for some reason on Christmas morning they have made a "deal" with us that we have to get up at 7...and they think it's a really great deal?!?!
They open their Santa gifts, then we have breakfast and then the rest of the gifts are opened when they're ready during the morning. It's all very laid-back, not like when I was a kid and me & siblings were up at 3-4am ripping through gifts!

 

[runwad]

We have 2 Christmas Mornings. Christmas Eve we get up and open our gifts from each other. I found that the kids, when they were real young, were more appreciative of what their siblings either made or got for them when that was the only gift they were getting. They always gave us, parents, their gifts they made for us too that morning.

Christmas Morning we get up at the butt crack of dawn, still and my kids are older teenagers! I'm the one that they are always bugging to get up. And we open "Santa" gifts and my husband and I's gifts to each other; since for some reason, Santa never brings us anything.

 

[texaslover]

When my girls were very young, up until about mid high school, opening gifts was done early Christmas morning. Then it was next to impossible to wake them up before noon on Christmas, so we did the Santa bit in the early afternoon.

Eventually it evolved, where it remains to this day, of opening gifts after Christmas dinner.

I heard that some of my relatives opened gifts from parents and family on Christmas Eve, then there were Santa gifts on Christmas Day.

This year, due to scheduling, we're waiting until Tuesday the 27 or Wednesday the 28.

I'm divorced so my son (18) comes with his stepdad and I to my parents on xmas eve. We go to early service and make apps and play games after. My brother and I usually stay up and have some whiskey and put together Santa toys which I will really miss when my nephew grows out of it (he is third grade and almost there). We wake up early on Xmas morning and look through stockings and Santa gifts then throw together pre-prepared stuff for brunch. We spend the rest of the morning opening gifts and enjoying time together. My son usually leaves with his dad around 11 to spend the day with him and my husband and I drive to his parent's house around 1 and have their Xmas meal at 5 or so.

 

[Poohforyou]

We open gifts Christmas morning. Dd can open her stocking whenever she gets up but has to wait for everyone to be up and ready before anything else gets opened. She's 17 now so we'll probably be waiting for her to get up like the past few years.

Santa always makes a 2nd stop before bed Christmas night and leaves dd one last gift. It's always something to settle down with after all the excitement - stuffed animal, book or DVD. Even at 17 I imagine he'll still do that.

 

[Tinijocaro]

When I was a kid we had a tradition of opening one gift Christmas Eve and the rest Christmas Morning. Somewhere along the way we kids decided the one gift would be from either my grandmother or step bro's grandmother. Both were exciting in their own way, my grandma's was always a box filled with stuff while step grandma's was very elaborately wrapped with an extra treat in the ribbons. We'd agonize for days which it would be that year then we would open the other grandma's first the next morning.

We've kind of carried that on with our kids except it's always the gift from DH's Aunt. They always get jammies, and a themed gift as well. Usually it's something to do that evening. This year it's board games.

DH and I get our coffee before anyone gets up. Meanwhile the young ones hassle their big sis until we give in and let them come down. Stockings first, a small break while they play with that stuff and eat candy for breakfast and then presents.

What board games, if I may ask?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We always opened one gift on Christmas Eve - and it was always new PJs.

Christmas morning we opened one gift (well, we did our stockings) before breakfast, ate breakfast, and did the rest. Unless it was Sunday. Then one gift before church, then lunch, then gifts.

After marriage - did gifts Christmas Eve with husband's family , and did gifts Christmas day with my family .

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We get together with my family Christmas Eve and that is when we open all of our gifts now. My dd's are 20 and 25.

Christmas Day is spent chilling at home most yrs.

We do not get together with dh's family any longer for Christmas since his mom's passing a few yrs ago. When she was alive we would get together after Christmas Day or sometimes we would visit with just her on Christmas Day.

 

[wenrob]

What board games, if I may ask?

We have most common ones so I kind of have step outside of the box. I realized we don't have Chinese Checkers so I got oldest DD a real nice set made of wood that has drawers for the marbles. My grandmother taught all the grandkids and most great grandkids to play but by the time my younger two were old enough she had dementia. She passed in January so I thought it would be nice for DD to teach her sibs. I got younger DD a Simon Air and DS some kind of Pokémon trainer box thing. None of that is probably helpful but it fits my kids. Trouble, Yahtzee and UNO are pretty popular in my house.

 

[kmb584]

If my daughter had her way, it'd be in bed at 9 pm and wide awake to open presents at 12 midnight. Santa is still typically placing the gifts out then, and unbeknownst to her hastily wrapping the ones that were forgotten, so I've made it clear over the years that she can't come out of her bedroom until 7 am.

 

[Aliceacc]

It's kind of a marathon with us.

We've always opened the kids' gifts to each other on Christmas Eve afternoon. That way, the cheaper gifts they got each other (from the dollar store when they were young) weren't overshadowed by the bigger Santa stuff. And the PJs we got them were ready to wear Christmas Eve night.

Then, tonight, we're at my sister's. They'll open gifts from their aunts and uncles and from my mom.

Tomorrow it's the Santa stuff. It used to be before dawn, but all 3 are teenagers now so it's a bit later-- say 9 or 10 am. At that point, we also include the stuff from my husband's brother and sister, which have arrived in the mail over the past week or so.

Then tomorrow night, we have dessert with a family friend and her family, and it's one more gift.

 

[MrsDuck]

DH and I open whenenver we get up which is typically early. We do gifts w/ my parents in the evening.