When Do You Open Gifts?

[RedAngie]

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.

 

[KristiMc]

New pj's get opened on Christmas Eve and then everything else in the morning. Now that the boys are teenagers it is not quite as early as it used to be.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Whenever we wake up Christmas day.

When I was a kid, i used to have a bed that collapsed for storage under another bed. I always found a way to crash it and wake my parents up early. HAHAHA!!

 

[Mizzoufan]

Around he crack of dawn.

 

[PollyannaMom]

We've always had a "one present on Christmas Eve" tradition, then the rest as soon as we're all up in the morning. (That's getting later and later now that DS is a teenager!)

We do the extended family exchange after "dinner" (around 1:30 or so) at MIL's house.

 

[Meriweather]

We do new pajamas on Christmas Eve and one present of choice.
Santa and stocking early Christmas morning while breakfast is cooking. Short break to finish that up.
Eat while opening the rest of the presents

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

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.

/QUOTE]

When the kids were little, we did one present (prewashed pjs) on Christmas Eve. Sometimes a 2nd present if mom was feeling generous and we had had no issues from the children for a few days. The rest were opened Christmas day. Our rule was if you are up before mom/dad, you could get into the stocking. Open whatever was in there, eat 2 pieces of candy. Stay away from teh tree/presents until mom/dad were up and coffee was brewed.

As they got older, we morphed into doing presents Christmas Eve, and mom/dad slept in. Not sure I like that though, it just makes me feel like something's missing.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

One gift (per person) is open Christmas Eve. All other Christmas gifts are open on Christmas.

The gift is always pajamas. Always.

Thanks, MIL, we miss you.

 

[mnrose]

Christmas Day...after the kids get up, which is later and later now that they are teens...thank God. I have no problems with sleeping in, having a leisurely cup of coffee, and THEN preparing for opening the presents. When they were little, they'd be up before 5! Which was inhuman.

 

[DisneyLover1217]

When the kids were young we opened them first thing Christmas morning, now we open them at midnight Christmas morning.

 

[wenrob]

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.

 

[MamaBelle4]

We open a gift christmas Eve (PJs, always. This year the girls have matching Elena nightgowns).
Christmas day DH and I get up around 5, enjoy a cup of coffee in front of the tree, then I can't stand waiting anymore and run into their rooms shouting that "SANTA CAME SANTA CAME!!!!" Cue stampede.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

From us/Santa to our kids? Christmas morning. Probably at 8am since the girls are up by 7am.

They'll get a bunch of gifts from my husband's side of the family Christmas eve and then some things from my extended family on Christmas afternoon.

 

[design_mom]

My kids are lucky enough to have both sets of grandparents in town, and healthy, and able to spoil them a little bit. (Nothing crazy, crazy... but they give them a nice Christmas.)

We celebrate and open gifts with my parents and my sister's family on Christmas Eve.
Christmas morning is Santa presents and presents from us at home. (I'd say gift opening usually starts around 8:30 these days.)
Christmas afternoon is with my husband's parents and sister's family.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Usually there is some kind of gift exchange Christmas Eve as we are with one side of the family or the other.
But our gifts to each other and the kids plus the Santa stuff is always Christmas morning.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

It's usually not until the afternoon these days. Nobody wants to wake up early. Sometimes not until the evening on Christmas Day.

Once my mother was in the hospital from about December 19 to New Year's Eve. We delayed everything until the first Sunday in January.

 

[tvguy]

My son got married this year, so we are doing Christmas with DS and DDIL Christmas Eve morning, then they will drive 400 miles to have their Christmas with her parents. That's fair. Last year they decided they wanted to have one more "Christmas with mom and dad and siblings", so DS was here, she was there, and we did another Christmas with her when she got back.
Our official Christmas still will be Christmas morning.

 

[Bilberry]

Almost always on Christmas morning.

Every once in awhile I can remember opening gifts on Christmas eve as a kid.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Hubby and I open ours from each other on Christmas Eve. Our kids open their stuff here on Christmas morning, whenever they get up, although they don't ever sleep past 8:00. (yes, teenagers). The ILs usually come here for that. Around 10;30 or so, we move on to hubby's aunt's house, where we have brunch with the whole family--ILs, hubby's brothers, sister, spouses and our nephew, along with his aunt's three kids, spouses and kids, grandma who is 90 this year, and whatever family friends are around. We do gifts there after we eat and the everyone moves on to the IL's house for more gifts, cookies, whatever appetizers or snacks, and then by 3:00 or 4:00, we're at grandma's house for more gifts and dinner.

 

[disneychrista]

Growing up we always got new Christmas PJ's that we could open Christmas Eve. Everything else was Christmas Morning.

With my kids they would would go with my Ex to his mom's Christmas eve and open gift there. Christmas morning was Santa gifts as soon as they woke me up. Then they could open my gifts to them after Christmas Breakfast.