When I was little, my parents would put a few gifts under the tree to look festive, then Santa would come and leave a few wrapped (from Santa) and display the rest of our gifts around the tree. DH thinks that is weird, Santa always wrapped all of their presents. Then their mom would make them all open their gifts one by one, and opening gifts took forever. At my house we just found our piles and tore into them, and yelled "thank you", then got ready to go off to Grandma's house for lunch and more gifts.
Now that we have children, we are trying to come up with our own traditions. Did Santa wrap or display your gifts?
My parents always put out the presents from them, but then during the night they would always put out the rest of the presents that were "from Santa" and fill our stockings, and remove the cookies we left out for "him".
We always took turns opening gifts. :hohoho:
My parents only put certain things out unwrapped, if someone had a bike for Christmas that might not be wrapped but everything else was. My mom even wrapped most of the stuff in the stockings. 
There were 7 of us kids and we had to take turns unwrapping, it took forever to do it that way but we never went anywhere for Christmas so it drew the present thing out.
My husband's family just tore into stuff, they had family to go to and if they were staying home his mom had a big meal to cook.
We don't make people take turns really but we do hand stuff out to the kids.
Our biggest thing to compromise has been on how to spend the day. I'm an Army brat so we stayed home and my mother hardly ever cooked a meal, she'd get cold meats, cheeses, etc and put out cookies and cakes and we'd have at it. My husband's parents would either host a big dinner for the aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents or go to someone's house. We never spend Christmas with my family because my parents would kill me, they firmly believe that kids should be home on that day and we live 6 hours from them (my brother lives a 2 minute walk from them and they don't go see my parents), and we live by his so we're expected to go over there. I don't mind going to his parents too much (plus we just stay long enough to have a second Christmas morning), they don't have any other living kids and we had their only grandkids but I'm not a big fan of the larger gathering later in the day. Last year we went to the big gathering for just a little while and I did up a cold dinner and we were lazy the rest of the day. If his grandmother wasn't still alive I don't know that we'd go every year anyway or how many of the cousins would still gather. NO ONE in my husband's family even makes Christmas cookies, I still think that's just weird not to have at least a couple different kinds. 
at my house they were wrapped and we would open one by one generally. I am an only child so it didnt take forever.
At my DH house it was much like you described. Gifts from santa were unwrapped and displayed. They would pile all of their gifts and tear into them. Leave in a hurry for church or grandma's or whatever.
So we have been trying to figure out a tradition here too. We decided each child will have the santa gift unwrapped, but then we would take turns opening gifts (at least at our house or with my family) I want the kids to appreciate the gift and properly thank the person it is from. With my DH's family, I guess we do it their way.
when I was younger a few gifts would be under the tree before Christmas, from siblings and what not, then Christmas morning all the rest of the gifts would be wrapped from Santa and dad was in charge of handing out the gifts to everyone but we each tore into the gifts as soon as they were in our hands! Then it was off to someone else's house for dinner etc. My dh's family hands out one gift at a time and they ooh and aahh over it and then someone else gets a gift and we all ooh and ahh over that one .. since that is not how I was raised I didn't think it was that much fun, I think the combined yelling and screaming (all joy of course) and laughter is a lot more fun then all eyes on one person but that is just me .. my dh thinks Christmas around here when the nieces and nephews are around is just like a zoo .. I LOVE IT!
Every other year we fly down to GA and spend Christmas with my family and my alcoholic, pill-popping mother (she is a real treat). We do both of my grandparents' houses that day, and nobody ever has any plans for dinner that night and we are all starving! My daddy had a bowl of cereal for dinner the last Christmas we were down. 
So strange. Nobody wants to step up and cook, b/c they will get roped into it year after year!
at my house everything was wrapped, even some of the stuff in the stockings. I am an only child so we all opened our gifts one at a time. We each opened the stuff in our stockings, then we took turns opening gifts from under the tree, but the one opening the gift didn't get to pick out what they opening the other two had too! (yeah usually the big one was left until the last one)
now a tradition my mom did growing up I am glad I didn't have siblings that they did this with me....
There were 5 kids/2parents. Dad would wrap all of the presents, but wouldn't put ANY names on them. Each child... starting with the oldest to youngest would have to guess which present was for them... if they were wrong they had to wait until it came their time again... My grandpa had way to much free times (and a great memory at that)
at my house almost all the gifts from santa were unwrapped......sometimes there would be a couple wrapped but my mom found it difficult to keep separate wrapping paper only to use for Santa.....KWIM? So far with my 2 year old son Santa gifts are displayed.....
I love the big family dinners........we do my Mom's family on X-mas eve, and then my Mom does a Christmas breakfast (sets the dinning room table with china and we drink OJ from gobblets) I LOVE that tradition and so far have not been willing to give it up (my DH's parents live 6 hours north of us in Iowa) so I told my DH I will be happy to have Christmas dinner with them, but we are not leaving until after my Mom's x-mas breakfast!!!! (besides the kiddo can play with his new stuff in the car on the way up there!).....
Always wrapped with us. There were some Santa and some Mom and Dad and some Grandma (she lived with us). I am one of 3 girls and I can remeber the best part was lining up on the stairs with my sisters and going down at the same time so we could see the big piles (on good years) of gifts. To be honest there still is nothing I like to see better on Christmas morning than big piles of gifts wrapped in fun red and green paper. Even if thet're not all for me! I also love wrapping the gifts too. Stockings our parents never filled. They hang on the mantel (sp?) empty. Once or twice I filled them with little gifts for fun, but I don't bother anymore. As of right now my daughters don't even have stockings. I don't have anywhere to hang them where we live!
Our Santa gifts were always wrapped unless they were huge, like a bike or a wagon. Hubby's Santa gifts were always just out in the open. I would HATE that!! One look as soon as you enter the room and Christmas is OVER!! YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!
Also, our Santa didnt' come just on Christmas Eve. "Because he has so many presents", we were told, he had to leave some early. (Geesh, there were 6 of us.....she didn't have much room to hide gifts!!!)
BUT!!! She'd get a lot of mileage out of it! Gifts left on the front porch with footprints all around! If we didnt' clean our room, Santa came and took the gifts back. When the room got clean, the gift re-appeared!
And the wrapping paper was never a problem ..... she told us she had told Santa he could use some of her paper if he needed to!
As you look for new traditions, try this one. Our kids LUV it!! Set a pair of shoes coming out from the fireplace (or Santa's designated point of entrance) and sprinkle baking soda around them. Move the shoes as if Santa is walking and do it again. In the morning, the "magic snow" doesn't melt and you can see Santa's footprints on the carpet!
My husband's family always unwraps gifts one at a time while everyone watches. It not only takes forever, you have to really act happy for every gift no matter how weird it might be. We have only one son, so we did not have to wait for every child in our family. Our tradition was, we went to Mid Night Mass and while there, Santa would pass. Gifts were usually wrapped. We each got to open one gift and then head for bed. When we woke up, we would pile all gifts next to each person and open as slow or as fast as you wanted.
We had one gift from Santa and it was unwrapped. It was displayed with a stocking with fruit and nuts. How exciting huh? I still leave out an unwrapped gift from Santa and a stocking full of goodies not apples and walnuts. They did what they could.
Elle
We each got one gift from Santa which was not wrapped. Santa would also fill our stockings with candy, fruit, nuts and maybe a few small things (nothing expensive) We always liked it because the family presents would be wrapped and we couldn't open until Mom and Dad got up. So we would spend quite a while enjoying the Santa gift. We would take turns opening gifts later. Dh mom wrapped Santas gifts and wrote from Santa on it. That bugs me. We do it my way. It is SO worth it to see our little fella's face when he walks into the room! Santa usually leaves the best present.
I have decieded to always leave the big gift from santa unwrapped and in the front. one year when my DS was 5 all he wanted for christmas was a real tool box with real toys he did not care if he got anything else he just prayed and prayed for this tool box. my DH did not believe in giving it to him first so he had DS open all his other gifts first then told him he was done. DS had a lot of great gifts but he was heartbroken over not getting his tool box which ofcourse he did but dad was being a pain. it completley ruined christmas morning that year because he was dissapointed in every other gift and ended up in tears over his tool box ofcourse there was the big reveal at the end. but after that year I swore there main gift that they hoped for the most would be the first thing they saw when they came out of there room christmas morning.
We have both wrapped and unwrapped presents in our family. Our schedule depends on my DH's and DF's work. Some years we celebrate Christmas Eve and some are on Christmas Morning. If it happens to be Christmas Eve we eat diner with my folks and then send someone off with the kids to look at Christmas lights. While they are gone Santa drags presents from every hiding spot in and out of the house. Usually there is at least one gift to big to wrap so it is hidden behind the tree. When the kids come back someone then passes out presents and it is everyman for themselves. That leads to our traditional garbage dive because someone always throws something important away. 
We exchange gifts from each other on Christmas Eve then Santa gifts are under the tree Christmas morning waiting to be unwrapped! Everything is wrapped except for something large like bikes. I try to wrap my Santa gifts in one type of paper so I can try to keep it straight on which are Santa gifts and which aren't. I wrap everything because half the fun is unwrapping a gift! Everyone starts unwrapping as soon as they get a gift. Too hard to wait!!!
Santa wraps his gifts, since half the fun is unwrapping. Once or twice, when it was a largish gift, he put a big beautiful bow on it and had it all set up and ready to go, like a bicycle or a toy kitchen with all of the food and dishes. And Santa uses different paper, ever since our oldest was 3 or 4 and exclaimed, "look, mommy, Santa has the same wrapping paper we do!!" Oops! 
So DH and I smuggle home special wrapping paper, ribbon and tags, which we print out on the computer with the kids' names, since Santa isn't afraid of technology!
We have a tradition, long story where it came from, that on Christmas Eve, we are each allowed to open one present, but it is only one certain present. Everyone gets new Christmas jammies! It's silly, but fun and it wouldn't be Christmas without silly Christmas pajamas!
In the morning, we start out opening presents one at a time, but it doesn't always last. I like to savor the morning, the kids have different ideas!
I'm so excited!! Christmas is almost here!!
First off to the OP....great thread. It's fun reading how others celebrate.
Second....I'm not sure why Santa does it so different from house to house
At our house Santa gifts are wrapped. Funny thing is at my sisters Santa just leaves them out. We also open one gift at a time. It does take a while...but at DH family every one rips open at once and it's over right away. Buying, and wrapping take so long I hate it to be over right away.
Indydebi wrote
And the wrapping paper was never a problem ..... she told us she had told Santa he could use some of her paper if he needed to!
Your mother sure must have been quick on her feet to come up with this answer. I'm just gonna guess that you get your quick wit from her. 
Want to hear a weird/sad one? My FIL's parents were very religious and would go to mass on Christmas morning, and leave the kids to wake up and open their gifts on their own in their bedroom.
Want to hear a weird/sad one? My FIL's parents were very religious and would go to mass on Christmas morning, and leave the kids to wake up and open their gifts on their own in their bedroom.
Oh that is SO sad! I hope those kids created some great Christmas traditions of their own when they grew up!
My parents would put the gifts from them, my brother under the tree before Christmas. Christmas morning we would get up and Santa would have left each of us (just my brother and I) a pile of wrapped gifts - except for big things like bikes (which Santa used sheets to cover). Then we would get our stockings down and everything in there was wrapped too.
I remember one year, Santa left a trail of $1 bills rolled and tied with a ribbon from each our bedroom doors out to our pile of gifts! It was pretty cool!
I don't have kids yet, but I would probably wrap all their gifts if I did.
~Chelle
We put some wrapped gifts from us and from family under the tree before christmas....then on christmas eve after the kids have gone to bed I wrap santa gifts in different paper.....most are wrapped unless they are big items...or I run out of santa paper
I always make it a point to buy wrapping paper WITH my kids...then my husband will pick up different santa paper on his way home from work and keep it in the car til christmas eve so the kids never see it.....my oldest though now knows the trick seeing as he is the one I send out to the car to get the paper
my husband and his family like to do the one by one....it drives me nuts! just tear into it! I think with younger children it takes away from the christmas morning thrill! My mil comes over every christmas morning before the kids get up ...so there is santa, other gifts and hers....it takes WAY too long toopen one by one!
When I was growing up, we had some family gifts, then Santa would come and leave the mother load! All wrapped if Mama had paper enough to wrap it!
At my husbands house, they never did Santa. Christmas was about celebrating Jesus' birth, and being thankful that your family gave you gifts.
We are a Christian family, so when we had kids, we wanted the reason we are celebrating Christmas to be focused on that. Yet I still wanted to do Santa, but my husband, never doing it, definately didnt. So we had to come up with a compromise. Instead of Santa leaving gifts, all the gifts come from family who loves them, and Santa comes and leaves "bells" on the door. That way, there's still that "magic" that was there when I was little and loved so much, and my husband feels better because "A man that doesnt exist isnt leaving gifts for the kids, and they know that people who love them thought enough of them to give them something special." And it still puts the focus on what we want it to be.
Edited to add that it always kinda makes me chuckle to think that any other day of the year, a child could see someone breaking into their house in the middle of the night and they'd scream or go tell their parents. Christmas Eve, they see a strange fat man standing in their living room with a big sack, they smile and go pretend to be asleep!
We did the same as Cande. My DH's family (at his grandma's) does the one by one gift, in a circle. They call it the "Christmas Circus." At DH's parent's/sister's house we all open at the same time, and my BIL usually opens all his gifts in five seconds! He's a big kid, and it's great!
Growing up santo left some presents out like a bike or something but he always had some wrapped to like small little ones in the stocking..and my mom always left out the wrapping stuff for Santa to use if he needed any extra paper so he didn't have to keep lugging it up the chimney..lol We put out the one they really want from Santa the most unwrapped with the Stocking and all beside it...wow can't wait I have a 3 year old and 5 year old, boys, and they love all the Christmas decorations and songs..Rudolph oh we were still singing Rudolph in July...lol
we don't do Santa at our house. I'd tell you why but I don't want to get flamed.
Each child gets two gifts from us and then one from their brother or sister who has drawn their names on the first of December.
We have so many children that it takes a while to get through all the presents...one by one. 
mommachris
[quote="LadyDZA"] Instead of Santa leaving gifts, all the gifts come from family who loves them, and Santa comes and leaves "bells" on the door. That way, there's still that "magic" that was there when I was little and loved so much, and my husband feels better because "A man that doesnt exist isnt leaving gifts for the kids, and they know that people who love them thought enough of them to give them something special."
Ummm...what do you mean he doesn't exist? Are you people trying to tell me that Santa isn't real??? You must all be smoking cake flour as he is alive and well in my heart and always will be.
In our house, we celebrate both Christmas and Hannukah. For Hannukah the kids get small joke gifts each night. For Christmas the big guns come out. Christmas Eve my MIL buys EVERYONE (we're talking 50 people) matching pj's with our names on them. Everyone has to put them on for our Christmas Eve Open House Party. It is great fun, great pix and great memories. Santa ALWAYS wraps gifts in our house. The excitement is tearing open your gifts after trying to guess what it is. My husband and I exchange gifts the night before between the two of us after the kids are in bed. I keep Santa's paper in the attic and only use it for the kids gifts. I write nametags w/ my left hand so they can't figure out my writing.
Stockings are always hung by the chimney w/ care in hope that my hubby has put a diamond there...
[quote="thecupcakemom"]
Instead of Santa leaving gifts, all the gifts come from family who loves them, and Santa comes and leaves "bells" on the door. That way, there's still that "magic" that was there when I was little and loved so much, and my husband feels better because "A man that doesnt exist isnt leaving gifts for the kids, and they know that people who love them thought enough of them to give them something special."
Ummm...what do you mean he doesn't exist? Are you people trying to tell me that Santa isn't real??? You must all be smoking cake flour as he is alive and well in my heart and always will be.
Amen, sistah! My BIL told both his kids that Santa doesn't exist at a young age. He did this because he didn't have much money for gifts and thought it would be practical to shatter the magic for them. My kids believe because DH and I work hard to make it a special, magical time for them. When the oldest figured out about Santa, the magic didn't leave because she doesn't want to spoil it for her little brother and sister. She is now an accomplice! We have a saying that "Santa is real if you believe." I'm a grown up and while Santa doesn't leave presents for grown-ups, my kids make sure that I have a present from "Santa," each year.
Santa must have Jesus in his heart to be such a giving person. And we can't forget Jesus' birthday party on Christmas Eve, complete with birthday cake!
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