Hi!
I have 3 young kids...oldest is 4 so just getting into Santa, etc. Just curious as to when you put Christmas presents under the tree? Do you put them under as soon as you get them from relatives, wrap yours, etc. or do you wait until they have gone to bed Christmas Eve so it really looks like Santa came? I have a small house so I don't have a place to really store the gifts. I'm also type A and want to wrap and put under the tree already! Was thinking of doing that and then saving the big gift for each kid and making it from Santa and putting that out Christmas Eve? What do you do? Thanks!
Great age to really cement this tradition.
We put out gifts under the tree now from family & us. Santa puts unwrapped gifts under the tree once the little ones have gone to bed.
In the past, Santa always gave the really cool, big gifts.
This year w/such a tight budget, the gifts won't be huge. Just fun, cool
inexpensive gifts they asked for.
If you have a toddler who explores.... you may just want to wait till Christmas eve to put stuff out. You can wrap it/label it and hide it
We put the presents from relatives and friends (the ones received in the mail, etc..) under the tree when we get them. The rest is for us to put out on Christmas Eve.... My best friend growing up had a different tradition: Her mom was from England, and their tradition was to ask St. Nick for ONE (or two) very special gifts. St. Nick would come to their rooms at night and place that one special gift at the foot of their beds. The rest of the presents were from family and friends. I always thought that was a great idea.....
If you're type A, wrap them up but just dont put under the tree till Christmas Eve. Do you know how tempting that is for a curious 4 year old to see and probably nag you until you open it. Don't do it.
Our family put up decorations and trees around the 18th and put gifts under tree on 24th
Sure, put them under the tree if you like whining, nagging, and begging to open them. That and curious babies who like to rip paper.
I used to wrap as I bought gifts then hide them in a big garbage bag or a big bag from a store in my closet. The kids never found them, then I would get them out after they were fast asleep on Christmas Eve. Until I had little ones I never realized how much noise wrapping could make. If you don't have room in your closet you could get a big box, like a toilet paper or paper towel case, from a store and place it in the garage and hide them there. Tape the box closed so you will know if curious little fingers have investigated.
When my kids were younger, WE DID NOT PUT OUT THE PRESENTS under the tree, until the last moment. When they were sleeping the night before Christmas day.
Why?
Because, if the presents were out, earlier than that... our kids would have a HARD time... NOT opening it or they would want to open it.
And it is very hard, for young children to "wait".... all the way until the 25th of December.
It is just too long to wait for little kids.
I get all my gifts wrapped when my kids are sleeping or at school.
Then I hide them.
We usually wait 'til the kids are sound asleep, then sneak the gifts under the tree. The kids know not to go to the tree until all the grown-ups are awake, so our Christmas morning goes something like "MOMMY WAKE UP!!!! DADDY!!!!MOOOOMMMMYYYY!!!!" at, like, 6AM. Then one adult goes upstairs to occupy the kids while we wake up all the other adults (usually grandparents, aunts and uncles who've slept over). When the adults are all in the living room (with cameras ready, of course), we let the kids loose. They come running down the stairs and we get to capture the looks on their faces when they see the pile of presents under the tree for the first time. It's priceless!
Then we go outside to see if the reindeer ate the bread we left out for them (yep, lots of crumbs left, those messy reindeer!) and check by the fireplace to see if Santa ate the cookies we left for him (yep, they're all gone...delicious!!)
We do this every year, even now, when my kids don't believe in Santa anymore. It's still magical to me - it's how we celebrated Christmas morning when I was a kid, and it's how I hope my kids will celebrate Christmas morning with THEIR kids someday!
Yes I have always wrapped and put presents under the tree, because Santa only filled the stockings, and brought one, big special gift for each child :)
I've always put everything under the tree except Santa gifts.
My daughters birthday happens to be 12/27 so a lot of family will send Christmas and birthday in the same box ( birthday is always in birthday paper) for convenience.
I have a separate area that houses her birthday gifts and is not in holiday decor.
It's fun seeing gifts appear under the tree often!!! My daughter used to keep a count of what was new every day or week. She turns 18 this year and has already checked out the tree!!!
At my house we do exactly what you are proposing. Family gifts go under the tree as soon as they arrive/are purchased so that I do not need to find other places to put them. The big present (Santa gift when they were younger) is put out after they go to bed Christmas eve so that they wake up to it Christmas morning. The same with stockings.
It works very well for us, but as young as your children are, you will need to establish rules about not touching the gifts. One friend of mine used to store hers near the tree in a playpen to discourage any "accidental" opening. You'll also want to be quite sure that you will know whose is whose even if the gift tags get popped off. I'd recommend color-coded wrapping paper, or discreetly put people's initials directly on the wrapping. Tags and bows are hard for little folk to resist playing with.
Also, if you have pets, especially cats, consider that boxes and bows are attractive playthings to them. My dog could care less, but the cat we used to have loved to pull bows off of packages and bat them around the room.
In my house, Santa did not wrap gifts. He's way to busy and because of that he's also very messy. My daughter knew that wrapped gifts were from/for family friends etc...My daughter loved that she was able to help choose and wrap gifts for others. Those went under the tree along with anything I personally got for her or she got for me. After she went to bed any Santa gifts would get tossed and wherever they landed is where they stayed. She loved getting up Christmas morning and finding things upside down or stuck in the branches of the tree. Usually Santa would bring one gift that she requested and a few just for fun things and a stuffed animal. I would also make sure that Santa left a milk ring and crumbs on the table, and outside I would leave bits of carrots and red peppers (DD insisted that reindeer love red peppers!). I thing I was more heartbroken than she was when she figured out the truth . I miss those messy Christmas mornings.
We wrap and put under as we get them. Santa only brings each kid one thing and its always un-wrapped with a big red bow!
It never occurred to me to put any gifts under the tree before Christmas Eve, after the kids were in bed. Now, I grew up in a Jewish family, so this was all new to me but my husband grew up with waking up on Christmas morning to find the gifts. I couldn't imagine keeping toddlers and pets away from gifts under the tree.
We put all the presents under the tree when they come, unless they're from Santa. Santa's presents get put out when she's sleeping Christmas Eve.
This is the first year that we have EVER had anything under the tree before Christmas. They all belong to my husband, mom, dad, and niece. NOTHING comes out for the kids until Christmas Eve after they are in bed.
My kids are 9, 7, and 5....they all still do Santa...so we love it!
With kids as young as yours you can expect them to see and want. Do you really want to fight with them for the rest of the month until it's finally time to open them? Or to finally think it's all resolved and you wake up to every present open, you fix them back up and the next morning they are all open again.
I would not put any gifts under the tree unless they were gifts the kids could not get in to. Like a super taped box that does not tell them what is inside.
The only things that go under the tree leading up to Christmas are gifts to others outside of our household. On Christmas the only gifts are from Santa to the kids. Things to the kids from us they just get as they arrive/as we pick them up while out, same with gifts between my husband and I. We stash Santa gifts out in the garage, we don't wrap anything at all. Since we do so much of our shopping online we have boxes coming all the time so a couple sitting in the garage "waiting until there is room in the recycle bin" doesn't make the kids the least bit suspicious LOL
We do what you mentioned towards the end. We put all the gifts out except one or two special gifts from Santa for each child. I have Santa paper that only his gifts are wrapped in and special name tags, too. We have hidden gifts in our closet behind clothes, in the attic and at my inlaws house.
Have a Merry Christmas! :)
When my children were little, I stored gifts in the far corner of the laundry room until after they were in bed on Christmas Eve; then I put them under the tree. This was because pretty packages just sitting around are very, very tempting!
My parents did that with my sister and me, too. It was exciting to come downstairs Christmas morning and see not only the bulgy Santa stockings but also the beautiful gifts under the tree!
Under the bed is another good place to hide surprises, or sometimes in the garage if there is a disregarded space. I've known people who hid presents in the house next door, and went over to get them on the 24th! You'd need very nice neighbors for that, though.
My older son and his wife put the packages under the tree right away, because their girls are now old enough to leave them alone (mostly). For Christmas Eve the girls all get new pajamas to wear.
I had a friend years ago who waited until the last minute to put the presents out because neither her husband nor her children were trustworthy! Before Christmas, however, there *were* beautifully wrapped gifts under the tree - all of them empty boxes. :^D
Store your presents at someone else's house. Let your kids have the Santa experience for as long as possible...they grow up so fast.
PS...Hope your husband plans a few surprises for you too...you sound like a Christmas lover.
In both my house growing up, and my family now:
Everything under the tree is from US (friends/family/etc.). So those go under whenever. Its typically ONE present from each.
Santa fills stockings / there are LOTS of presents from Santa. All wrapped.
How wonderful that you get to start your own tradition! :)
As with most things there's no "right" answer ... just what works best for you and your family.
I was born in Italy and grew up in South Africa so our tradition is a bit of a mix of things. Until my children started High School I'd buy them each an advent calendar that had a chocolate hidden behind a little window for every day from 1 to 24 December. It was a wonderful way to count the days until Santa arrived! :P
From the age of about 3, I started reading "The Night Before Christmas" to my children every Christmas Eve before bed. For as long as they believed in Santa, I'd wrap the presents when they were asleep and they'd only find them under the tree on Christmas morning. As they got older (and since we have a lot of family overseas) some presents came from relatives and they'd get put under the tree when they arrived. We'd clarify that these were from grandpa and grandma (for example) because "Santa can only carry a set number of gifts per child". "Santa's" presents would still only be found under the tree on Christmas morning.
Since Christmas is really hot in S.A. (height of summer!) my family tends to celebrate more on Xmas Eve than Xmas day (that way we can still indulge in our favourite food .... much more suited to a colder climate)! We now open our gifts on Christmas Eve ... we used to wait until midnight but now "cheat" and open them around 10 or 11pm!
I'm a bit sad that my "children" are all grown up now (nearly 20 & 17 years old respectively)! It's not quite as magical when they know that we're the ones buying the presents!
No matter how you decide to celebrate, just focus on love and fun! Merry Christmas everyone!!!
Gifts from me and other people were wrapped and put under the tree as they were acquired. It's normal for littluns to be curious and want to touch and shake packages. I let her handle them, just not unwrap them. Trying to guess what might be in them was part of the fun.
Gifts from Santa were never wrapped and got put under the tree after she was asleep Christmas Eve.
When I was a kid (and what I do with my kids) is presents NOT from Santa can go under there whenever (possibly with a gate around the tree so little ones can't go wreak havoc!) and Santa's presents show up Christmas Eve along with stocking stuffers.
We wrap gifts as we get them (label them well) and hide them until all kids are in bed on Christmas Eve.
Usually when I'm reading bedtime story, Hubby is putting things under the tree.
Kids must stay in their rooms (except to use the bathroom) until the sun is up Christmas morning.
Then we have a quick breakfast (and enjoy how pretty it all looks) before we start gift opening and tearing things apart.
My kids are a little older but I still don't put gifts out until the day before Christmas. I started that when my first was little. It was just too much temptation and I didn't want the fussing and whining to open "just 1 present". Also - we had a dog that chewed :) I still do this and we still have dogs that chew ! LOL ! I figure I can listen to it for 1 day. Then Christmas Eve after the kids are in bed out comes the Santa gifts - unwrapped.
Gifts from friends and family are wrapped and put under the tree and those gifts were opened Christmas morning. The kids were allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve -- no surprise, it was always a pair of new pajamas/nightgown :) Presents from Santa were placed on a section of the sofa or chair along with the filled Christmas stocking (with name on it) so they know which present(s) are theirs. After seeing Santa's presents, the other presents were opened, one at a time, and then we had breakfast.
We wrap our gifts and put out gifts from family as soon as the tree is up and decorated and gifts are wrapped (I actually put ours out tonight). In our family, Santa fills stockings with unwrapped gifts/treats on Christmas Eve and usually brings one, large, asked-for, unwrapped gift sitting next to the stockings (not under the tree).
I usually put gifts that are going to extended family and friends under the tree. Also, I give my girls pj's each year that they open on x-mas eve. All the others get put out after the kids go to bed on x-mas eve.
put everything under the tree except the stuff from santa. and the stuff from santa is only 1 or 2 things per kid and its not wrapped. just name tags.
All of my presents go under the tree before christmas, with the exception of the one santa gift for each child. That is wrapped it special (very nice) wrapping paper and set out front and center on Christmas eve after the kids have gone to bed.
I grew up with it the other way - my parents put out all the presents on xmas eve. I just hated the look of the empty, lonely tree with nothing underneath it. I love seeing my tree all lit up and decorated with all the presents sitting beautifully below it.
I see a lot of comments about kids and waiting/nagging to open presents. Not sure if it's a personality thing or what, but i spend most of december in my child hood seeking out the gifts that i knew were hidden somewhere and then peeking when I did find them. My kids are 7, 5, 3, and 2 and we have never had an issue with peeking, asking to open early, touching/unwrapping.
The only gifts that are under my tree are wrapped ones for other family members. My childrens do not go out until Christmas Eve. I usually wrap them as I get them that way if they would happen to find them they will not know what they are.
I have a very small house and very little places to hide them but I have had them in boxes in my bedroom closet and last year had them in boxes under a blanket at the foot of my bed. This year we got a new shed with lots of room and rafters so they are up there this year and will be from now on unless they find that spot.
