How Many Christmas Presents Do You Label from Santa Vs. Mommy and Daddy?

C.,
I have always told my kids (as I was told) as long as you believe in Santa, you will still receive gifts from Santa. We wrap a couple of gifts from Santa, and the rest from Mom and Dad. (my boys are 9 and 16). That way, if we are having a tough year financially - we could explain that we don't have a lot of money this year (but they still get something from Santa). I wrap the Santa gifts in special "Santa" paper, and use different name tags also. I do not give Santa credit for all to best gifts either. I want my kids to know that Mom & Dad want to do something special for them at this wonderful time of year.
Good luck and enjoy the magic of Santa with them as long as you can...

We open family gifts x-mas eve...so the only gifts udner the tree in the am are from Santa. I split them evenly. My kids are 4.5 and 14 mos. Each gets a "big" gift from mom and dad and a "big" gift from Santa and several smaller gifts. I think each are getting about 4 from us and 4 from Santa. I wrap all Santa gifts in special santa paper (which helps me remember what is what).

We have a 21 month old. Last year, she was only 9 months so we didn't worry about it, we just put them all under the tree.

This year, we got her a dollhouse and a bunch of littler toys. The littler stuff is going to be from us and is already wrapped under the tree. The dollhouse and the stocking will be brought out after she goes to bed and will be from Santa.

When I was growing up, the little stuff & small toys were always from Mom & Dad and the stocking & "big things" (i.e. the expensive or larger item or items - the things I "asked" Santa for when we went to see him) were always from Santa.

Good morning, C.! I know santa is a huge "part" of Christmas, but this is not what Christmas is all about. Personally, I grew up without "santa" simply because I knew that santa-gifts did not really come from "santa"..he was simply a man dressed in red. Christ is the real reason for Christmas, and the gifts under the tree say what is true..from mommy and daddy! We have just as much fun in the spirit of Christmas without downplaying what is real. There's a time when kids get too old for "santa"..doesn't that tell you something? You never get too old for Christ!God bless, and Merry Christmas!

We try to avoid anything Santa in our house. So, all tags are from "someone" not Santa. I even avoid buying wrapping paper etc with Santa on it.
Merry Christmas!!!

C.,

When I write the kids names on presents I use a pemanent marker and write directly on the wrapping paper. There is no issue here as to who something is from. We try to play down Santa. When my kids ask if he is real, I just smile and shrug my shoulders. Really Jesus is the reason for the season and that is pretty magicial in itself if you ask me!

Since their first Christmases we've always told our kids that Santa isn't real so, all are from mom and dad.

Our kids know that Santa isn't real too, so this isn't an issue and there is never any disappointment when they find out the truth.

Hi C.,
My husband and I give our girls two gifts each, they get one from their sisters, and then their stocking is filled with little things from Santa (markers, candy, etc). They love opening their gifts from us in the evening and then have their stockings to look forward to in the morning!
Whatever you do, your kids will love it. I hope this Christmas is a blessed one for you and your family.

When my kids were little we had very little money. We carried out my holiday tradition from childhood. Santa did not wrap gifts he just left them under the tree unwraped This gave my parents a few more minutes of sleep as my sister and I checked out what santa brought. With my kids we would wrap what we had paper for and Santa btought the rest. Santa usually brought a major toy. Good Luck.

A.

I do a few gifts that are from Santa under the tree along with small gifts in their stockings and I take my kids to see Santa every year at the mall or we write a letter to Santa so I know which things they specifically asked him for. I always wrap Santa gifts in plain red paper and write their names on them with a black marker trying not to make it look like my handwriting. If it is a big gift I leave it unwrapped. My older son who is 17 still gets gifts from Santa also. I even gave him Santa gifts when he was 14 and the only child. We just used to laugh and tell him that Santa only comes as long as you still believe. It was just our family joke because he figured it out at 6 years old.

Whatever you decide....have fun!!

I have 4 children 3 of which are 6. Santa usually only gives 1 or two presents each. Usually one that they have been asking for. Also, Santa does not wrap presents. They are just set in front of the tree and since they are the gifts each child has been asking for they know who it belongs to.

We give one gift from Santa in distinctive wrap and the rest are from us. That way, they don't get everything they dream of because Santa only chooses one big ticket item and the rest Mom and Dad have to get.

Merry Christmas!
C.

Hi! The way we do it here (7 3/4 & 9 yr old girls) is they get their "main" (biggest, most awesome) gift from Santa. It is unwrapped and under the tree. We wrap and tag the rest from us. I started this so if we ever were having hard times, they would still get the Santa gift, and could understand us having hard times. I also do not wrap it, so I do not have to worry about them seeing the same wrap in the house. I am glad I have done this because this year is really tight, and they are getting less than they normally would, so they will not be thinking they were bad or Santa is not good. I figure when they know about Santa, they will know the gifts were from us anyway. Merry Christmas!
T.

My kids are 11, 6 and 1. What we do is they get to open one gift on Christmas Eve from us (it's always a new pair of pajamas that are already washed and ready to wear that night) and then on Christmas morning all the boring stuff (clothes, hats, mittens, etc.(which is also already washed and ready to wear, just in case they want to wear them that day when we travel)) is from us and all of the fun stuff (toys, books, etc.) are from Santa along with the stockings!!! This is what was done when I was a child minus the pajamas, that is something new that my husband and I have started on our own!!! Good Luck on whatever you decide!!

This is how I was raised and I carried the tradition onto my son. There was one big item (the more expensive item) that came from Santa. It would be under the tree and unwrapped and did not have a label. Everything else was wrapped and came from me.

My kids are 3 and 5, and I was struggling with the same question for this year. What we have decided is this.... My husband is dressing up like Santa and "visiting" us all on Christmas Eve. We will have friends over too, so they won't notice his absence (if they do, we'll say he ran to the store for milk). Santa will personally hand each child 2 wrapped gifts from his bag. After they are asleep, Santa will fill their stockings. The rest of the gifts will appear under the tree and will be from Mom and Dad (although I am not going to state that, I'll just put who it is to, not from).

We do three gifts from St. Nicholas/Santa which represents
the gifts from the three wisemen when Christ was born.
The other few gifts are from mom and dad and relatives.
We have never wrapped the gifts from St. Nick. but this year my son wanted to know if he could ask St. Nick that his gifts be wrapped so I thought sure that would be fine.
So now I will be busy wrapping.
Happy Holidays.
M.

A few from Santa, but the REALLY good ones are from Mommy & Daddy!

I feel a good rule is, 3 gifts from Santa to represent the three wise men. That way, both stories are covered. Its important even at a young age to read the Christmas Story to your children. The magic of Santa is also important as long as it teaches the child the importance of giving. Santa always brought to my family the surprise special gifts. I overheard my daughter tell her cousin that , yes , there was a Santa. Her Mom couldn't afford all those good gifts! We open our gifts Christmas Eve and Santa comes Christmas morning. I hope this helps you.

I am selfish and want the good presents to come from my husband and I. Why should Santa get all the glory? We let our son ask for 3 things on his letter to Santa and we buy 2, depending on the price. We also fill his stocking with really great goodies. The rest are from us and we put most of them, but not all, out a few days before Christmas. My mom still likes to tell the grandkids that Santa still comes to her house too, so sometimes he takes that 3rd gift over to her house.

C.,

We put one from mom and dad and the rest from Santa. This is the way it was always done in both my husband and my childhood. I love to see the magic and excitement of believing in Santa. They are only kids once and why not have that magic and excitment and fantasy. They grow up soon enough and know that yes, mom and dad bought all those gifts and yes mom and dad loved them enough to give them that gift of being able to believe. I do not feel this takes away from Jesus, or the reason for the season. We make cards and cookies for the elderly people in homes. We deliver baskets to the poor and we adopt a couple people that are less fortunate. There are many ways to celebrate and I don't think any are wrong.

Merry Christmas
R.

My daughter is 4, and we have much to my husband's disgust always had one from us too. Last year, we gave it to her on Christmas Eve that way it helped reduce some of the I can't sleep I am so excited issues, plus it really seperated what came from us versus Santa. Her big gift has always been from Santa. However, now I regret that from the one on her 2nd Christmas because my husband made her an amazing doll cradle, since then his homemade stuff has been saved for her birthday which is two months later. However, now she says "isn't that amazing how Daddy and Santa both used the same special wood that matches my bedroom". So as long as the special gift can't be tied to you somehow then I would say let it be from Santa and just do one gift from the two of you. I figured it this way, she and her Dad get me one gift, and she and I get her Dad one gift so her Dad and I get her one gift.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Since we are Christians, I wanted Christmas to be about Jesus, not the gifts and Santa. However we let the children ask for one gift from Santa. I also put a $ limit on it as he needs to buy for so many children that need gifts more than we do. Then the rest came from family and Mom and Dad. At age 10, my kids started playing "Santa" by buying for Toys for Tots or a needy family through church. I think the big ticket item or special gift should come from the most special people...Mom and Dad.

Hi C.---I never remember getting presents from mom and dad for Christmas. I don't think it was ever an issue. I am the oldest of 6 kids and EVERY Christmas, Santa came while we were gone at our Christmas Eve church services. We'd always go driving after church to look at Christmas lights and when we came home, Santa had come. There were ALWAYS 6 neat piles of gifts, all of them recognizable as to who the belonged to. None of them were wrapped and it was magical.

I'm pretty sure there was no way my mom was going to wrap for 6 kids +. And I don't remember when that tradition ended but I thought it was great.

Maybe have one nice present from mom and dad and the rest can be from Santa.

Merry Christmas!!! D.

Hi C.,
We had one bigger gift from Santa..didn't have to be the biggest, but that way I could wrap gifts and not have to hide them all and worry about them finding some with their names on. Also, another good reason is, if you want to start giving gifts of "time spent with you", gifts to build a relationship spending time together...you can give those types of gifts (written and wrapped and put under the tree)..which is a great thing to do when the kids are older...or if you just want to teach the kids that spending time together is important to you. I also taught my kids that we need balance and we also would spend time helping others..at rescue mission or surprising someone unexpectedly with something special..or dropping off food to someone in need. If everything comes from Santa there is little room to teach about giving. Kids need to learn at a young age so they will have a giving heart later. I know I said more than what you asked for but thought this info might benefit also.
Blessings,
C.

we still see santa at the mall, and make him cookies, but I don't put his name on any gifts. My parents didn't do it, and I still believed in santa longer than my friends. I don't put who anything is from for the kids, just who it is to.

I think you'll find it doesn't matter. They won't look past who it is for. Once they see their name, they will tear it open and won't remember who it is from anyway. Just enjoy it while it lasts!

~L.

I usually do about half and half. If it is a gift they have been asking santa for then I say label that one from santa, even if it is a really cool gift. That will help keep that Christmas spirit and belief in Santa. If it is a cool gift that you know they want, but did not ask Santa for it then take all the credit.

This is something I have thought about the last few days and have decided that my boys (aged 3 and almost 6) only asked Santa for 2 things each so I'll give Santa the credit for those 2 things, and Mom and Dad get the credit for the other few that we bought. It's a tough one but I want to keep the Santa thing going for as long as possible, it's such a magical time for them, to me it really doesn't matter who gets the credit for what but I want them to believe Santa really got the letter they sent and listened to what they wanted.
Whatever you decide have a wonderful Christmas.

When I was growing up, Santa never wrapped his gifts...that's how we knew they were from him. And they were never under the tree ahead of time...they magically appeared sometime between when we went to bed at night and when we woke up in the morning. We are starting the same tradition with our daughter. As for how many from Santa and how many from us...Santa is giving her most of the fun stuff. Mom and Dad are giving her the smart wool socks and layers for playing outdoors.

C. ~
I think that you will find that everyone does it a little different. I did some of the biggest things from Santa. But a fun thing my parents did, and I also carried out, was to have stuff from other people... Mrs. Claus gave stuff like pajamas, socks, mittens. Rudolf & Frosty usually gave something, maybe a game or something small. And our dog & cats gave something. Just a little fun! We always wrapped everything. Some kids catch on, so you need separate paper for gifts from Santa, and write differently. My son never caught on, even though he was always really smart, but I don't think he over-analyzed it! LOL
D.

Im not sure if this will help but... as my kids got older and in school questions came up about why so and so got more or less than they did. I came up with this...
Parents have to pay the elves and Santa to make the toys. Parents can only give what they can afford. Some kids get more but all in all Santa and families work together to give the kids gifts.

I usually do half and half. Why should Santa get all the credit? lol

We had all of the toys come from Santa when they were little. Mom and Dad only gave the kids boring stuff like socks, underwear, clothes and pjs. It was not really a big difference because they were so excited about so many toys that they didn't care. Also, we never put presents under the tree before Christmas so no one would peek. Therefore, we could claim Santa brought all of the toys. Just a future hint, when your kids get older and you want to keep the magic of Santa for the younger ones, remind the older kids that parents only give the boring stuff. Santa brings the good stuff. I was amazed at how long that kept them from telling the younger ones that there is no "Santa".

Hi C., you will have to do what works for your family and also bear in mind what your children will be hearing from other kids and adults as they grow older. If all the gifts come from Santa then you have no leeway for when times are tough for you financially. Also, how do you explain why does Santa give all the toys to your children and not to the homeless or less fortunate kids? It's a fine line. Santa puts toys in my daughters stocking (unwrapped at the moment)and the majority of the gifts are from my husband and I (under the tree). The wrapped gifts are labelled who they are from so that she will be able to say thankyou to the appropriate people. Christmas is about many many things and if you are religious than definitely incorporate your beliefs into your gift giving but don't allow anyone to make you feel guilty about Santa or gift giving.

Merry Christmas! (I'm too excited to sleep!)

Hi C.,

We don't give tons of gifts at Christmas, usually one from Mom and Dad and a few from Santa...trying to keep our kids from expecting tons of gifts. But...we do fun things, like label one gift from Santa, one from the reindeer, one from the elves, etc. Then there is just one from us, too, and one from Grammy and one from each other...maybe your husband will compromise with one gift from the two of you for each boy.

We usually use "santa paper" for the santa package for each boy, and use other papers without Santa on it for the others from us,usually the most spectacular of what we got (this year being Spike the Ultrasaur" and then fill the stocking from Santa. Our Pastor never did the santa thing with his children but he says now that he regrets it because we weren't sure how to do the Santa thing either, but while they are little we will do it. Kids are forced to grow up too fast these days, we will let them have the magic until they are big enough to know better.
Good Luck!
C.

We really mix it up, I don't pay too much attention. I do make sure that some are from Mom and Dad, since there is a point when they will start asking, which one is from you Mom and you don't want to have to answer that question, if they can read and they are all marked Santa. "I didn't get you anything", I don't think so. Get 2 cool gifts(they don't have to be expensive) and mark one each way. Or put the only really cool gift from Jesus, or leave it blank and when they ask who it is from, say it must be from Jesus.

But then you get into the whole issue of the fact that Jesus already gave us a gift.

It won't matter until they are a little older and then only for a year or two before they find out that it's all you anyway.

santa gave our girls the really "really cool gifts", they got 3 or 4 gifts from santa and about 3 from mom and dad. i did it that way because i am always saying put it on your list, and she associates her list to santa.

At my house, Santa brings one present and Mom gets cred for the rest lol