Growing up Santa gifts were not wrapped. They were usually bigger gifts, but not always, and out on display with our stockings. I loved being able to see what was there waiting as my brother, cousins, and I all ran to our stuff and immediately got excited and played with everything! It was so much fun!!
Santa wrapped all of DH's gifts when he was growing up. He would find his stocking full of goodies, but everything else from Santa was wrapped under the tree with all the other gifts. Since we've been with DH's family so far every Christmas morning since we had kids (but won't be this year), this is what we've done (with a couple exceptions that were larger gifts). I do kinda like the idea of opening gifts from Santa, but still like the idea of them seeing what's out as they come into the living room.
What do you do? We're having Christmas morning at our house this year, and I'm torn on what to do. Ask Santa to wrap the gifts, or not? I'm thinking of doing a mix....having a few Santa gifts out with their stockings, unwrapped, but a few wrapped gifts under the tree. My oldest is 3.5 years, so this is the year I feel we should establish our tradition since he's getting old enough to really understand what's going on and maybe remember what happened the year before.
I didn't mention that I already bought special Santa paper that I've kept hidden for any wrapped Santa gifts. I'm thinking we'll do half/half, since I can't decide. My ODS has told Santa he wants 1 thing, so I'm thinking that will be out of the box ready to play with next to his stocking. Otherwise we'll have to stop everything to take it out of the box b/c I know he'll want to play with it immediately (a remote control Buzz Lightyear).
I like the idea of balloons everywhere!! That sounds like so much fun!!!
christmas eve we open all family presents. santa comes over night and fills stocking, they are NOT wrapped. santa brings one big thing (not litterally but cost wise and #1 on their list) and several smaller (less cost) items. i believe there is enough wrapping to do and santa was busy making toys and doesn't have time to wrap them all too! =0)
I guess is you have something really huge like a adult bike its not practical to wrap but my son is 2 1/2 years old and he LOVES unwrapping presents. I love to watch the look of anticipation on his face and then the expression of joy and realization as to what he got. I always thought all presents were wrapped...isn't that part of the fun?
Do both, kids love to open presents, especially ones from Santa. Leave big ones out and make some smaller ones from him, wrapped.
We always had wrapped gifts and so did DH's family. Aside from the big items, like bikes. I never knew another way, until my friend in another state told me thats how they did it, and she showed me a picture of her kids faces that she caught when they woke and saw the presents, it was priceless. I however still like the idea of wrapped gifts.
When I think back to my childhood I think of how much fun it was to tear into the paper. I now enjoy watching my children tear into the paper. I also think of how, my brother, sister and I would wake early and sneak downstairs before our parents were awake. Had the gifts been opened, my parents would have missed the surprise. So for me, I'm sticking to wrapped gifts.
Edit to Add:
FYI: Lynn M. our Santa always hid our bigger gifts. We had a screened in porch and after our little gifts were unwrapped, mom and dad would say oh wow, what is that on the porch....or one year we had a note they left for us we found after opening up gifts where to find the unwrapped big gift.
we wrap santa gifts in different paper than the rest of them and use different "santa" tags..im terrified of leaving gifts unwrapped for fear i wont get to see my kids faces when they first get up and see them!
In our house, we only got small things from Santa... the cheap stocking stuffers, candy, and fruit. 'Santa' also left the living room full of hundreds of helium balloons (my dad would rent a tank of helium, and we wouldn't be able to see the ceiling through them all. It was great!) It was only to keep us busy until our parents woke up so we could open presents. We never actually 'believed' in Santa, but my dad did the stockings out of tradition's sake...
I always wrapped Santa gifts, but it was more brilliant paper than what the rest of the gifts were wrapped with. If it was something big like bikes and such then of course no wrap. The kids would choose when to open the Santa gifts, some years they would tear into them first and other years they saved them for last. I always made the Santa gift the good thing that they had begged for....
Half the fun of the gifts is opening the wrap... so I say WRAP with special paper :)
We wrap all the gifts no matter who they are from. If just fun to unwrap presents.
In our house everything but what goes in the stocking gets wrapped. The exception will be this year with the snowshoes Santa is bringing. They will be difficult to wrap but they will go in the back of everything so they won't be the first thing the kids see.
I am in the same boat you are. My husband's family always wrapped Santa's gifts with none being from his mom and dad. Growing up, all of my Santa gifts were unwrapped with some wrapped gifts from mom and dad under the tree. Since this is the first year my son gets Santa, we are going to wrap some and leave the bigger gifts unwrapped.
i wrap a few.. and then leave the others posed around the room... i think kids like to open some gifts... and just not clothes.. a toy or two... the others left out is fine..
I wrap mine is Santa paper the stockings I don't think I will this year.I like to see them unwrap what "Santa" brought them instead of being unwrapped & they already know what it is
Santa's gift are never wrapped. they are all in "piles" for each kid out of boxes, etc.
All other gifts are wrapped.
Our Santa gifts were never wrapped and I don't wrap my kid's Santa gifts either. I actually thought about doing it this year but we got my little one one of those pop up tents with the tunnel attached, so I thought it should be set up for her. She's 3 too. :) My 9 year old is getting a stereo system and that will stay in the box, but not wrapped. I bought some "from Santa" ribbon at the Dollar Tree this year and will use that on the one thing they get from Santa. The rest is from mom/dad.
We do some of both. Bikes, scooters, anything too big to wrap - always from Santa. Stockings too. But I might wrap a couple things and put Santa on the tag. Always the wrapped gifts to my husband are from Mrs Claus.
I get the idea of having bigger/hard to wrap gifts left unwrapped from Santa. The down side to that is those are the bigger gifts and then nothing else is as good as that bike or scooter, etc.
Santa has always wrapped all of our gifts with the exception of the occasionally stocking stuffer.
Tearing gifts open is the FUN part :-) and you get to see the JOY / Shock on your kids Face ! LOL Do half and half - keep up with both families traditions!!
Merry Christmas !!!
Personally, I do not see why you could not to a half and half...:) This way you BOTH get to grow up with the same tradition that you loved as a child...:)
All big gifts from Santa should be unwrapped, IMO...and perhaps the smaller ones are wrapped--but have ALL Santa's gifts wrapped in the same paper that is completely different that the rest of the gifts...:) This is what we do.
Have a great time!!
Santa wraps everything except for bikes and sleds... that kind of thing. They get bows. Even some tiny gifts in the stocking get wrapped. I think it makes it more fun :)
everything that is wrapable gets wrapped. A bike??? Put a bi bow on it or something to present it as a gift. Some small things in stockings get wrapped, others not. You get to see what the others get when they open. We take turns and take our time. So moms and dads can see the kids' faces when they open something. Or other receivers as well.
We leave everything unwrapped. It's all set up under the tree ready to be plundered. I love the look of shock when the kids see what they asked for under the tree. I also love to watch them not know which way to go. :) Plus we try to reduce paper waste where we can.
we always leave the santa gifts unwrapped. There are usually only a couple of santa things. that way the kids know the wrapped stuff is from mom and dad and if there is a really lean year santa still comes but the kids understand why there is not as much under the tree. at our house it was understood that santa had millions of little kids to bring stuff to so how could he bring 10 things to one kid at our house? It makes it a lot easier in this economy. we have had the conversation many times in the past few years about cutting back at christmas. my grandkids also understand that santa has lots of kids to bring for and they know that daddy has been layed off for close to a year. they don't expect a lot for christmas but know santa will be leaving at least one thing for each of them.
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Not wrapped. When I was a kid they were wrapped but it is fun to distinguish Santa from us.....I guess the thing that may be different is he only brings one or two things (bigger), the rest is from us. I don't think it matters......
