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Honeys_Mom · Mod & Permanent Board Sweetheart

CHRISTMAS GIFTS: Open Christmas Day or Before?

just Czech · Give Me Grand's!

We take all the gifts over to DD's house on Christmas morning. That is were the party starts!!
We then come back to our house and have Christmas dinner.
This year is up for grabs yet. DS did say they would probably be here on Christmas Eve and Christmas day since her family does Christmas on a different day. Keeping my fingers crossed that we get everyone here for the whole shebang!
My favorite time of the YEAR!!

Divine Geek · Guru

I voted other

In the past, it's been 1 gift on Christmas Eve, then immediate family Christmas Day and go to grandma's Christmas evening for the extended family.

Last year, 1 gift on Christmas Eve. Stockings on Christmas Day. Immediate family the afternoon of the 26th, then the extended family came here (last year was our first Christmas without grandma)

This year, I have no clue. My sister is talking about not coming until later on Christmas Day. I have to work on the 26th. And at least 1 of my cousins doesn't think they will be able to come at all.

I also said other because if I get a gift from a friend or coworker I will usually open it the. While we are together.

Vette · Owl drink to that!

We've always done one gift Christmas eve and the rest on Christmas day

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

I wait until Christmas morning. It just about kills Dd.

Even my SS gift! the kids drool over it and are always so surprised at what I get.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Christmas morning.

Our tradition is to gather in the den or living room, which ever is where we do it that year. Have a brief talk about the real reason of Christmas. We say a happy birthday prayer and then dive in.

Then dad makes pancakes.

We have done this since I can remember. Even when my brother and I are not here on Christmas, we do the same thing.

Honeys_Mom · Mod & Permanent Board Sweetheart

I like the idea of saving our SS gifts for Christmas day, though I've been in the "open them sooner" crowd in the past. It just sounds like more fun to me to wait. smile

For the rest, my life has been in an uproar for too long to have real tradition to share. That's going to change this year.

ed11563 · Guru

Grinch here, no Christmas in my house.

Honeys_Mom · Mod & Permanent Board Sweetheart

ed11563 wrote:
Grinch here, no Christmas in my house.

You're not a grinch - you're a kind, faithful and compassionate man.

aergia · Regular

like Honey said kind, faithful and compassionate man.

aergia · Regular

I open gifts if there is a major celebratory time, that is whenever the friends and or family gather. My dd and my sil will not be here either the day or the eve, likely the 26th or so. That's when I will open presents with them.
I dont really do a lot of friend exchanges. Work friends do the Secret Santa thing and most of my other friends do not celebrate Christmas.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

ed11563 wrote:
Grinch here, no Christmas in my house.

No. You celebrate Hanukah.

at least I assume you do.

FNW · Guru

When I lived alone my parents would drive out they would bring my gifts with them. Early, sometimes October or November and would leave them in the guest room closet for me to put under my tree after I put the tree up. I would then open one each night from Thanksgiving to Christmas...each day my co-workers would ask what I got. I said I was celebrating Hanukkah by opening a gift a night.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Well, there are very gifts. My sons will be getting their new upgraded smart phones. DD is getting a laptop . And, then they might get a few other things like some clothes. Soooo, not much to open, lol.

Vette · Owl drink to that!

I would rather have a bunch of little gifts to open than one high end gift, it's more fun! But I basically buy all my own big stuff. Granted, I'm not a kid :p

Tangerine · Guru

We have a great "system" worked out where we have dinner and open gifts with Husband's family on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning Bunny gets his Santa presents, then we have lunch and presents with my parents and dinner with Husband's grandparents.
We all live pretty close together, so it's not as much running around as it sounds.

-- Edited by Tangerine on Sunday 26th of October 2014 02:57:44 PM

Tignanello · My dog name is, Sasha!

Traditionally we have done everything Christmas morning/day. But, in the last 10 years or so we've had to wait to be all together, so I think this year Christmas morning will take place in January....

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

When I was growing up we opened all our gifts to each other, mom and dad would give us the boring gifts like clothes, on Christmas Eve. Then on Christmas morning Santa came. When I got married I wanted to change up everything so now we open all our gifts Christmas morning. Even though it might not be Christmas with DH being gone. We pick a day that's OUR Christmas and treat it like Christmas. I usually will make some kind of small breakfast buffet. Coffee cake and stuff. We let the kids nibble and do a late dinner.

ed11563 · Guru

lilyofcourse wrote:
ed11563 wrote:
Grinch here, no Christmas in my house.

No. You celebrate Hanukah.
at least I assume you do.

Yes.

Due to pack-rat / hoarder problems, we've switched from giving (and receiving) wrapable presents, to dinner as a family for almost every occasion.

That means more once the kids are out of the house. So it's dinner (or lunch) followed by a family board game.

DS has some friends who create and sell interesting games. Our latest one is "Deadwood Studios".

ladyloonatic · Regular

Granted, having "separate families" (ie, His family, Her family, Our family) means one has to make accommodations, but in theory, Santa brings the presents on Christmas Eve, so one can't open them until at least Christmas morning. That's what we always did. Immediate family first thing in the morning, then we gathered with extended family around noon.

ladyloonatic · Regular

A family meal and game night sounds fun! Especially as the family gets older.

Renegade Time Lord · Am I A Good Man?

I voted other. It doesn't matter to me. Dec 25th is a regular day for me, except I do not have to work. There are no gifts to open, no dinners to prepare, no family or friend gatherings. Just a regular, quiet day.

In the past, when I did have gifts to open, I would wait until Dec. 25th. No reason why. I am not in the habit of receiving gifts and never expect any. I have a great deal of self-restraint, and I don't really spend time dwelling on what is inside the package. I have received gifts in gift bags. It would be so easy to lift up the tissue paper and look at the gift, but I don't.

I like to gift others, however. It gives me great pleasure and makes me feel wonderful.

Ilumine · Regular

Nonnie, my grandmother looked at her 6 daughters and realized something early on. Once they married, they would have to split the holidays.

So she instituted our family's Christmas Celebrations to be held on Christmas Eve. We host our own service (again 6 daughters plus husbands and kids - we would take over a church if we all showed up at once), eat dinner and do our family/secret santa/godparent exchanges then.

Then the daughters would go on to do whatever they wanted on Christmas Day. BEST DECISION EVER.

Now, my mom did not live near Nonnie, so we would stay with her and do our Christmas Mornings in her house. That included Santa gifts.*

*The one year my grandmother got all Holier than Thou and took away all things pagan, we stayed home. And my mother explained to her that unless she was going to celebrate Christmas in May, she needed to step back. Nonnie got over it really quick with the holiday Time Out.

Ilumine · Regular

HOWEVER, if I were to live in Germany again, I would do what the Germans in our region do and celebrate Nikolaustag. There, the kids put out their shoes on the evening of December 5th and St Nikolaus leaves gifts for the good boys and girls and a rod (to be wiped with) for the bad kinder.

Then Christmas is soley focused on Christ.

JPT · Senior Member

ladyloonatic wrote:
A family meal and game night sounds fun! Especially as the family gets older.

I like that too!

Usually Christmas is just DH and I and the dogs (our family is scattered all over) We fill stockings for each other, exchange a few gifts, open the gifts for the pups, then relax and watch movies, go for a walk on the beach. I usually will make a fancy dinner on Christmas Eve for us, and then we just snack on leftovers the next day.

It really is very peaceful and enjoyable. Yes, we did the Christmas run all over when the kids were little, and the carefully choreographed dance of where we had to be for what meal and ensuing "rip and shred" fest (as my dear departed father called it!). But I can honestly say I so much more enjoy the way we celebrate now.

However, this year we'll be busy moving our big equipment into the new shop, as it is the only week of the year where we don't get a lot of customers.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

We do a Christmas Eve gift - new Christmas pajamas and a Christmas movie for the family. The rest on Christmas morning.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

We use to do the Christmas eve pajama gifts too.

Until the kids figured out it was for the pictures Christmas morning. I also did a ornament each year.

I need to start that again. When the tree fell on the house it destroyed a lot of that stuff.

Guess I will be searching for ornaments.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

We used to do Christmas Eve jammies too. Not anymore.

huskerbb · Guru

Whenever the family can get together. Sometimes it might not be until the next weekend.

WYSIWYG · Guru

Santa brings the gifts very late on Christmas Eve, so they aren't even there to open until Christmas morning.

NAOW · Vette's SS

Growing up at my dad's house we would open all gifts on Christmas Eve with all of the family. Christmas morning was just our family and we would do stockings and maybe a 'big' gift if there was one.

At my mom's we got to open one present on Christmas Eve and the rest the next morning.

Now DH and I let DD open her Christmas jammies on Christmas eve and the rest Christmas morning. Santa gifts are left sitting out unwrapped for her to see first thing in the morning.

chef · Guru

I forget how things were when I was a kid. As I got older, I remember helping Grandma with the meal. I remember opening presents in my Grandparents' living room. One year, I flew out to spend Christmas and New Year's with the TX side of the family. I remember being very touched to have been included in my Aunt's Mom's tradition of giving each kid their age in cash and a present from her. I certainly did not expect anything but was so beyond touched that someone who had never met me including me in her tradition. I made sure to get a present for her before I left TX and gave it to her.

When I was single, I worked Christmas Day. I loved working that day because of the overtime. My regulars always brought me a plate of food (I always went home with a few plates of food) and it was fun seeing everyone all decked out for Christmas. My family would do Christmas when I got home. My parents and I usually went to Christmas Eve services. Christmas night, we'd all pile in the car and go look at Christmas lights.

So far, I've been with DH for 2 Christmases. Both years, Christmas Eve was at his parents and Christmas was at our place. The first year, my (then to be) MIL got me a crockpot. I love that thing! I went into labor on Christmas Day last year so that'll be a year I'll never forget. Nothing like dealing with contractions while looking at Christmas lights :P

Now that we have our son, I want to start our own traditions for him. I'm not sure what we're going to do yet but I have some ideas floating around in my head. I just wish my Grandpa could come back to see our son's first Christmas. He loved his Grandson so much.

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

We usually intend to open one on Christmas eve and the rest in the morning but usually end up opening everything before bed. As a kid we opened the gifts the kids exchanged on the eve and the ones from parents and santana in the morning.
Christmas eve was the huge Italian dinner with family and Christmas day we just relaxed and grazed on leftover food from the night before.
DD and I aren't near family so we just do what feels right that year. We've even grilled big steaks on Christmas day.

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

I meant santa. I'm typing on phone since I'm running on 4G. No wifi so I can't use my laptop.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

We have curry for Christmas Eve dinner. It was always a tradition in DH's house - his dad would make it, and since I love curry, we have continued it. I'm so excited b/c this year, DD10 has finally fallen in love with curry, too.

Vette · Owl drink to that!

Our big Christmas tradition is to watch Red Dawn.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

I let the kids open one "boring" present on Christmas Eve - socks, underwear, or PJ's (not matching, and not Holiday, just regular winter ones). Christmas Eve dinner is at my mom and dad's - homemade spaghetti with homemade sauce AND noodles. Then we go to church for the candlelight ceremony. I am not religious, but the service is beautiful.

Christmas Day - when the kids come out to the living room first thing in the morning, the tree has all the presents around it. Each DD has a different wrapping paper all her own (so she can see which presents are hers) and one small present left unwrapped on top of her pile that let's her know it's hers. For example, DD in NYC might have a small makeup kit unwrapped on top of a pile wrapped in sparkly paper. DD here would have a movie she wanted on top of her pile wrapped in very Christmas-y themed paper.

After that, we head to my mom's and have lunch and do presents there. Around dinner time, we snack on leftovers and my uncle and aunt and cousins come over.

If we can help it, we avoid DH's family. We see his brothers and their families if they are in town - but try to avoid his dad.

Whenitrains · Member

VetteGirl wrote:
Our big Christmas tradition is to watch Red Dawn.

Ours is National Lampoons Christmas Vacation! Love that movie!

Honeys_Mom · Mod & Permanent Board Sweetheart

Whenitrains wrote:
VetteGirl wrote:
Our big Christmas tradition is to watch Red Dawn.
Ours is National Lampoons Christmas Vacation! Love that movie!

WIR, that's one of my favorites, too! I haven't see it for seems like forever - need to get it and watch it with my dad.