Christmas Traditions - Gresham,OR

well my presents were always wrapped but my when I got married he said that santa never wrapped his so we don't wrap the gifts from santa but we do wrap the gifts from us and I don't wrap the stocking stuff either.

Oh I had messed this up bigtime with my kids, LOL. Unwrapping is fun, so I wrap everything, but my BF thinks that Santa's gifts should be unwrapped and put together. I'm lucky if I remember to buy different wrapping paper for the stuff from Santa, LOL!! My BFs little brothers think Santa brings their stocking, well, at my house we put them out empty and Santa fills them, so I always butt heads with my (almost) MIL when the boys come over. My oldest is 7 and I'm STILL getting the hang of tradtion!! I can't ever remember what I did the year before ;) I wouldn't worry about it too much, don't stress over it. Your boys are going to be beyond excited no matter what!! Have fun :)

We always do stockings, and Santa's gifts under the tree and around the stockings are not wrapped. I do agree with the toys being put together with the batteries in, but no need to trouble yourself with all the wrapping unless you just really want to do that. The biggest and best toys/gifts always come from Santa, and we only do one or maybe two presents from Mom and Dad to the kids. Even my husband and I do stockings for each other! I love my stocking!

We have stockings - they have small trinkets - matchbook cars, special soap, wooden puzzles and few sweets. They can be opened as we're waking up and making coffee.

Presents are always wrapped. The few things that had to be assembled were assembled in advance. One year when my husband was a rookie cop and worked all of the holidays and weird shifts I had assembled the doll house (that was like a bookshelf) in the basement away from small eyes - I even wrapped it down there. Then at 2AM Christmas Eve I nearly killed myself getting it up the stairs and "under" (next to) the tree. I remember standing mid-way up the basement stairs with sweat pouring down my back and wondering how I was going to do this. Eventually it got up the stairs, there was no broken bones, no tumbling down the stairs, and the kids didn't wake up. My daughter was thrilled to see this giant wrapped gift Christmas morning. She's now 14 and we only gave away that doll house last year to my young neice.

Funny thing is that we never really pushed the whole Santa thing. We try to celebrate the birth of the messiah more than the santa thing. But Santa is out there and the kids would ask me why there was more than one santa at all the stores - I would ask them "I'm not sure - why do you think there are?" and they gave very good answers - like "I guess Santa needs helpers while he's getting everything ready for Christmas..."

HAev fun creating these traditions - they really become special to your kids.

In our house, with my son and even when I was a little girl, Santas gifts come together and ready to go, but wrapped in special santa paper (only santa gifts are wrapped in the paper and then we barrow the neighbors trash bin to throw away the rest so that our little one can't find it lol) I wrap all stocking stuffers, except for candy but that is usually just one or two pieces that it doesn't matter. I know when I was little, our biggest present came from Santa, and then we got other presents from mom and dad. With my son, I usually give him the biggest, coolest present from santa but still try to give hime one of the big items on his wish list from mom and dad too. We hang our stockings with the rest of our decorations and then Santa fills them. On Christmas Eve, my son will write a letter to Santa and leave it next to the cookies for Santa and the carrots for the reindeer plates. Then Santa comes and moves his stocking from the hanger and puts it by the fire place with all of his other santa presents in a big red sack (I know I'm crazy but I love the big red sack lol) =D and then Santa writes a letter back to my son (usually on a piece of the special wrapping paper), saying what a good boy he was this year and how it is very important for him to be a good boy for next year. Santa will list great accomplishments too, like his award at school and how proud he is. Then when my son wakes up in the morning, cookies and carrots are gone, big red sack and stocking are filled by fire place and there is a special note from Santa. He loves it! (we- and by that I mean I- go crazy with other holiday traditions too, like Easter so Santa is a big deal in our house) lol... We also then make our son shout into the fireplace "Thank you Santa" and it's the cutest thing ever! =D
I'm sure whatever you do with your kids will be great and they will always cherish those memories as they get older!
Take care and happy holidays!
H.

When I was a child, most of the gifts were wrapped and from Santa. The "big gift" was always from our parents. Stockings were Santa and usually made-up of school supplies and snacks.

I'm our house santa gifts aren't wrapped, Santa leaves the stocking full of unwrapped items, and normally Santa leaves the bigger gifts.

Santa's gifts are wrapped in my house. Complicated stuff is assembled and ready to go! Batteries are in or with the gift. Santa's paper is different from our paper! (Learned that O. the hard way.) Santa fills the stockings. A special stocking stuffer might be wrapped.
Oddly, Santa doesn't leave things for the adults. :-( Only for kids!

The best thing about traditions is using a little bit of this and a little bit of that to make one all your own.

We do the Santa thing, without stressing the Santa thing. Last year my kids didn't even remember until Christmas Eve that they hadn't written him a letter!! My 3y cried!!! So we wrote him a letter that said 'Thank you for whatever gift you brought me.'

For me, the Santa gifts (one big sized or priced one a piece depending on what it is) are assembled, unwrapped. One year my son's daycare had Santa come for pics and get the kids lists. They wrote down the list for the parents to see. My son asked Santa for only one thing - a Gravedigger Powerwheel, the one I can drive! Which I had known he wanted but wasn't planning on buying, but then I was stuck!! How do you explain not getting the one thing you asked him for?

Also, I think Santa should show up to whereever the kids are the night of Christmas Eve - because he'll know where you are- and all gifts at other houses should just be from family. My parents get that, but my inlaws don't. They think Santa goes to EVERY house that you could possibly be at. They also think that Santa presents should be wrapped in Santa paper. Sigh!

We hang empty stockings on the mantel at our house and my parents when we decorate at the beginning of Dec. and then they are filled Christmas Eve. My inlaws have never done stockings.

We also make Graham cracker houses.

We have a special 'Santa' plate and cup for his snack and milk. The Reindeer each get a mini carrot. These are left on the mantel above the stockings.

My family, parents, and inlaws all live in the same neighborhood! After years of figuring out what works and what doesn't we do the following:
- Christmas Eve, my family goes to evening church. We go if the kids are well. After church we go to my parent's house for a big meal and opening the gifts from them/to them, etc.
- Christmas morning we have Christmas and stockings at our house for us. My parents open gifts with my siblings and have a brunch.
- In the afternoon we go to the inlaws for more presents and Christmas dinner.
- In the evening we go back over to my parents for dessert and stockings.

Happy Holidays.
M.

We have many Christmas traditions, here are just a few:
1. everyone opens one gift after church on Christmas Eve (always new Christmas jammies from Grandma).
2. leave out cookies and milk by the fireplace for Santa and carrots and oatmeal outside for the reindeer.
3. Santa fills stockings - 1st thing kids go for in the am
4. Santa's gifts are always wrapped (put together first if need be) in Santa wrapping paper. The only gifts that are wrapped in Santa paper and put under the tree for Christmas morning.
5. Daddy always reads "Twas the Night Before Christmas" before putting them to bed on Christmas Eve.

We always had stockings. It's a European tradition that was transplanted to America. Our family used to put a Droste chocolate apple in the stocking until they quit making it. We got a toothbrush and toothpaste, our favorite candy, an orange, some coins...quarters and fifty cent pieces. Small toys and some nuts were included. We wrapped some things.
Other than the stocking we always got a box with pajamas and another with a new sweater. One big toy that was expensive and much wanted and age appropriate like a big box of Legos, a child size non motorized car you could drive or a bike.

We have sotckings and the gifts are wrapped in there. We also put together all toys and have them in working condition for the morning. Anything that can be wrapped is. It saves us the time of opening EVERYTHING when they want to play and we know things are good to go. Makes our lives easier and makes Santa more real - that everything is ready to go!

I sure wouldn't have known how to wrap a typewriter!

When my children were little we did Santa first thing in the morning, with the stocking presents maybe wrapped in tissue paper but in nothing else. They were in the stockings, after all (if they fit). When it came to the under-the-tree presents, they were wrapped. Usually. My husband has an allergy to wrapping paper (you know what sort of allergy I mean, I'm sure.) He's more partial to using the box the thing came in, with a bow stuck on top! So it goes.

But, as I'm sure you'll see, everybody does it differently.

Santa came to our house long after everybody knew that it was a sort of game to surprise people we love. The kids learned about St. Nicholas, too, and how he turned into Santa Claus. It was just fun to keep up for many years.

We would do the Santa thing in the morning and open the tree presents in the afternoon, after Christmas dinner. It was a way to make the excitement of the day last longer (the idea was given to me by the wife of a doctor who had to do his rounds every morning, Christmas or not). My older son is married to a gal whose family had the big dinner before Christmas day, did all the present things first thing in the morning, and then relaxed all the rest of the day in their new pajamas and bathrobes.

So figure out what you and your husband would like to do, and give it a try. You can tweak it next year if you want to. There are no hard and fast rules.

Except one: every gift has to be wrapped in lots of love. :^)