Information

[Renee]

Is Christmas morning at your house a "free for all" where the kiddos dive right into their presents? OR Does your family open 1 at a time? Do you wait until after church to open presents?There's so many traditions...what are some of yours?

[Flasher]

The kids check their stockings first.  Then, they open their gifts.  They actually like to watch each other open their gifts so it takes forever!  They are the only two that have gifts to open.  Hubby and I don't exchange gifts.

[Flasher]

Oh, and our family goes to church on Christmas Eve.  So, Christmas morning starts whenever they get up!

[emarie803]

With my parents and sister, it's kinda one at a time, but not really. We open stockings first and then move on to the gifts under the tree. With my ex-inlaws, it was one at a time, youngest to oldest. It took at least 3 hrs to open presents because there were 12 of us

[Renee]

We open stockings then the presents. We open them one at a time...it does take awhile but that's ok with me

Bethany gets to play "santa" and pass out the gifts.  Each person gets a gift and we open.  So it's one at a time but everyone is opening at once. Other traditions have been that every year since Bethany was about 2, Santa comes to our house a few days before Christmas to visit and brings gifts for all the children.  We always have had a few of our close friends and their kids come over for a party and then Santa arrives.  This year I don't think we'll be doing it.  Bethany and her friends are of an age where they know it's not Santa and the little kids (my niece and nephew) moved away. Also, on Christmas Eve Bethany is allowed to open one gift.  This is something I did as a kid and I thought it was cool so continued the tradition.Another tradition that we've been doing since Jon and I were married, is that we meet up with friends down at the Elks Lodge.  The Lodge is supposed to close at 4 pm but it's usually a bit later.  Everyone brings something to eat. . . the cook at the Elks makes chili and we all bring other stuff.  The employees exchange gifts, we do gift exchanges with certain friends, imbibe a bit, and then head home and watch a movie or two. 

Oh, I forgot to add that we check stockings first, then have breakfast.  Then gift time.

[VikingMOM]

We attend Christmas Eve mass (6:00 PM), come home, eat a lite dinner, open "Santa" gifts and then enjoy everyone's company - since the boys are now all teenagers.Christmas morning "Santa" still leaves goodies in their stockings that once hung over the fire place but are now too heavy to hang!  It is Christmas morning that we open gifts from one another (we draw names) .... Christmas day we sleep in a bit and then head over to visit all the grandparents and great-grandparents. BUT, a few years ago, Santa would leave the presents under the tree while they were asleep.   It is much easier now that they're teenagers! Debby

[Midge]

LOL, we don't have to worry about this yet! But I did tell my in-laws and my fam that no one was welcome until after 10:00am. We'll be up but if Jaxon wants a nap then he can have one.

[MamaK321]

wait until everyone is up and then we open stockings. Then it's breakfast time and afterwards, we spend the rest of the day opening presents.

[-Shannon-]

Typically whomevers home we're at (ours, my parents, his parents, other family) we have breakfast and then start passing out so everyone is opening at the same time. I think I'd go nuts if we waited for one gift at a time to be open but then again I am quite an impatient person.

[sweetpeas_mom]

We do stockings first as soon as we get up, and then gifts. Breakfast is usually cookies & milk, or cinnamon buns if I can get them to stop long enough to eat anything. Dinner is around 12:30/1pm.Dh's theory is to just dive in and rip everything open, then sort out the mess....it drives me INSANE!!! I like to have some sort of order to the mess. Everyone find a spot to sit, then all the gifts get handed out so each person has their pile, and then you may start opening once all the gifts are handed out.  I like to sit and watch everyone open stuff, and slowly open mine. It makes it last longer and that's the most fun. I was always the last to open all my stuff when I was little. It drives dh crazy when I still have a pile of stuff to open and everyone else is done.When I was little, we would get up and get dressed, go out to the barn to feed the horses, then come in and have some cookies & milk and open our stockings. Gram was always getting the roasts or whatever we were having into the oven while we were out to the barn. By the time we got our stockings done, she was done in the kitchen and once she would get situated into her chair, then we'd pass out gifts.

[dianagirly]

We open them one at a time so that each person has a chance to actually say thank you for the gift they received. When everyone does it all at once I don't feel like there is as much gratitude. But that's MO.

[scrapn4me]

On Christmas morning, when the boys were young, I would wake up early and start the coffee and turn on the Christmas lights, turn on the Christmas music, put the cinnamon rolls in the oven, pour the juice, get the camera, turn on the toys.  By this time the boys were up and anxiously awaiting to come downstairs to see everything.  But their dad would hold them back and all they would hear would be me saying "OH" and "AH" and "where's the camera" and "not yet" and then I would say "you better come down see this".  Then down they would run and I would start taking pictures.  They would go for the stuff Santa left which was unwrapped and then Josh always seemed to be the one who grabbed his stocking first.  Then we'd have some juice and about an hour later, we'd start opening presents one at a time.  I miss those days.  You young moms have fun!Terri

[Mommybruno]

We open everything Christmas Eve, except for the Santa gifts. First thing in the morning, though, we all get in the big bed and open our stocking presents, one at a time. That's how we do Christmas Eve, too, one gift at a time. I must have order! LOL!

[DN in MN]

Coffee starts, oven kicks on cooking the caramel rolls.... Smells fill the air... then I get up... The kids have to wait until we get out of bed... then it is a free for all!  

[corvettecarey]

Before the kids are allowed in the living room (where the tree, stockings, presents are) everyone has to be up, dressed, beds made, etc.  Parents have coffee ready,  cameras ready, video cameras ready and then let them run in.Stockings and the present from Santa(left unwrapped and usually the "big" gift)  are first.  And Santa delivers gifts until you are an adult in our house.Then we usually have some breakfast eggs, pancakes, bacon, hash browns, etc.Then present time, each person gets a gift and then we all open at the same time.  Then you can hold up what you got and then the next round.....

[Flapdoodle]

It's just me and DH, so we put on the Christmas music, make coffee and sit on the couch and do one at a time.

[1LuckyMom]

In my childhood home the stockings and santa gifts weren't wrapped and they were a free for all before breakfast, but then after breakfast we opened the wrapped gifts one at a time.  Did I say childhood home?  Hmmm... we are all still doing that, does that make me a child still???  I hope so   We'll probably continue that tradition with our DS, too, but for right now we are still doing it all at my "childhood home."  Am I the only one who, even at the age of almost 31, can't imagine spending Christmas anywhere but back at home with my parents?  Good thing my DH is on board with that!

[baltoscrapper]

We go to church on Christmas Eve with our entire family, than we all go out to dinner.  On Christmas morning, we host breakfast, my mom and Kens parents come in the morning to watch Mason open his gifts (he's kinda slow at it, he's not a "ripper") and we watch, than we pass out the adult gifts.  Than we do breakfast and they all leave, giving us a couple hours to ourselves (and Mason with his new toys). At 3, we go to my aunts house and the family is all there, we do dinner and a chinese auction and the kids get gifts.  Than a few days later, Dec 29th this year, we do our "family" exchange with mom, my brother, sister, kids etc........that's a whole other party!!