Dec 18- QotD- When do you open Christmas gifts?

[Julie Billingsley]

With so many people celebrating Christmas more than once, and so many different holiday traditions out there, I was wondering when your family opens the MAJORITY of their presents?

Back before my mom passed away, we celebrated Christmas twice. The first time was my family with my mom and dad, the second time was with my husband's family. My parents preferred to do Christmas about a week before the 25th, so that is actually when we opened the majority of gifts. On Christmas morning was the other half. Now we open all the gifts on Christmas morning, except the boys each get new PJs to open on Christmas Eve.

When does your family open the majority of their gifts? If it's not on Christmas Day, what prompted that tradition?

[MandaT]

We end up celebrating, normally at least 3 times, usually it's more like 5.

Christmas eve: my dad & step moms (small gift exchange, usually a white elephant or ornament)

Christmas Day: our house, then at my mom's house with her/bro/sister, then my aunts house with all my mom's family (there are 3 sisters & 10 grandkids +great grands), then my sisters' MIL (this isn't always the case) <-----this is our 'biggest' day

Either before or after: my dad's side of the family (he has like 7 or 8 siblings), my in-laws

[julia]

Christmas Eve... That's the day to open gifts here in Norway. We do stockings on Christmas Day.

[purple_colourz]

We open Christmas presents on Christmas morning except for one present that my DD can open after Christmas eve dinner.

[Andrea Gourley]

Christmas Day morning because Santa Claus comes through the night and when I wake up 'he's been'

[Tracyfish]

Christmas Eve with my hubby's extended family and then Christmas Day at our house, with my family, hubby's immediate family and then later that day with my extended family.

[scrapweaver]

Christmas Day! A present of new pj's on Christmas Eve, but everything else is Christmas Day . .

[KateD]

Christmas Day! Sometimes hubby talks me into letting us open one on Christmas Eve, but I usually hold out until the next day. We open one before breakfast, then the rest after. It's always more challenging with Christmas on Sunday - last time we waited until after church to open up the presents (not fun with a 4 & 6 year old). I don't think we'll have nearly as much under the tree this year (they're getting iPods and not much else from us, and we've finally convinced the extended family not to send much) so we may open presents before church. We'll just have to see what time everyone wakes up!

[Gemma]

Christmas Day here.

[rachaelsscraps]

We open gifts on Christmas day (with the exception of Christmas Eve jammies). We always have other get-togethers with extended family and exchange gifts with them, the day varies but it's usually Christmas Eve.

[mariewilcox]

We do multiple Christmas - We just had our big family Christmas yesterday with my parents, my sister and her 2 kids, my other sister and her husband, my grandfather, uncle, and cousin. We do a big dinner and have the tree etc. We always do this the weekend right before Christmas.

On Christmas Eve we'll have our big Christmas Eve dinner and tree with me, Christopher (DS) his wife and their daughter. My kids have 4 uncles and a ton of cousins on their dad's side and some of them will be there too.

On Christmas Day it's just Cheyanne and I - she opens all her presents from me on Christmas morning (except for the PJ present she opens on Christmas Eve once we get home from her brother's). We don't have a big meal but snack on whatever we feel like throughout the day and then we go to a movie late in the afternoon.

[Stacey42]

Christmas Day. Our family is much too far away to visit, unless we are planning on staying for days, so no matter where we are, there we will be.

And DH has a strong aversion to opening gifts on Christmas Eve. Like having nuts in baked goods, opening gifts on Christmas Eve is just WRONG in it's overall wrongness, with a side of extra wrong, as far as he is concerned.

[NeverendingJen]

Christmas Day(or whenever we are celebrating Christmas day, in some years case). We get new PJ's on Christmas Eve, but that is it!

[heathergw]

it depends who's family we're with... with my parents we open Christmas Eve after church, with Mark's parents we open Christmas Day... and with just the 5 of us, we open before we leave for vacation.

[misfitinmn]

Our far greatest Christmas celebration is on Christmas eve. In terms of amounts for each of us, it's probably not the greatest majority of presents, but it's our big family celebration. Usually, Santa visits the house personally on Christmas eve...but sometimes he's too busy and he just drops a bag of presents at the doorstep. But we do Christmas all month long really, so our gift opening is all spread out.

In any case, I voted for Christmas Eve and I see I'm in the minority!

[farrijc]

We open all the presents under the tree on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning is left for the kids to open whatever Santa brings We also open earlier in the month with both sets of our parents. I like spreading it out so the kids can actually remember who gave them their gifts...

[lovely1m]

I work a job that works holidays and my parents are divorced, so we celebrate 3-4 times whenever it works for everyone so we open whenever we can. This year, the only presents being opened on actual Christmas will be my son's Santa gifts.

[KyRainbow]

We do our presents on Christmas Day. If my daughter is home on Christmas Eve, she gets one to open after dinner, and it's always pajamas.

[SweetMelissa]

We open gifts on Christmas Day.

Then usually around lunch my in laws come over, we have lunch & they give the kids their gifts. Then we go to my parents house for dinner, they give the kids there gifts & to my aunts house for birthday cake (its her birthday).

But this year my in laws are coming with us to my parents house for dinner. Along with my DH's grandparents. I love that they all get along and we can do this. The kids get to see all of their grandparents on Christmas.

[KimberlyMorris]

We open gifts with DH's family on the 23rd, then my family on the 24th and Christmas morning we do our gifts.

[SmallMoments]

Most of the time we open Christmas morning before heading off to another Christmas. Last year we had Christmas at my parents early on Christmas Eve and then left that night for Ohio so we opened on Christmas Eve Eve. ha ha!

This year we get Christmas all to ourselves!! I'm so excited!

[kscwgirl]

We do Christmas with my MIL on Christmas Eve, then the kids come home and open new pajamas.

They open everything else Christmas Day, and then we go to my Aunt's that evening. The next day we have Christmas with my parents.

[MamaBee]

Christmas Eve... always Christmas Eve.... it's what I did as a kid... it's what my parents did as kids... it's what their families did... etc. Is this a German thing? I think my hubby did it on Christmas Eve, too... I don't know, now.... I'm going to have to ask him.

As a child, Christmas Eve was also so hectic... we go to the 7:00 pm church service... get home at 8... open presents in 10-15 min before we get into the car and race to my grandparent's house at the farm. Then Christmas Day, it was more quiet... got to my great aunts on my mom's side (Dad usually always worked)... so it was my mom, grandpa, great aunt and me... my great aunt was an amazing cook and would make all my favorite meals... I really miss her and my grandfather...

Now, we celebrate my side on Christmas eve - church, dinner, gifts (hubby, Jake and I will open up Christmas eve afternoon)... and then Christmas Day is my hubby's side...

[JulieB146]

I remember we always opened our presents Christmas morning, with the exception of one small present to hold us over until morning. My mother's parents always stayed with us or at my uncle's until they moved down to Florida. I remember when my uncle's family lived in the same area we did, we'd spend Christmas eve with them, but it didn't last long, and I think we opened a present or two over there. Then they moved across country, and no more family celebrations! (just as well: my uncle ALWAYS would show slides of his traveling adventures mountain climbing, etc for a half hour or more, and my cousins were virtual strangers)

The morning opening presents was the way it always was, until one Christmas when I was fifteen or sixteen my mother decided to change that and have everyone open their presents on Christmas eve. Boy, did that ever suck bigtime. There was NOTHING to look forward to on Christmas day. No excitement, nothing. We don't go to church, we didn't go to the movies, we might have a special breakfast, but that was all. And the presents. Yeah, I remember that year.

[taracotta7]

MOST of ours is open on Christmas. We kind of spread ours out though. We have my parents (which we did yesterday), then my Grandma's on Christmas Eve, then our family on Christmas morning and then In-laws on Christmas evening. THEN....usually we have our christmas with our older kids a day or two after Christmas. We are crazy. LOL

[jessica31876]

when the kids were little we opened them on christmas eve because there is so much else going on christmas day. Now we mostly open on christmas day because we pretty much stay home most of the day. We are having our daughter and her husband come over on Christmas eve and Ill probably let them open one present then.

[QuiltyMom]

We have always had the big celebration on Christmas Eve. We have a huge smorgasbord for dinner, which we eat before going to church. After church we open the tree presents, then we have dessert - and boy, is there dessert of all sorts! Yum!

Then "santa" comes at night and fills the stockings to be opened the next day.

[mummytothree]

I voted Christmas Day but really we do both! Christmas Eve the kids open their pajamas from us and their gifts they got each other. On Christmas Day they open gifts from Santa.

[pewtertm]

When I was growing up, we NEVER opened anything on Christmas Eve.
Now with Rachel, we let her open up one thing (the pajamas LOL) on Christmas Eve before we go to church (half of the kids there are in pj's, the other half absolutely decked out in all their finery). The rest are for Christmas morning.

[color of my heart]

we opened presents yesterday with my dad's side of the family. but that was one present each, not a big deal. that whole day.. don't even get me started.

anyway... we open one present christmas eve, it's always pajamas. and then we open everything else christmas day. first the ones at home (mom, dad, me, brother), and then we open everything else at my grandparents' house (grandparents & aunt added into the mix)

[ryliesmom]

We live in a different state from our family so we always travel over Christmas. We're always at our house for Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning though. We open one gift Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas morning. Celebrations with the rest of our families changes year to year as everyone can get together.

[LeeAndra]

Planning Christmas is always a hassle.

My family is definitely the big celebration with the majority of presents, but it has to be planned around when my sister has her stepson + when DH has (or is supposed to have) off work from UPS + my mom's bday (which is the 22nd). We had a mini-celebration this afternoon where just DD and I opened presents (DH had to stay home to work), and everyone else will open presents the 25th before my nephew goes to his mom's.

We always spend actual Christmas Day at home. This year, it'll just be DD, DH, and me so there won't be many presents or much fanfare. I am looking forward to hanging out in my pjs all day!

My ILs and that side have a family meal, but only exchange one present per kid (and none for adults), and we have to plan THAT around when my BIL and SIL are going to see her parents in Wisconsin + when we're going to have SS for break. This year, it'll be the 26th.

[jaylensmom]

we open all our gifts on christmas morning...