My oldest son turned 3 this year...Last year he didn't really care much about Christmas still. Now he is ready for Santa lol. My second son is almost 2. I was wondering how many people keep the presents under the tree from the time they buy them? I did this in the past, but i think i want to keep them put away until "santa" comes, just to keep my sneaky boys out of them.
How many people keep their presnts under the tree? Who puts them out on Christmas eve while children are in bed? Is it more of a happy surprise that way?
2006-11-26 12:23:55 · 10 answers · asked by Lucky Charm 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
When my Daughters were little and even when they were older,would keep the presents from "Santa"(they knew if they admitted they knew about the legend(when they were older),they would NOT get anything "special",so kept up the idea)hidden until Christmas eve. We would put out a plate of cookies and milk,and carrots and "special reindeer food" for the reindeer,we also put hay out in backyard for reindeer as well,in the morning there would be a "Thank you note" from Santa for the milk and cookies,and especially for the carrots,reindeer food(which was uncooked oatmeal with silver glitter in it) and hay for his tired,hungry reindeer. We would find hay scattered around the backyard and parts of chewed up carrots as well. We also found "magic dust" (red,gold,and green glitter)sprinkled on the ground where there were "hoof" prints left in the snow. There was also a piece of red flannel found on the edge of the roof once(apparently Santa or an Elf got caught on a shingle),(that one was a hard one to do,almost fell off roof doing that( luckily we lived in a two story house),and I would climb out on roof and stick the "torn" piece of flannel just under the edge of the shingle),then toss the hay and carrot pieces along with the reindeer food around and let it land wherever it wanted. It might seem like a lot of trouble,but to see the look in the Girls' eyes was worth every minute of it,and all the fond memories I have can NEVER be taken away from me either. We were just recently discussing the memories,and now one of them has children and if I lived closer to them,would be doing it for Grandson this year too,he is almost 3 yrs old. As the Girls got older,I would leave their gifts at a friend's house,and she would leave her kids' gifts at mine,since she had boys and I had girls it was easy to leave the gifts cause neither of them got into them. Also the area above your bedroom ceiling is a good place to hide things too(if you don't have an attic),I have a small opening to crawl up in that is in my bedroom closet and I just use a ladder(yep I keep one hidden in that closet-it is a walk-in closet)and just make sure I don't have extra "eyes" around when I bring things in and put them up there,it works really neat to hide things. I even was able to keep husband out of his presents too,that was a feat in its self LOL Good luck and Many Wonderful Memories to You and Yours Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
2006-11-26 12:47:45 · answer #1 · answered by grbarnaba 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
At around two a child is aware that there is something special going on---by three they are very in tune with the goodies that are happening especially --- and Christmas starts being Christmas at around that age and by the age of four--well-- it is just the absolute best stuff that can be and they log this time of year as the mother lode !!!!
I would always opt for the hold off for the ARRIVAL thing---we always had a couple or three things under the tree-- but the BIG DEAL was that Christmas morning---my word--the memory is still so fresh -- I can reach out and touch it !!!!
2006-11-26 20:39:07 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
My parents would put out one or 2 before Christmas Eve, of course, marked as being from them. The bulk of the stuff was from Santa and that never showed up til after I fell asleep Christmas Eve.
2006-11-26 20:28:35 · answer #3 · answered by Tish 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We put them out, wrapped in new wrapping the kids haven't seen, on Christmas eve after the kids are asleep. I know others who don't wrap the presents from "Santa", just put them out after the kids are asleep. Whether they're wrapped or not, I think the surprise of the kids seeing their presents for the first time on Christmas morning (see "Christmas Story") is the funnest way for the kids.
2006-11-26 20:41:52 · answer #4 · answered by Mrs. Strain 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have three children ages 8,6 and,3. My husband and I put out Santa's gifts on Christmas Eve.
I have told my children that Mommy and Daddy have to help Santa pay for their gifts, and that Santa only pays for the gifts for boys and girls whose parents can't afford them. This has helped them to not be so greedy at Christmas time and they appreciate what they recieve.
We do make a big point of putting out a snack for Santa.
Hope you have a Merry Christmas!
2006-11-26 20:41:31 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i have put them under the tree in the past before x-mas eve and it was amazing how everyone knew what Santa had brought them before they even opened it lol i wonder how that happened ???? anyway i now put them under the tree on x-mas eve while there asleep or so they say that there asleep but its alot cooler to see how they rush over to the tree to see how many presents they got and it brings back memories too ...
2006-11-26 20:32:16 · answer #6 · answered by mari 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you want your children to believe n Santa, you need to keep the gifts hidden until they go to sleep on Christmas eve. They wont stay little for long, so enjoy it now while you can. It can be magical
2006-11-26 20:31:58 · answer #7 · answered by bambi 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you should keep them hidden from the kids and put them under the tree once they go to bed, it is a bigger surprise for them, when they wake up in the morning, to see more presents under the tree then what they did b4 the went to the bed.
2006-11-26 20:27:36 · answer #8 · answered by Jess B 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i have four sons...9yrs,6yrs,4yrs,and 14mths...ever since the 1st year that we bought presents for my oldest son...we have waited till christmas eve to put all of the presents out..i found that it got a greater reaction for surprise...i didnt do it because of anything to do with santa,my kids dont believe in santa,anyhow ..i was thinking that i would put a few presents out this year but save the bulk of them for christmas eve but with my busy 14 mth old...i might stick to our regular tradition...
2006-11-26 20:55:28 · answer #9 · answered by huneygrl1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
putting them out on christmas eve is part of the fun and excitement,don't forget to put the milk and cookies out for Santa and carrots for his reindeer
2006-11-26 20:32:23 · answer #10 · answered by ladycindy1701 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋