Blogmas 2014: Day 6: When do you open presents?

It is really interesting to hear others traditions. Yesterday at a work luncheon, we were talking about when we opened presents with our kids and one woman told of how her husband's family would only open presents on Christmas after they had been to church, had breakfast, cleaned up and the mom had had her 3rd cup of coffee. Many times they wouldn't open presents before noon.....

That would never fly at our house.

At our house, we typically spend Christmas Eve day with my in-laws. While we are gone, Santa or one of his helpers comes by to do a test run and make sure everything is ready for that night (he or she puts all the toys under our Christmas tree away) and he leaves one present for each child and a present for the family. When we get home from Christmas Eve with my in-laws, the kids get to see the present and they can open that present. It is always a new set of pajamas and the present for the family is the book "The Night Before Christmas" which we read as a family before bed.

Christmas morning, we get up whenever the kids get up and head downstairs to see if there are any gifts under the tree. We do not put any gifts under the tree before Christmas Eve night after the kids are in bed. The kids get to play with the items in their stockings first (which we do NOT wrap) while Bill and I are trying to wake up. Then we let the kids open all their gifts under the tree. The last couple of years, we have had a bag of donuts on the table in case the kids wanted to eat while they were opening their presents. After the kids have opened their presents, then Bill and I open our presents from the kids and from each other.

It is very relaxed and perfect for our family!