Does "Santa" wrap at your house? (SC -- santa content)

[QueenCat]

Santa's gifts are unwrapped but very little comes from Santa. The stocking and one or two gifts, mostly the larger items, or more expensive items. All other gifts are wrapped and opened the night before.

[KidsHappen]

Santa didn't wrap when I was a kid but he wrapped when my kids were little.

[Farrar]

I'm a southerner and my mother is also a southerner (she's never lived outside the south) but she always liked to wrap many of our Santa things - typically in tissue paper. It's true that the "big" things were generally unwrapped. But I think for her this may have been all about the presentation. She's just very... coordinated. I mean that in the best way too. I try to follow humbly in her tasteful footsteps in re: Santa gifts.

[Jamee]

Californian here and it's mixed. For the most part he wraps everything and has "special" paper for each child or another paper that indicates "family" that has been used every year. (that's how they know who gets what.):D Little things like cars or big items like bikes are left unwrapped and nicely arranged.

 

I had no idea Santa was so particular!

[Parrothead]

 

Interestingly, my stepmother, who is from California, actually wrapped the presents in our stockings for at least a couple of years.

 

 

Stockings stuffers are a mix here. Some are wrapped. On Christmas morning stockings are all that is allowed to be opened until mom and dad are semi-coherent.

[justamouse]

I'm in NJ and everything is wrapped. That's the fun! Now if it were a huge thing that I couldn't physically get paper around, then I'd do my very best to somehow cover it.

 

Santa always wrapped my presents when I was a kid, too, except if it were handmade or put together (One year it was a huge Barbie house that was definitely not wrappable).

 

Santa did wrap everyone's presents in their own paper one year, but that was over all too fast with everyone looking for their paper and tearing into it. So now Santa like to draw things out by mixing up the papers. :D

 

eta: the things in stockings are wrapped in tissue paper. And Santa signs his presents with a special script with a big red S. and he also leaves a thank you card for the coffee and cookies (my Grandpa always insisted Santa drank coffee and he needed it black -all those hours he had to stay up.) We leave carrots for the reindeer, too, which they nibble on.

 

 

I totally think it's a wonderful tradition to put the Santa presents together, though. It's very charming.

Edited November 29, 2010 by justamouse

[EarleneW]

Nope! Santa presents are not wrapped. All the presents from Mom and Dad are.

[WagsWife]

The only thing Santa wraps are certain things in their stockings...ie. DVD, or Barbie Doll would be wrapped, lip gloss is not. Everything else is *Unwrapped!

 

ETA: Of course, other than the kids stockings, Santa only leaves one gift per child (or some years it is one big gift to share...like a Wii.) All the other presents come from either us or family, and they are wrapped up. So at the most there would be only 3 gifts total unwrapped.

Edited November 29, 2010 by WagsWife

[WagsWife]

Also, how do the kids sneak downstairs to see what Santa left them if everything is all wrapped up? And waiting for things to be put together? Ugh!

 

They have a treefull of wrapped presents from relatives -- let the magic of Santa be that stuff appears, assembled and ready to go.

 

:iagree:

[smrtmama]

ETA: Of course, other than the kids stockings, Santa only leaves one gift per child (or some years it is one big gift to share...like a Wii.) All the other presents come from either us or family, and they are wrapped up. So at the most there would be only 3 gifts total unwrapped.

 

Our kids each get three Santa presents (they're only allowed to make a three-item list --ETA but they don't necessarily get those three things!), one big one and two small ones (usually books/board games), but they typically only get clothes or books from us. If it's toys or gadgets they want, Santa's the man.

[WagsWife]

Our kids each get three Santa presents (they're only allowed to make a three-item list --ETA but they don't necessarily get those three things!), one big one and two small ones (usually books/board games), but they typically only get clothes or books from us. If it's toys or gadgets they want, Santa's the man.

 

 

Santa brings the biggest gift/s for that year. Some years it is a separate gift for each such as: American Girl Doll for the 10 year old, Telescope for the 12 year old, and nice Jacket for the teen. Other years it is one *big gift for the family such as trampoline, Wii, or air hockey table.

[newlifemom]

Sometimes yes, mostly no. The stuff in the stocking is not generally wrapped. Outside the stocking, typically.

 

One year, my dad got my mom a winter coat from santa and stuffed it in a pair of pantyhose. :D

[Mom in High Heels]

It depends on what he brings. Last year Indy got the Playmobil Roman Arena and it was not wrapped (because it's bloody HUGE), but the other 2 Santa gifts (Santa only brings 3 gifts) were. The year before Indy got the Playmobil Pyramid which was unwrapped, while the other 2 were. This year, I think they will all be wrapped (2 lego sets and a Wii game are what he's asked Santa for).

As a side note though, Santa only uses plain red wrapping with white ribbons and bows (kind of like his suit), so Indy knows right away which ones are from him. Growing up, Santa always used the same paper as my parents, which I found suspicious, but my mom explained that Santa liked to coordinate. I felt Santa's gifts should stand out, so I, I mean Santa, decided to use his very own paper. Indy gets so excited when he sees the red paper on Christmas morning because he knows those are the super special presents.

[Mom in High Heels]

Our kids each get three Santa presents (they're only allowed to make a three-item list --ETA but they don't necessarily get those three things!),

 

We do the same thing. Even though we're not Christian (the rest of our family is), Indy is of course familiar with the Christmas story and I figured if 3 gifts was good enough for Jesus, 3 was good enough for Indy. :D He writes a 3 gift list and he puts a lot of thought into what he's asking for (I guess when you only get 3, you've got to put down what you really want). He does get what he asks for, though we tell him it's never a sure thing. While he's thinking about his list though, he'll ask me if I think Santa will bring X. If it's something outlandish, I'll tell him I don't think so, and he won't include it on the list. His thinking is, why include something he's not going to get? We took him to Legoland for his birthday this year and they had a Lego Star Wars Death Star that he was practically drooling over. He said "I'm so asking Santa for this at Christmas." I looked at the $400 price tag and told him that Santa would not bring that because it has way too many pieces (almost 4000!) and he said, "Oh, well then, I won't put it on my list. Maybe you can get it for me?" I gave him a firm no and that was that. He still wants it of course, but he knows he's not going to get it, so why waste precious space on the list? The list is super important. ;)

[Lady Florida.]

Our kids each get three Santa presents (they're only allowed to make a three-item list --ETA but they don't necessarily get those three things!), one big one and two small ones

 

Same here, even though we're not Christian. Two things were always made clear though: 1. Santa won't bring you anything he knows your parents wouldn't agree to, and 2. Sometimes he'll substitute something you didn't ask for, but it's something he knows you'll like.

 

Santa hasn't stopped at our house in a long time. :sad: However, there are twin 2-1/2 year old cousins so we get to play the game (and ds is thoroughly enjoying it). :)

[Chris in VA]

Don't do Santa at our house...:D

But growing up, Santa (we pretended--we knew) always wrapped. I never heard of unwrapped gifts at the tree until I was an adult and a dear friend told me Santa left unwrapped presents.

[JudoMom]

Santa doesn't visit my children, but he visited me as a child. I grew up in TN, but my Santa was a KS native and my gifts were wrapped. Not my stocking gifts, but any gift under the tree. Except for the year my brother & I got bikes (though there were bows on them) and he didn't wrap the TVs he brought us one year, either (he hid them behind the recliners, though--thankfully my parents found them after all the other presents had been unwrapped).

[hsbaby]

I wrap....even the stocking:). Well, the stuff in it, that is.

[mlktwins]

Santa doesn't have time to wrap here :-). All other presents are put under the tree before Christmas and Santa leaves his unwrapped presents in front of the tree on Christmas Eve. Santa also fills the stockings with unwrapped presents.

[Impish]

Canadian here. Santa not only wraps for under the tree, but all stocking stuffers. Thats buying coffee time! :lol:

[HRAAB]

Growing up our Santa gifts were always wrapped with special Santa only wrapping paper. When my dh was young, Santa gifts were not wrapped. We both grew up in the same city in the northwest. Dh has finally convinced me Santa is too busy to wrap gifts.

 

Santa always comes to our house: before we had children and I'm sure he will continue to come after the children are grown and gone. Maybe then he will find time to wrap his gifts again.

[Guest CarolineUK]

I've never heard of Santa not wrapping gifts! Everything gets wrapped here. But, oh, the time it could save me if he didn't ...

[scmama]

I lived in the South all my life, and Santa ALWAYS wrapped his gifts!! Unless it was something that was too complicated to wrap like brand new bikes!! :)

[Hannah]

I learn something new on this board every day!! Unwrapped Christmas presents?? :001_huh:

Father Christmas brings our presents and he has the elves wrap them.

Edited November 29, 2010 by Hannah

[Hannah]

I lived in the South all my life, and Santa ALWAYS wrapped his gifts!! Unless it was something that was too complicated to wrap like brand new bikes!! :)

 

And then they'd have a HUGE bow on them.

Edited November 29, 2010 by Hannah

[Catwoman]

I've never heard of Santa not wrapping gifts! Everything gets wrapped here. But, oh, the time it could save me if he didn't ...

 

I was just thinking the same thing. I have well over 100 presents to wrap, and it takes TIME (and a lot of that time is on Christmas Eve at around 2am, because I tend to be a procrastinator...)

 

But the fun of watching ds tear into those presents on Christmas morning makes it all worthwhile! :001_wub:

 

Cat

[Crissy]

Santa always wrapped his gifts here, and he used a paper that was completely different from anything we used.

[AngelBee]

Wrapped. Live in MN :) Should add: he leaves one gift for each child unwrapped. Kinda for excitement! :lol:

[AngelBee]

Santa always wrapped his gifts here, and he used a paper that was completely different from anything we used.

:iagree:

[Sherry in OH]

When I was a child, Santa stuffed stockings. Occasionally he left one gift for the whole family. If he did, it was wrapped. Gifts in stockings were not wrapped. The elves were too busy making enough treats for everyone.

 

DH says that when he was a child, all the gifts under the tree were from Santa. They were wrapped. In his family, stockings were decorations. They were never filled.

[Tress]

I learn something new on this board every day!! Unwrapped Christmas presents?? :001_huh:

Father Christmas brings our presents and he has the elves wrap them.

 

I'm here thinking the same thing! Unwrapped Christmas presents??? Every Christmas movie I have ever seen had wrapped presents under the tree....At least I think so.

 

Here, Sinterklaas has numerous Zwarte Pieten who wrap every present!

[mcconnellboys]

I grew up in the South. Santa is too busy to wrap presents. Now, some are wrapped, here and there. Things are tucked into stockings. Nowdays he uses gift bags for some items. But in general, no, things are not wrapped.....

[kokotg]

I was just thinking the same thing. I have well over 100 presents to wrap, and it takes TIME (and a lot of that time is on Christmas Eve at around 2am, because I tend to be a procrastinator...)

 

But the fun of watching ds tear into those presents on Christmas morning makes it all worthwhile! :001_wub:

 

Cat

 

To be clear, we don't do unwrapped Santa presents to save time. For me, that moment when the kids come downstairs and see the display of Santa stuff for the first time is an integral part of Christmas. I think we probably spend more time thinking through the aesthetics of the Santa set-up than we would on wrapping the presents. We do Santa-lite compared to how my parents did it; Santa brings one or two presents plus the stocking stuff....it was a conscious decision that we made for various reasons, but it makes me a little sad sometimes that my kids don't have quite the same first moment of Christmas experience that I did.

[mommyoftwinboys]

Santa ALWAYS wraps presents but only in red paper(this is something we made up-we didn't grow up that way-Santa wrapped in whatever he had available when I was a kid:lol:)...

 

I was born in NY but grew up in Fl..hubby is from NJ...

 

We live in N.C. now.

[amydavis]

To be clear, we don't do unwrapped Santa presents to save time. For me, that moment when the kids come downstairs and see the display of Santa stuff for the first time is an integral part of Christmas. I think we probably spend more time thinking through the aesthetics of the Santa set-up than we would on wrapping the presents.

 

:iagree:

I always think that wrapping would help me get to bed so much sooner on Christmas Eve (because I could wrap them ahead of time and keep them hidden). I've also thought about wrapping some, since we've cut back on how much Santa brings in. Dh and I are both from NC, and grew up in homes where Santa did not wrap. My two best friends grew up in homes where he did. One is from Michigan, the other grew up in NC, but her mom was from up north.

 

Someone else wrote about the beautiful arrangement/presentation of the wrapped gifts, and I just wanted to add that it's the same with the unwrapped. Santa takes so much time to arrange things, almost like a window display in a store, LOL. In fact, that is one of my favorite moments, looking at everything with just the tree lights on before dh and I go to bed. So beautiful!

 

Also, I can't describe it, but at least with my children, the thrill isn't over in one split moment. I know some friends who live in homes where Santa wraps, and they think that without wrapping there would be no anticipation. I can't describe it, and maybe it's due to Santa bringing several items, with lots of fillers/stuffers - but the children don't notice everything in one look. The way it's presented, they have to look through it all. Can't really explain it.

 

I think it can be magical either way, but every time I think of changing, I stick to what I know...unwrapped.

[Giraffe]

Growing up (Southern family) Santa never wrapped. DH is Turkish and grew up with New Year's gifts, no Santa, so he doesn't have a tradition.

 

Santa mostly doesn't wrap in our family, but DD is only 3 and we haven't really established a tradition yet. I struggle with a big Santa delivery and prefer that the stocking is from Santa and the rest is from us, wrapped, under the tree. Not what I grew up with at all. Still working on getting DH on board - he loves the whole Santa tradition, especially since he came to it late and is a kid at heart himself.

[Baseball mom]

Santa wrapping gifts??? :confused: :001_huh: Santa doesn't wrap gifts :001_smile:

[jazzyfizzle]

Yankee northcoast here, and Santa has never wrapped. :001_smile:

[elegantlion]

Midwestern Yankee and Santa never wrapped. I think it was because Santa couldn't have the same paper as my parents.

[Catwoman]

:iagree:

I always think that wrapping would help me get to bed so much sooner on Christmas Eve (because I could wrap them ahead of time and keep them hidden).

 

Well, see, that's the theory. :D

 

But in my world, the reality is always stupid, idiot me sitting on the bedroom floor at 2 in the morning on Christmas Eve, wrapping presents and hoping I don't run out of paper. :glare:

 

Cat

[MrsBasil]

Well, see, that's the theory. :D

 

But in my world, the reality is always stupid, idiot me sitting on the bedroom floor at 2 in the morning on Christmas Eve, wrapping presents and hoping I don't run out of paper. :glare:

 

Cat

 

 

See, this is why when I was growing up, and we were young enough to believe in Santa, Christmas Eve was also known as "the night Dad takes us to a movie without Mom!".

 

We'd leave after dinner, take a detour through some neighborhoods that did cool Christmas lights, arrive at the movie early enough to pick seats before the previews started, and take another tour of Christmas lights on the way home.

 

My mom had a good 3+ hours of wrapping time with no one else in the house.

[Dawn in OH]

One of Santa's favorite activities is wrapping. Santa knocks himself out making the packages look pretty.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Well, I don't officially tell my kids that Santa is real. But, when they're little, I do leave a gift or two unwrapped and untagged (usually the large ones) to give them the option to believe if they want to.

[clarkacademy]

depends on how big or oddly shaped LOL!!!!!!

[IsabelC]

We don't really do Christmas gifts now, but growing up, all gifts were wrapped unless they were too large.

[LidiyaDawn]

Most of the Santa presents are wrapped here, with the exception of a couple of larger 'special' items that just get a big bow on top. Oh, and the gifts that are inside the stockings aren't usually wrapped either. :)

[Wendy Inman]

We don't do Santa here :D

 

Growing up though (my whole family is from PA) everything is wrapped including the chapstick in the stockings LOL Mom told us they had the same paper because she helped Santa by wrapping for him :)

[Guest JasonKing]

I wrap them in our home. However I have a sneaky suspicion that my kids already know the "truth" about Santa. They even seem to play me on it at times lately, or perhaps Im just looking too much into it, Im not sure.

 

In all honesty I've never really known what is best on how to approach the whole idea really. I guess I havent really gone into wholeheartedly and thats maybe why my kids see through it all.

[Catwoman]

See, this is why when I was growing up, and we were young enough to believe in Santa, Christmas Eve was also known as "the night Dad takes us to a movie without Mom!".

 

We'd leave after dinner, take a detour through some neighborhoods that did cool Christmas lights, arrive at the movie early enough to pick seats before the previews started, and take another tour of Christmas lights on the way home.

 

My mom had a good 3+ hours of wrapping time with no one else in the house.

 

Why did I never think of that?

 

I am such an idiot!!!:banghead:

 

:D:D:D

 

Cat

[Kay in Cal]

I voted wrapped... though I think they are wrapped by the elves, not Santa personally.

 

The only unwrapped gifts are in the stockings, which the kids are welcome to dig into first before we start the slow process of unwrapping gifts.

 

Now I'm going to post another poll...