Because unlike many who have the fun spoiled early by peers or parental choice my nine year old still tries to believe and he also reads my blog so I can't put it there.
but anyway on to the point... Do you notice the difference in these two pictures:
and which do you do at your home?
wrapped or unwrapped, that is the question.
I have essentially won the debate at my home. For the following reasons:
We have done both and even though Kyle claims "unwrapping" is half the fun - he has seen just as much enjoyment from the gifts sitting there in a pile with no wrapping in all their glory.
With four kids, unwrapping can get tedious because you have to do the "slow down everyone", "wait its not your turn yet" or the dreaded "I think a gift got accidentally thrown away in all that wrapping paper"
Not to mention - hiding santa specific paper, the sheer man hours of wrapping all that stuff for four kids, and all the trash it creates.
So you won't move me to the 'Santa Wraps' team, but I would like to know if I am in the minority.
In Cjane's forum its currently tied.....
10 comments:
santa does NOT wrap at my house-- i think thats the most fun, coming out and seeing the pile and then diving in to explore each and every little thing he brought you, overflowing from your stocking :D
no wrapping here:) Even though P figured out Santa at 5 years old does not mean I am against Santa...I just don't believe in lying when they outright ask you to tell the truth. I believed till I was 12 years old!!!!!!
Everything except what was in our stockings was wrapped at my house growing up. There were 5 of us total and we went youngest to oldest opening 1 present each until we were out of presents. It kept the excitement alive and everyone got to see what each other got without chaos. Ben and I are going to take a different approach as Austin gets older. We wrap everything and open only 1 gift an hour per person. That way Christmas lasts all day long, not just 30 minutes or however long it takes to tear through the paper or scatter the unopened gifts. I think many times kids can be so ungrateful and overwhelmed with too many gifts at once, and personally I think it really gives the time needed to let each present soak in and really get to enjoy the fun part of Christmas much longer....but, that's just my opinion :D
Benjamin and Ella ask - and I reply "If someone loves you enough to leave you gifts - that's magical" I don't consider it lying. It is magical.
I had a friend once tell her four year old - In front of mine
"Some parents believe and do the Santa thing but we don't"
I could have DIED, or killed her.
WE WRAP EVERYTHING including stuff in stockings. The anticipation is tearing open the paper is half the fun. It also makes Christmas past longer to have to open things. Afterwards, we roll around in the paper for extra fun. :) We tell the kids each gets to take their turn opening their gifts that way it lasts a long time. Then, later that night they will find ONE hidden gift Santa hid somewhere in the house. I am willing to spend hours and hours wrapping for the one hour of fun it brings to my kids. :)
Janie--I totally understand your approach too:) And I have grilled P on not telling the magical secret to any other children. I even told him some adults still believe:) We talked about how the legend of Santa really got started and how parents really aren't lying they are just trying to carry on the magical feeling.
My parents NEVER wrapped Santa gifts for us and we don't do it either - although my children are too little to even know what Santa is all about we won't be wrapping Santa gifts in the future. My dad told me most of the time you have to put together what ever toy/doll house/train out of the box, take it apart, assesmble or whatever so you might as well just have it put together and unwrapped waiting on Christmas morning! That way you also get maxium play time.
I agree maximum play time! I've tried to slow the gift unwrapping but it seems to get annoying to me - I like the frantic - oooh what's this, and oohh what's that, over the Santa stuff. Then we go eat breakfast then come back to exchange gifts.
And we don't unbox any santa gifts or assemble them, we did one year and there wasn't any anticipation of putting stuff together - The toys seemed to feel less new to the kids. We just say Santa's elves can make the toys just like they do in the store (sometimes they even get them from stores we tell them)
Santa's gift is unwrapped, the rest are wrapped. I love the anticipation, the ooh-ing- the ah-ing.
Santa's gifts are unwrapped, and the presents from us are wrapped. We always had Santa gifts set out growing up. Maris had them wrapped, I think. I demanded we do it my way!! :o)
And BTW, none of my kids believe. I feel bad that my 9 year old baby doesn't get to enjoy the magic, but the boys didn't tell her, kids at school (here) did last year. When they were younger and would ask, I would just tell them that sometimes when people grow up they stop believing in the magic of Santa, but that when you stop believing, he stops coming. (Clearly, he doesn't!!) We also celebrate Sinterklaas Day in Maris' family, and my kids were more crushed that he wasn't real...they never really put the two together, and we had always taught them that he was a real man who gave secret gifts to people...
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