Christmas Dinner and Gift Giving

[Saquilla]

Hey everyone,

I was thinking about the gift opening part of christmas dinner, and was wondering how everyone else organises this.

Of course, we have the morning present opening with the kids, but in the afternoon when the extended family arrives for dinner, there are a lot of gifts and it can get a bit messy.

Last year I had the gift opening between dinner and dessert, but there was so much going on that we couldn't really see what everyone had received, and we couldn't see the reactions that people had when opening their gifts. It was just a mass of wrapping paper and piles of gifts, and no one really knew who gave what to who.

It was suggested by my mother in law that gift opening is done on arrival as people come in. That would be fine at the beginning, but when a lot of people arrive at once (as they do), we would be back to square one again. I also like the idea of having dinner first.

Or we could open one present at a time, taking turns (kind of like pass the parcel, but with the music stopping at every person!). That could work, and it would extend the fun, but it would take a while. This could be done during dessert though so it could be ok. This is what I'm leaning towards.

I'm sure this is something that lots of people need to manage, especially when both sides of the extended family are involved. I would love to hear thoughts on this

 

[AliciaKnits]

My DH's family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve with his extended family (his grandparents had 7 children, so lots of people, about 30). We get together at 2 pm, have a shared potluck meal that lasts about an hour or two, then we pray together and sing Christmas carols. Then the present giving starts. We all sit in the living room in a big circle, and the first person closest to the gift table (no room for a tree any more, too many people) grabs the first present - it cannot be one they bought, and it can't be their own to open. They give the gift to the receiver, and then while they are opening it and everyone sees what they were given, the next person in the circle grabs the next gift, and so on. It lasts roughly 4 hours, or about 8 or so people per hour. The larger the family, the longer it takes. Around Easter every year, a list is sent out via email with the gift giving list. Everyone can give to at least one person, sometimes more as budget permits, and they would receive from as many people as they give to. You also cannot give to someone within your core family (parents, siblings, spouse, children). Dollar amount is $35, and anyone can give to children age 12 and younger. Age 13 and older are welcome to participate and give as well.

I hope that makes sense ...

 

[teachermomof2]

We have dinner, then gift opening. We usually give one gift at a time...the kids usually pass the gifts out...and each person opens while everyone else oohs and aahhs. lol. It takes time, for sure, but is more organized.

 

[Saquilla]

Thanks for the replies!

So, it looks like the one a time system will be the way to go

Alicia, wow! 30 people! Ours is only about half that! I love the big family gatherings - lots of fun!

 

[Ahorsesoul]

We also open gifts one at a time. We keep a trash bag handy for tossing in the gift wrapping to help keep down the mess. It does take a while.

DD takes a long time to unwrap so we started with gift bags instead. We reuse the bags from year to year. The best bags are the brown paper kind with handles. They can be dressed up with pretty tissue paper. Tie on gift tags are better than stick on ones.

I try to take a photo of each gift opened but we have a small family.

 

[Saquilla]

Ahorsesoul, I like the idea of the gift bags for the little ones! It would help them feel more involved, as they would be opening their own presents

 

[luludou]

for us there are always lots of people at mom's house on Christmas Eve (extended family) when we give the gifts so we don't see anything. we tried something new last year... much better. My sister invited us on Christmas morning and we gave each gift one at the time for our family. It really nice & relaxing.

 

[Minta]

What about breaking up the gift opening into parts.... before dinner.. between dinner and dessert and then after dessert. Youngest can go first or draw names as to who gets to open a gift or of there are multiple gifts per person.. each gets to open a gift during each segment.

 

[Saquilla]

What about breaking up the gift opening into parts.... before dinner.. between dinner and dessert and then after dessert. Youngest can go first or draw names as to who gets to open a gift or of there are multiple gifts per person.. each gets to open a gift during each segment.

That's a great idea, Minta!

 

[Saquilla]

for us there are always lots of people at mom's house on Christmas Eve (extended family) when we give the gifts so we don't see anything. we tried something new last year... much better. My sister invited us on Christmas morning and we gave each gift one at the time for our family. It really nice & relaxing.

Lucie, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has to think about this! It just gets crazy doesn't it! Happy to hear you have found a solution

 

[aggy]

Saquilla, my family comes to my house every Christmas Eve. There's at least 40 people. After everyone has eaten and chit-chatted a bit. I have a little bell that I ring to get everyone's attention. We all gather around the tree as best we can LOL and I hand out all the gifts. Then I ask everyone to open their gifts at the same time. While everyone's opening gifts I use my digital camera as a video camera and record the whole thing. It's fun watching it the next day, when I'm home alone recuperating after such a fun evening.

 

[Saquilla]

Saquilla, my family comes to my house every Christmas Eve. There's at least 40 people. After everyone has eaten and chit-chatted a bit. I have a little bell that I ring to get everyone's attention. We all gather around the tree as best we can LOL and I hand out all the gifts. Then I ask everyone to open their gifts at the same time. While everyone's opening gifts I use my digital camera as a video camera and record the whole thing. It's fun watching it the next day, when I'm home alone recuperating after such a fun evening.

Aggy, Great idea with the video camera! I had forgotten about that - and I have a video camera too!

 

[MinnieCo]

My husbands family meets on Christmas eve and will open one at a time, starting youngest to oldest. When I married my husband, I loved being the youngest "adult".

At my house, we would open gifts in the afternoon and then have dinner. I prefer it that way, but the last two years we've changed it up a bit to cut that afternoon time down. Now my husband, daughter and I exchange in them morning and then we do the one at a time with extended family in the afternoon. Dinner is usually around 5 or 6.

 

[Saquilla]

My husbands family meets on Christmas eve and will open one at a time, starting youngest to oldest. When I married my husband, I loved being the youngest "adult".

At my house, we would open gifts in the afternoon and then have dinner. I prefer it that way, but the last two years we've changed it up a bit to cut that afternoon time down. Now my husband, daughter and I exchange in them morning and then we do the one at a time with extended family in the afternoon. Dinner is usually around 5 or 6.

LOVE the youngest to oldest order, Michelle! No disagreements over the order, and the most impatient (the youngest) get to go first

 

[dreamto]

We always start with the youngest and work our way up. The youngest usually passes out the gifts....with the reading help from others lol.