When does your family traditionally open your presents?

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 6:44 pm

I think most families waited till Christmas morning when I was a boy, but I am under the impression that the majority now do most of their gift exchanging Christmas Eve.

What is your family's tradition regarding when to open the presents?

Velomane · Post by **Velomane** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 6:53 pm

These days we open our presents on Christmas morning, but when I was a boy, it was after midnight mass, which would be at about one-thirty in the morning. At about two o'clock, we went out for the "réveillon", which was a gathering of friends and family at a designated family's home. We usually got home at about five. Great times and great memories.

Anyone else do this?

Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous new year to all,
Mike

Sfox7076 · Post by **Sfox7076** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 7:43 pm

Being Jewish, we open our presents after we light candles!

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 7:45 pm

Ha!....an unexpected sort of poll. Christmas morning always, although when the boys were younger, my wife and I sometimes opened ours to each other later Christmas Eve, so that the morning would be all about the kids. The weird one, though, is; the Christmas tree. When I was growing up in NJ ( 1950s-1960s ) everyone that I knew put up and decorated the tree the day before Christmas often finishing around dusk. Then in the mid and later '70s I lost touch, was in NYC, didn't really deal with Christmas etc. Came to Tampa in 1980, and my girlfriend's parents ( who were from Ohio ) were still doing the tree on Christmas Eve. Then somewhere in the later '80s I realized people were putting up their tree way before Christmas.....earlier and earlier it seemed. I figured it was just a Florida/Southern thing, or something, and have never gone along. But now, it seems, many are doing this even in NJ from what I saw when I was up there. This year, for the first time EVER I actually brought the tree into the house a few days early....but still didn't decorate it until today. What's up with this?
Regards,
Gordon

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 8:12 pm

Our Holidays were spent on the family farm. A pre-selected cedar tree was harvested on Thanksgiving morning and decorated after dinner while a large number of the extended family members were present. With a watering stand the tree would last until New Years day and give the entire Holiday season a wonderful cedar aroma.

jww · Post by **jww** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 8:18 pm

New PJs for everyone on Christmas Eve, then the remainder of the gifts get opened Christmas morning.

Even with our youngest being 19 this year, we are usually up no later than 7am.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 9:42 pm

Squire, Well that seems to validate my informal thesis that putting up the tree early is/was originally a Southern thing that has slowly spread elsewhere. Of course the real old country Germanic thing was the tree was put up Christmas Eve and taken down Christmas night. But the traditional Northern US pattern, at least for several generations was; the tree went up the day before in the afternoon or early evening and stayed up until right after New Years. I still do it that way, although most people in Tampa clearly don't. They seem to do the tree shortly after Thanksgiving and take it down the day after Christmas. Same deal with the outdoor lights.
Regards,
Gordon

Paddywhacked · Post by **Paddywhacked** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 9:48 pm

Our tree tends to go up Thanksgiving weekend, and stays up through Little Christmas (Epiphany), same with the lights.
We open our presents Christmas morning, since we usually go to Midnight mass, and then pass out when home, it works better in the morning.

soapbuddy · Post by **soapbuddy** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 12:25 am

I always opne my presents on the 24th.

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 12:39 am

Speaking of midnight Mass, I had a first at mine this morning. The doors were closed, the heating fans occasionally came on and went off, the priest used incense for the special occasion, and during the Sanctus the fire alarm went off!

The Mass was interrupted while the doors were opened, and we waited for the alarm to stop, which didn't take too long.

I don't know if anyone from the fire department came.

GollyMrScience · Post by **GollyMrScience** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 10:40 am

My family was/are big believers in Santa but reserve Christmas Eve for the birth of Jesus.
So the system works like this.
Christmas Eve is all about Jesus birth with Santa bringing presents to help us celebrate the occassion.
Christmas Morning is family time - focused on kids of course and with a reminder that the gifts are part of the celebration of Jesus birth with the gifts brought from Santa and from family to be part of that celebration.
In other words we exchange gifts with each other and from Santa as part of the celebration of Jesus birth so we don't lose sight of the reason for the season.
We have a wide range of friends - with a wide range of religions and traditions and we seem to be able to fit them all into this system - even our Wiccan friends can celebrate the day with us and though for different justifications there is no conflict. We celebrate differently together - if that makes sense.

Thalay Sagar · Post by **Thalay Sagar** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 1:31 pm

For us, the kids get to open one small present on Christmas Eve. The rest of the gifts are exchanged on Christmas morning. As for the tree, it goes up a couple of weeks before Christmas. Adding to the data pool, my family is from Virginia and my wife's is from Illinois and Virginia.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 12:20 am

Chris, How old are you? Did your parents, when they were young, also set up the tree a couple of weeks before Christmas?
Regards,
Gordon

CMur12 · Post by **CMur12** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 1:07 am

Growing up in the 1950s - 1960s (I'm 58 ), in Washington State, my family did exactly as Chris just described.

Most people put their tree up in early December, which is when we actually bought our tree. My dad always had the tree outside, soaking up water for a week before we set it up inside and decorated it.

- Murray

joe mcclaine · Post by **joe mcclaine** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 1:20 am

Being a practicing Heathen I have a present on the Solstice (21st this year) and treat my son and wife to a gift too.

The other presents get opened on the morning of the 25th but the day holds no special significance.

wayne06 · Post by **wayne06** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 1:23 am

Same as Chris and Murray. Growing up in South Florida in the mid 40's and late 50's, the tree went up about two weeks before Christmas.
We got to open one present on Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas day. The tree stayed up until the day after New Years day. Both my parents we born and raised in Tennessee.

Big Swifty · Post by **Big Swifty** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 2:04 am

jww wrote:New PJs for everyone on Christmas Eve, then the remainder of the gifts get opened Christmas morning.

Even with our youngest being 19 this year, we are usually up no later than 7am.

No way Wendell!!
Me and my family do exactly the same thing. It has become tradition to give pajamas and we open them Christmas eve, rest in the morning.

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 4:49 am

I'm sort of intrigued and very curious about the pj gift. Is there a historical reference somewhere?

many thanks. enjoy boxing day

clive

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 7:25 pm

Murray, Interesting. We usually bought the tree in early December some time also, and it was outside in a bucket of water ( that sometimes froze ). In fact, when I was little we bought live trees and planted them on the property after New Years. But it never came into the house until the 24th, and this was true of everyone else we knew also. Interesting how these patterns were so markedly different, even back in the '50s and '60s. One always tended to assume that all Americans did this stuff the same way, but obviously they didn't.

The solstice....yes...Yule Eve....I always make note of that also, even if I don't exchange gifts or anything.
Regards,
Gordon

Thalay Sagar · Post by **Thalay Sagar** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 5:54 am

bernards66 wrote:Chris, How old are you? Did your parents, when they were young, also set up the tree a couple of weeks before Christmas?

Gordon, I'm 44. Dad's family always put the tree up in early-to-mid December; Mom is Spanish so her family did the whole Three King's Day thing.

SMF

When does your family traditionally open your presents?

When do you open your Christmas presents?

When does your family traditionally open your presents?