Personal Christmas Gift Torture: My Week-Long Wait to Open Them!

[ShelbyMichalek]

Yes, literally!

Anyone want to guess how? Well here's a hint.
This is our Christmas tree.

This is a close up of my Christmas gifts

This is a detailed description of my Christmas gifts and the above photo and why I'm being so tortured. They've been there for nearly a week and I STILL have to wait until Saturday to open them!:cry::cry:

:cry:

 

[Sheila]

Bwahaha!

I did all PC products last year and Merrill stuff this year! But I'm still waiting on this years goodies to arrive in the mail and hoping it all gets here in time!!!

 

[babywings76]

You must have been a very good girl this year! Wow, you really are good if you can stand to wait till Christmas to open them. It always seems that every time I got a really nice gift, I always got it "early" so I could use it all the sooner. Kind of fun, but anti-climatic on Christmas morning.

 

[ShelbyMichalek]

LOL!!

I told my husband he wasn't allowed to buy me gifts. When he asked why I said "I already did!" LOL. He was a bit bummed that he wouldn't get to pick something out so I said "Fine, if you wrap those by midnight tonight I wont open them until Christmas - if you don't I'm using them tomorrow"
He wrapped them. Meaniehead.

 

[Sheila]

LOLLast year Hubby and I made the deal to buy our own gifts vs buying for one another. He wasn't pleased with the plan at first. But he had so much fun! Keeping it all secret and not letting me see his stuff until Christmas morning was fun for him. He also realized that he got a bunch of stuff that he wanted and would use! He was totally on board and ready to do it again this year. He snuck in his boxes yesterday and took them up to his office. Then got mad when He came down and I started listing items in his box. No, I did not go snoop. He dropped the packing slip in the hall!!! Bwahaha!!!

 

[ShelbyMichalek]

OH my gosh that's too funny!!!

 

[heather223]

I am being tortured too! Except my presents are just under the tree and I have no idea what they are!!

 

[Sheila]

I don't see my presents as torture. But I have become THAT Mommy who wants to give the kids their presents now, not later. LOLI've resisted the urge thus far, but man it's HARD!!!

 

[lt1jane]

I know what you mean Sheila, I buy things as they are needed and use them right away. I got some cool toys for our son that I know he will love and want to let him play with them. The funny thing is that he decided that we needed to put presents under the tree. So, we wrapped up Grandma, Grandpa, and his Aunt's gifts and put them under the tree. That same night, I wrapped his stuff and stuck it in the back where it's hard to get to. He noticed one gift that doesn't have a bow on it (I ran out) and brought it to me to fix it. I told him it was fine, then that little sucker looked at the tag. He's only 4 and he's figured out how to read! He's been torturing himself and me asking to open that gift. He's lucky, Friday night is the night.

I grew up opening gifts on Christmas Eve. When I got up on Christmas Morning, I was allowed to open my gift from Santa. We are going to exchange gifts with immediate family on Christmas Eve, he gets to open his Santa gift when he gets up, and then we will go to Grandma & Grandpa's for another round. I don't see the point in hauling gifts to him down to Grandma & Grandpa's only to bring them home again. Plus, he gets more gift openings.

 

[Sheila]

My family did the same, family gifts on Christmas Eve and Santa on Christmas Day. Hubby's family did them all on Christmas morning and the thought of opening some on Christmas Eve is just too much for him! He really is a creature of habit and does not deal well with change. So I caved and wait the extra 12 or so hours now!

 

[ShelbyMichalek]

It was the same for us growing up. Christmas Eve we celebrated as a family, morning was for Santa gifts, Christmas Day was at Grandpa & Grandmas.

I told my husband we should do Christmas eve and he goes "but I work that night" and then I said "fine Christmas Eve Day" he just laughed at me. He's used to Christmas morning celebrations too!

 

[raebates]

My family opened one gift on Christmas Eve. I was a teenager before I figured out that it was almost always new pajamas, which meant we looked decent for the Christmas morning pictures. (Hey, I never said I was all that quick.) One gift on Christmas Eve is a tradition we continued with our son.

 

[vanscootin]

I used to do one gift on Christmas eve when I was a teenager... it was usually a piece of jewelry my dad bought me. His last Christmas before he died (4 years ago) he made me wait till Christmas morning. A little back story... the day I married my ex husband, my dad presented me with the diamond journey necklace of sorts. After my exhusband became my ex, I was looking for it in my jewelry box and it was gone. Found out my exhusband pawned it and I was completely devestated. So, my dad's last Christmas he handed me a snowman bag with a tag that read "All my love forever, Daddy." And in the box was a diamond necklace with 4 diamonds, the top on being separated from the bottom three by a pice of white gold. He told me it represents him watching over his three girls, my mom, me, and my daughter. He died a month later. It was the most meaningful Christmas I ever had or will have.

I totally got off topic because I read Rae's post about opening a goft on Christmas Eve... I wanted to say that my gifts from my husband are under the tree and although I peaked at the bags, I didn't see inside them... and now that they are wrapped and under the tree I have no idea what they are.

 

[Sheila]

Awe, the ex pawning your necklace is not good, but loved the other story!!!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

My family opened one gift on Christmas Eve. I was a teenager before I figured out that it was almost always new pajamas, which meant we looked decent for the Christmas morning pictures. (Hey, I never said I was all that quick.) One gift on Christmas Eve is a tradition we continued with our son.

We had the same tradition growing up, and I've carried it on with our son. Although it's funny - his pajamas are wrapped and under the tree, and the tag says "open Christmas Eve", and he is just dying to know what he gets to open Christmas Eve - so I guess he hasn't caught on yet, either.

 

[winklermom]

LOL

Last year Hubby and I made the deal to buy our own gifts vs buying for one another. He wasn't pleased with the plan at first. But he had so much fun! Keeping it all secret and not letting me see his stuff until Christmas morning was fun for him. He also realized that he got a bunch of stuff that he wanted and would use! He was totally on board and ready to do it again this year. He snuck in his boxes yesterday and took them up to his office. Then got mad when He came down and I started listing items in his box. No, I did not go snoop. He dropped the packing slip in the hall!!! Bwahaha!!!

That's too funny, Sheila!

 

[esavvymom]

My dad used to put our stockings at the foot of our beds in the middle of the night. Now- we all thought it was great because we could open up a bunch of little gifts and play with them, etc and all from the warmth of our bed (our house was very cold- 100+ yrs old house)...so this was good. As I got older, I realized it was so that WE wouldn't go down and wake up Mom and Dad at the crack of dawn! Then we'd have to wait until after breakfast to open the rest of our gifts...but that was USUALLY ok- since we were busy with stocking goodies.I tried doign that with my DH and kids, but DH won't let me. He likes to hear the boys sneak down and see what Santa brought (they know they aren't all from Santa, but they don't see much until Christmas morning). Plus, my DH likes to make boot-prints in baby powder near the fireplace hearth (which is gas, but thanks to "The Santa Clause" movies...it's not a big problem!). We get a kick out of hearing them whisper from the stairs and then they'll either just sit by the tree and stockings and wait for us, or come jump in bed. This year will be a bit different since we won't be home for Christmas. We're doing his parents' gifts for the kids on Wednesday, then we'll be at my folks for Christmas. We'll probably do the rest of OUR gifts after we return. So it will spread it out for them. I'm hoping my dad will do the stocking thing still- for them.

 

[debbie mc]

Growing up, I too, was allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve - after returning from the evening church service - but it was always my choice as to which one. I remember always choosing my Gram's gift and kept the tradition up with myself right up until her last Christmas when I was 24!

My DH grew up being able to open one gift too on Christmas Eve before bed and we plan to continue the tradition with our own DS as well. We'll probably start it next Christmas as this year he is not yet 5 and is sooooo excited for Santa to come that letting him open just one on Christmas Eve would be too hard on him, I think. We haven't put any presents under the tree yet because of the "torture" aspect for our little guy. I KNOW he would under the tree pulling them all out and having a grand ol' ripping good time -regardless of whose name is on the tag!! We'll likely put presents under the tree on Thursday evening after he is in bed and then I just have to get him through Friday

I once dated a guy whose family opened all their presents on Christmas Eve (they must have done Santa on Christmas Morning when the kids were young, like a number of posters). So when I spent Christmas with them one year, I was a little shocked when they said it was time to gather in the living room to open presents. It was the first time I had ever heard of such a thing; it never occurred to me to ask him when his family opened presents - I assumed everyone opened presents on Christmas Morning. And, he had spent Christmas with me & my family the year before and knew from that experience we opened presents on Christmas Morning and never mentioned that his family did it differently. Lack of communication is why he's "a guy a used to date" and my DH is someone altogether different.