Displaying Christmas presents under the tree beforehand

[Cz. Burrito]

My parents put the presents for people other than immediately family under the tree right away ("Santa" brought all of the immediate family gifts late Christmas Eve).

I put gifts under the tree as soon as I have them wrapped (I actually have most of them under there right now, as I did some wrapping this weekend).  I think it looks pretty.  I don't think of it as bragging; for all you know, everybody is getting large pieces of nicely wrapped packing foam from me this year.   Unless you peeked... 

[Monarda]

We wrap them and put them under the tree as soon as we buy them - it' part of the decor. I don't think it's an etiquette faux pas, and I hope that people who come into our home have better things to do than speculate about how we're trying oh-so-hard to impress them. I just don't buy this line of reasoning. This means that you can't display fine china or crystal wear either, because people might think you're bragging. I'm always cheered up when I see a lot of presents under a tree - it sets a warm, Christmasy atmosphere.

[Lady Snowdon]

Presents go under the tree as soon as they are wrapped...this means the pile slowly accumulates over the course of the next three weeks.  I think it's great to do this, and that's what my parents do also.  My parents have a specific chair that is always set next to this Christmas tree, and that's where Santa's presents are put at night.  DH and I don't really get anything from Santa anymore, but our stockings are magically filled at night.

[Peyton Fan]

We don't put any presents under the tree before Christmas morning. But that is because when the kids come downstairs on Christmas morning, to me it looks so much more magical if there were no presents there when they went to bed the night before.

[Shoo]

No presents go under our tree until wee one is sound asleep on Christmas Eve.  Well, no presents except for the few that she knows we buy and wrap for other people.  Those get stored under or near the tree until they are delivered, but they are usually long gone by Christmas Eve.

I have a Christmas bear collection, and our tree is surrounded by bears until Christmas Eve.  Part of the fun of Christmas morning is discovering where Santa moved all the bears to in order to put our gifts under the tree!

[Bluenomi]

My parents always put the pressie under the treee, that way you could prowl around and sticky beak before the day without snooping   DM always uses matching paper and I come along and add my pressies that never seem to match and ruin the look, oh well   Santa presents got put at the end of your bed unwrapped though I'm to big to get them any more, my youngest sister still does though.

I spent Christmas with my future in laws last year and discovered the most of the presents go under the tree. FFIL's don't though, he apparently is a really bad snooper and will spend days shaking them and what not if he can see them so his come out chirstmas eve

[RainhaDoTexugo]

Growing up everything went under the tree Christmas Eve night while we were in bed.  I think that this was largely because my mom is a lazy wrapper and didn't want to deal with it until she absolutely had to.  I'm sure nosy kids contributed to it, too, though

Now, BF and I put things under the tree as they're wrapped, but only if they're not guessable.  Boxes aren't too obvious, but a tiny little necklace box shaped package would kind of give away the surprise   Stockings are sneakily filled on Christmas Eve night after one of us has gone to bed/Christmas morning before one of us has gotten up, or as sneakily as possible so as to be there when getting up.  We stick gifts we buy for other people under the tree too, for added festiveness, and I made and hung stockings for the two roommates we've had after learning that they didn't have them.

[KenveeB]

I definitely believe in putting gifts under the tree as soon as they're wrapped!  Trees just look so bare without gifts under them.  I like a big assortment of shapes, sizes, and colors. (I hate it when all the paper matches!)  Growing up, we always put all the gifts from family members under the tree as soon as we got them.  Only the Santa gifts stayed hidden and magically appeared on Christmas morning.  We still have a few gifts designated "from Santa" that show up Christmas morning. 

I love going and shaking gifts, trying to figure out what they were!  My mom's also really good at disguising what gifts are by size or weight, and I've carried on in her tradition.  (Although Dad's gift this year is huge, and I can't decide if I'd rather just put it under the tree in a big gift bag or elaborately wrap something smaller and do the scavenger thing.  Hmmm.

My family growing up had one tradition that I have tried to continue, which is getting to open one present on Christmas Eve.  The package always contained new pajamas.  I'm trying to continue the Christmas pajamas tradition but DH thinks it's silly.  And getting pjs isn't nearly as exciting for the kids when they get all kinds of gifts from their aunts and uncles anyway.

The reason you give the kids new pjs as their Christmas Eve gift is so they will look their best in the Christmas morning photos. We do it every year.

Um, I still do this, and I'm on my own. <blush> I always buy a new pair of pretty PJs to be worn Christmas morning.

[Summrs]

Presents are put under the tree as they're wrapped or as they arrive from others. 

When the kids were little, Santa's gifts came out after they were in bed Christmas Eve, but they were never wrapped.  They just had a big tag on them with the child's name.  And the stockings were always filled then, too, of course.

These days, the only thing I save until after they're in bed are the stockings.  I still love tip-toeing around to fill them with nuts and candy and a little wrapped gift or two.  Part of it is that I fill the dark, quiet time with thoughts of Mom, as she needlepointed all our stockings when the kids were babies.

[unicornbee]

In my family, us kids (all 4 still live at home for the moment) will put our gifts under the tree a few days before christmas. My parents may put a few under as well but will put the rest under Christmas Eve. I dont see it as rude. It's part of xmas.

[pblair38]

Gifts to other non-immediate family members go under the tree as soon as they are wrapped, but with a 4YO and a 1YO, that wrapping might take place just before the giving.    I work so much better under pressure anyway. 

Gifts from Mommy and Daddy to the boys go under the tree when they are wrapped (which last year happened to be the same time that Santa made his delivery).  Maybe this year they'll be there a few days before, if I'm lucky.  Same for gifts to DH, and his to me. 

Gifts that come in the mail from extended or distant family members get opened when they show up.  I'm bad - I know!

NOTHING has bows or ribbon - Phoebe the feline likes to chew them (and on the artificial tree).  Patch did too, but she went over the Rainbow Bridge in June.  She used to sleep under the tree, and when I got the tree skirt out this year, it still had Patch fur on it.  *sniff*

Before kids came along, I'd stuff DH's stocking a few days in advance.  Now with kids, all that happens on Christmas Eve after the kidlets have gone to bed. 

Penny

[pittgirl]

Around here, gifts usually don't get wrapped until Christmas Eve, so that's when they go under the tree.  But since I have to work Christmas Eve & Christmas Day this year, all my gifts have to get wrapped by the Dec 23.

[WildChild@Heart]

We put most of the gifts under the tree as they are wrapped or received. But "Santa" gifts don't go out until late christmas eve. Also the stockings are put out, but remain empty until "Santa" fills them. And yes it's true some of us don't have kids at home anymore, but Santa still remembers us too. 

[StaciNadia]

Growing up:  Presents from friends and relatives went under the tree, and clothing presents from Mom, and all presents to the adults.  We opened those presents on Christmas Eve.  Then the Santa presents and stockings were put out after I went to bed.

As an adult at home:  Presents from friends and relatives went under the tree, and some presents from Mom and me to each other.  Opened on Christmas Eve as usual.  Mom put her Santa presents to me out after I went to bed, and I put my Santa presents to her Christmas morning before waking her up.

With Red:  Everything goes under the tree when it's wrapped/arrives.  Sometimes we open things at midnight as is Red's tradition, but I prefer when we unwrap everything Christmas morning.  We have to tape up presents as the kitties like to play, claw, and bite, but we don't want to NOT put the presents out, LOL.

[magdalena]

I have no problem with gifts beign displayed but when I was growing up, I enjoyed the secrecy of hiding my presents and knowing there were piles of presents hiding somewhere else in the house. Nowadays mom tells me where the gift basket is when i go home for the holidays (usually a few days earlier, we hate flying last minute) so i can just add mine to the pile.

well, the thing is, we still have Santa come over every Christmas Eve, so he obviously needs to bring the gifts - no way could they be waiting under the tree  we've had a foreign Santa a fews years now...