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During one of our morning meetings, an unexpected yet very lively holiday discussion came up: does Santa leave wrapped gifts behind, or are they all unwrapped? And who knew we’d all have our own strong feelings about it?! Personally, I love wrapping a lot of the Santa gifts (with ‘special’ paper that has yet to be seen, of course) because I enjoy seeing my daughter’s face when she opens each one. My husband, however, has always held the tradition that gifts from Santa were left unwrapped and on display in and around the stockings—to create that ‘WOW’ factor.
So having experienced the debate at home (we finally decided the smaller Santa gifts would be unwrapped and the bigger ones would be wrapped), I was pleasantly surprised to find that it seems my fellow SavvyHQ colleagues were not unfamiliar with these varying options. So as our blog theme this holiday season has become about anecdotes from SavvyHQ, we posed the questions: Are all the gifts from Santa, or are some from Mom and Dad—and do you wrap Santa’s gifts, or leave them unwrapped? Here’s what everyone else had to say:
“The gifts are always a mix. Some from Santa Claus and some from us. And I wrap everything.” Maggie, National Sales Director
“All gifts are from Santa (none from mom and dad to the kids) and all are wrapped. It’s what I remember as a little girl and so the tradition continues.” – Angela, Director of Business Development
“Growing up, Santa did not wrap presents at my parent’s house. To this day, he still displays our gifts very nicely in living room chairs so that we have a ‘wow!’ reaction when we first see all of our gifts. He also didn’t wrap our stockings. Now that I’m a mom, Santa wraps the girls’ presents, but I think in a few years I will probably adopt the same no-wrapping policy.” – Leslie, Sales Coordinator & Project Manager
“Following in my husband’s family tradition, our gifts are all wrapped and all marked from Santa. However, this year I plan to present the ‘big’ gift as coming from us as an effort to get some sense of gratitude from my kids. They keep telling me that their friends get gifts from Santa AND from their parents! Stocking and gifts are all left under the tree and ALL opened one after the other as soon as one of the kids wakes up (usually my son).” – Sarah, Publisher & Co-Founder
“When my kids believed in Santa, I used to wrap the presents, making sure to use different wrapping paper for gifts from Santa than the ones from me. They both open stockings at the same time, otherwise they take turns to open their gifts, which we do first thing Christmas morning.” – Holly, Production Manager/EatSavvy Photographer
“Most Christmas mornings, the kids are awake first. We all head downstairs in our PJs, make coffee, turn on the Christmas music, ooh and ahhh over the gifts that have been left by Santa (unwrapped), take down our stockings from the stocking holders on the fireplace and unpack them (unwrapped). In our family, stockings are almost as much fun and important for the kids and adults as the gifts. Opening gifts comes next. Just before lunch, we pack up the car and drive north to Huntsville, Ontario to enjoy a traditional Christmas celebration with my family—tobogganing, gift exchange, turkey dinner and holiday baking!” – Denise, Director of Client Services
“Santa gifts are not wrapped. We get up early to look through stockings—all the Santa stuff—then we have breakfast, go to church and then we open the other family gifts—one at a time.” Minnow, Editor & Co-Founder
How do you handle the Santa gifts on Christmas morning?
The fun of the holidays for many of us includes pulling out those family traditions, dusting them off and revelling in them for another year. Most people have special traditions on Christmas Eve, but ours differ according to where we spend the holidays. Some years we travel to visit family in Ireland, some years we have Christmas at home and some years we have gone away somewhere sunny and warm. No matter where we are, we are always sure to track Santa’s progress around the world (on the NORAD tracker) because we have cousins in Australia, Ireland and Canada and we always like to know who Santa has visited first. We also like to leave Santa a small glass of Guinness with his cookies—especially when we have Christmas in Dublin.
A quick round up of what some of the savvy moms at HQ do every year on Christmas Eve might inspire you to make some of your own traditions.
“We light a fire and read The Night Before Christmas. The kids of course leave treats for Santa and his reindeer. This year, we plan to track Santa on noradsanta.org.” – Maggie, National Account Manager
“On Christmas Eve, my three children (plus dog) have a ‘sleepover’ in my daughter’s room so all three of them can be together and on the alert for Santa.” – Angela, Director of Business Development
“When Dave and I got married, we decided that we needed to start our own traditions, so even though we are always invited to our respective parents homes, we choose to stay in. It started as just the two of us and is now just the four of us. Usually Dave and I have a nice dinner by candlelight using the good china, silver and crystal after the girls go to bed. Not sure this year if we will include them or not. After dinner, I usually do some last-minute wrapping, and watch White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, and/or Holiday Inn with Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby (which, in case you didn’t know, is the movie where the song ‘White Christmas’ was first performed).” – Leslie, Sales Coordinator & Project Manager
“Christmas Eve tradition at our house is pretty classic—we just leave out milk and cookies for Santa. Each year, there is a big debate as to which kind of cookie to leave but usually chocolate chip wins out (the kids worry he might be bored with them, but also feel they taste best with milk). My sister-in-law has a tradition which I really like—on Christmas Eve, her three daughters each get to open one present, which is always a new pair of pyjamas, so they can sleep in them and have nice pj’s for the morning.” – Sarah, Publisher & Co-Founder
“Christmas Eve we go to my mother’s for dinner and the kids usually get to open one gift.” – Holly, Production Artist/EatSavvy Photographer
“My children celebrate Christmas with their dad and his family on Christmas Eve, where they enjoy a lovely family tradition. Each family member is responsible for choosing a favourite Christmas carol and photocopied song booklets are distributed to all family members. Then they have a sing-a-long that begins with the youngest child (and their selection) and ends with the oldest adult. Depending on the number of family members and friends in attendance, most traditional Christmas carols are sung.” – Denise, Director of Client Services
“Our traditions have changed over the years, but we usually read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas before leaving out cookies for Santa and carrots and water for the reindeer. We also have a large, decorated Christmas ‘pull’ box with a small gift hidden inside for everyone at dinner. A long string and name tag are attached to each gift, and they poke out from under the lid. After dinner, we pull the strings to discover our small, surprise gifts and unwrap them. It’s our way of getting warmed up for the next day.” – Robyn, Assistant Editor
What Christmas Eve traditions do you enjoy with your family?
The Toronto Eaton Centre made a bold move this Christmas when they decided to cancel the traditional Santa booth and introduce him on Skype instead. According to an article in the Globe and Mail recently, line ups in years past went on for up to three hours, which wasn’t good for shoppers or parents. So the mall decided to try something new, making Santa more accessible for ‘busy parents’. Interestingly, the same Globe and Mail article generated 308 comments from readers who were almost all disgusted and appalled by the decision.
The Eaton Centre Santa on Skype is free and available on weekdays between 6 and 8 pm. Parents need to call the mall and arrange a time to chat. Seriously.
Why do I feel this is so sad and wrong? Can we argue that moving Santa from the offline world into the online world dehumanizes him and all of Christmas? It’s not like he is the real Santa, after all. Right?
But to the three year-old child (where the real spirit of Christmas lives), that man at the mall dressed up in a suit is Santa. That kid has one chance a year to sit on the lap of the greatest superhero of all time and ask for a special gift. Just him. In real life, in real time. It’s real to them, and it’s magic to watch.
Sure, the Santa visit can be a nightmare if the lines are long and grueling, but there is a reason why we put up with it—because we want it as much as the kids. Its tradition all wrapped up in nostalgia. It reminds us of our happy holiday memories and makes us feel like good parents. And that’s the real game we’re playing, after all (the good parent game).
Besides, savvy moms know you don’t need to make an appointment to see Santa on Skype when you can visit him at the North Pole here.
So what’s the verdict—is the Digital Santa savvy or not? Tell me what you think. We want more comments than the Globe!
If ‘the best things in life aren’t things’ as the plaque (ironically, another ‘thing’) on my desk reminds me, then why do I have so many things? Why do my children have so many things and why do I continue to buy things? I’m sure I’m not alone in asking these questions. Especially at this time of year, when we are more inclined to buy ‘things’.
I must admit to feeling somewhat conflicted when trying to discourage myself, and others, from buying things. I know that buying and selling is what makes the world turn. If things weren’t bought, then lots of people would suffer, least of all the receiver.
Nevertheless, it’s a good idea from time to time to take stock of what we have, and what we really need.
I often hear parents talk about how unappreciative they feel their children are, and how little time they spend with an item before tossing it aside and looking for something new and exciting to keep their attention. Often it’s the latest technological gadget. Sometimes it’s the most up-to-date piece in the fashion world. Sorry parents, but I think we have ourselves to blame for that. Our children don’t come into this world wanting for anything other than our love and attention. It’s up to us to put the brakes on sometimes, and live with the consequences of saying no. It’s up to us to help our children learn the value of what they have by modelling this for them.
How about:
I guess it’s time for me to take my own good advice!
What do I want for Christmas this year?
My needs are simple. I’m not asking for a lot this year:
What do you want for Christmas this year?
Just a little, small, tiny amount of time with nothing to do.
To sleep in past 6 am one morning - just one!
First skate, ski and toboggae with my little boys
Ditto on the inbox!
Several glasses of memorable wines with friends
Drama free christmas
Snow!
Ok something sparkly
Comments
We do not wrap Santa presents- they are in the stocking and that is “wrapped” enough in my opinion! Also, my husband hated Christmas once he knew that Santa wasn’t real - because his parents didn’t get him the fun presents anymore- so we make sure that not only Santa knows how to make Christmas special…
Gifts requested from Santa (only 2 items allowed on the list) are left unopened for the WOW factor and so the kids actually look at other gifts they open instead of chucking it aside to find the 2 things they wanted from Santa. Others are wrapped. A gift or two from Mom and Dad, also wrapped. Stocking contents not wrapped. Most of Christmas day is spent in pj’s, relaxing and on the phone to family in Europe. It takes a lot of time to get through the present opening as the kids want to play with things and I try to get them to eat something other than chocolate. It’s a lovley day.