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Do you wrap the gifts from Santa?

Do you wrap the gifts from Santa? Or are they just out there in the morning, like BLAM! SANTA!

Much of it is about creating a sense of magic. The way I think my parents did it was you write the letter to santa and ask for ONE THING (not 50 things). And in the morning when you come out to the tree that thing is MAGICALLY there. BLAM! SANTA! How magical is THAT? He came and delivered the thing you wanted.

He’s Santa, he doesn’t have time to wrap gifts, right?

Of course there’s the other side.

Santa’s gifts are wrapped but they are in special paper that the kid never sees, and in handwriting the kid doesn’t recognize. And, everytime you see the sleigh being loaded in the Christmas cartoons, the presents are wrapped.

Unless it’s a ball or something. ‘Cause they’re hard to wrap—even for your perfectionist wife or girlfriend. Or elf.

The other other side

Hanukkah. I have to admit I don’t know much about what’s written in the Shulkhan Arukh, but are your gifts wrapped?

Help

I’m a dad that’s trying to solidify a Christmas tradition and I have to admit I’m a little torn. I THINK I’m a fan of Santa’s one gift sitting there unwrapped but I can be swayed.

Please help.

xmas_giftwrap_feat

29 Comments

  • Tracy

    My parents NEVER wrapped the santa gifts. Not once. It was kind of awesome to run down the stairs and just see a pile of awesomeness looking right at you. No pesky paper. I remember feeling like I was going to burst because it was just so exciting.

    I think i was in the minority, though, because as an adult when i’ve mentioned that Santa didn’t wrap my gifts they’ve looked at me cross-eyed. For LJ I kind of wrap some of them, because I feel like I HAVE to. I don’t want to, though. Also- it’s certainly better for the environment to save all that paper.

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  • Aradria

    We do ours unwrapped or sometimes in a big santa like sack if there is multiple items from Santa.

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    • Pete Fazio

      Never thought of a Santa sack. But I could imagine it for multiple kids. You could pull the gifts out and they could have a tag on them.

      Reply

  • zannestar

    Santa’s gifts are always wrapped in special paper (or different paper). For many years growing up, Santa only wrapped in the funnies. Part of our tradition of opening is guessing what Santa brought. Helps make the opening time a little longer…

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  • Strep

    My parents wrapped them and wrote tags in their regular handwriting….which is how I deduced at a tender age that there was no Santa…

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  • carissa

    Our daughters gift is wrapped in special paper. she’s three so this is her first year believing in santa. We even planned for my husband to throw rocks on the roof while i put her to bed so she can hear reindeer.

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  • Condo Blues

    Santa didn’t wrap my gifts as a kid. They (as in one or two things) were always under the tree BAM! The same went with the stocking stuffers. Unfortunately I started the practice of wrapping the stocking stuffers (which I regret. It’s now too much to wrap.) because I helped Santa fill out of town family’s stockings and I didn’t want the home helper elf to see what she was going to get early.

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  • Keith

    Santa’s gifts were always wrapped in a special paper and marked “From Santa” on the gift tags.

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  • Heather

    I think it seems more magical if they are not only unwrapped, but out of their packaging! There’s something about coming down and seeing toys ready to play with that is so “Santa.” I think my parents did a mixture of wrapped and unwrapped, though–I understand the appeal of wanting to wrap them to extend the excitement. We’ll probably do what you suggest, wrapping a bunch, but keeping one or two bigger/most important things unwrapped for special effect. Have fun, Julia is going to be so into it! So fun.

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  • Romy

    Santa has a special wrapping machine, according to Umi-Zoomi.

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  • Tina

    My family tradition is to wrap them in something original. However, my little sister believes Santa never has time to wrap and it’s a waste of time and money. So, with my own family I carry on the tradition of presents are wrapped, and started a new tradition last year, of adopting the elf on the shelf. :) Merry Christmas and I wish you both a wonderful new year! Great question!

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  • Colleen Bogart

    What did Santa choose to do at your house this year?

    And, I love the snowflakes!

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    • Pete Fazio

      Unfortunately I have been able to have XMAS yet… but he ended up wrapping this year. I think I’m a one big gift unwrapped kind-of-guy with a couple possibly wrapped in the future.

      Reply

  • maureen

    Wrap!!! Mystery! Excitement! And maybe I was dumb, but my parents never copped to buying any of the presents — they were all from Santa. We were told he couldn’t carry them all on Xmas eve, so he brought them in relays. And wow, the list thing has gotten really out of hand. The idea was we were allowed to say one or two things we wanted. And you know what? To this day, I cherish the gifts I receive from anybody, because THEY picked them out…I have never returned a gift in my life. Love your site.

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  • "daine"

    Wrap ’em. Santa ALWAYS has different paper and writing. Sadly my oldest Bella made a comment that the tooth fairy’s writing looks oddly like Santas. Smart ass. Although I know she IS questioning Santa, she still believes in the magic and wont ask. At 45 I still believe and there’s all there is to that in my world!!

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  • Morgan

    Growing up we got one unwrapped gift that was right out front. Honestly I cant remember if that one was from Santa or from my parents, and then we had wrapped gifts behind that to open.

    My husbands family did one unwrapped open gift from Santa, the one thing you wanted most and then everything else was from his parents. Now we have combined our traditions for our boys age 6 and 20 months. They get one present open and out of the box ready to go from Santa right out front and then they get wrapped gifts from mom and dad. We also do not wrap anything in their stocking which is from Santa as well. Having one gift out and open and their stockings ready to go gives us a minute or two to open our eyes, for my husband to get coffee, me to get the camera, etc while they are entertained not wanting to immediately tear into packages. This could be where the tradition started lol. Your blog is awesome, just found it tonight, but really enjoy it!!

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    • Pete Fazio

      Thanks for the compliment. Please, share us around. Santa doesn’t have time to wrap all those gifts, of course they’re out in the open.

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  • Jaye

    Santa wraps and uses Santa paper. Santa’s elves do the wrapping. And the labels are pre-printed with the child’s name and Santa. He doesn’t have time to hand-write the labels. :)

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  • Ashley

    Best Christmas from santa I recall was not only a drumset my parents assured me we couldn’t afford multiple times, but it was put together in the room beside the tree, kind of hidden as if santa made a mistake and I had to stumble across it.

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  • Laura Madere

    I always wrap a couple and have a big special item or 2 unwrapped with a bow, tag or something special on it, and of course Santa always writes his name different. I miss doing this so much my daughters are now 25 & 20, but I am happy to say I now have a 5 year old grand-daughter to spoil and play Santa all over again. Thank God! :)

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  • Amie

    Santa uses Special wrapping paper at our house.

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  • Nicole Campbell

    We have our boys write a letter with a list of 5 things to ask Santa for. The big things we set out like BAM!! SANTA!! And the others we wrap in a special paper. Bc we had to compromise. My Santa gifts were not wrapped when I was a kid but my husbands were.

    Reply

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