Does Santa Wrap? About This Page:

[benjiboo25]

The thread about "scheduled trick or treating" made me question another "tradition" that shook me last year.

I grew up with Santa leaving unwrapped and unpackaged (ready for play) toys under the Christams Tree. When DH and I had kids, Santa left toys the same way. It was never a discussion--he did the same for DH's family (originally from TX and Arkansas).

Last year, a dear friend and I were talking about Santa, and she mentioned how long it must take for Santa to wrap all those gifts he leaves. I was dumbfounded. She gew up a few towns from me, her DH grew up about 45 minutes south of both of us. Both she and her DH grew up with Santa leaving wrapped gifts.

I started noticing holiday commercials--sure enough, some of the Santa gifts are wrapped, some are not. In Holiday cartoons--sometimes Santa brings wrapped boxes out of his bag and other times the toys are presented ready for play under the tree.

I am curious about these differences, and how/why Santa chooses different presentations. Does it matter by family? Faith? region? ethnicity? Is is something that Santa could choose to change after years years of doing it one way for the family?

I imagine that the time he spends wrapping could be dwarfed by the time he spends unpackaging, setting up and disposing of the evidence. Also, opened toys often look more skimpy than wrapped ones...

What does Santa do in your family?

[smilechaser]

Funny you should bring this up. DH and I just got married last year and celebrated our first Christmas as a combined family. He looked at me like I was a freak when I said something about wrapping. Our Santa wrapped....theirs did not. To offset the hiding of the santa wrap I always had the kids leave the wrapping paper for Santa under the tree for him to use. This way if remnants were seen around the house it was ok. Of course my explanation to the kids was Santa can't possibly carry wrapping paper too!! He has so much already!!!

Our biggest difference was stockings. We did stockings!! Every year, without question! Some years I looked fwd to that more than the gifts! There were always a few small gifts and candy ect. Heck my mom made me a stocking even as an adult! It was just a huge tradition....my g'ma and my mom even made us homemade crocheted stockings with our names on them. I am willing to give on some traditions but I have to have my stockings!! And probably will until I am making them for grandkids!

[lukeandbrookesmom]

Santa wraps everything here

[Griffin]

We ask Santa to wrap our gifts It's just the way it's always been done for our family. I can see instances where things don't get wrapped though. Maybe they are big, bulky, or just strangely shaped.

[Mommy2alittleprincess]

The gifts under the tree are wrapped. The gifts from Santa are left by the fireplace and are not wrapped. Stockings are filled with unwrapped small gifts.

[disney_duke]

Santa always wrapped gifts for me, and he seems to still do the same thing here with our kids. Although, when I was little he mysteriously had the same paper as my parents..... Now, he just uses bright shiny red paper. We also leave out, by his cookies so he's sure not to forget, tiny little knit stockings with each of the kids name sewn on them so he sets them on top of the correct gift.

I think my DH always had wrapped gifts too, but this is really "my" area, not his!

[Lumieregirl]

Santa always left my toys in front of the tree, unwrapped, and ready to play with immediately.
I suppose as a wise old soul, he knows how different families prefer it. I've never seen any other rhyme or reason as to why he wraps for some and not others.

[krisk11]

Unless santa brings you something big like a bike, everything is wrapped including the stocking stuff. In our house the fun is in the unwrapping of the gifts. We shake them and see if you can hear anything before they are opened.

[boBmouse]

Santa did both when I was a kid. Funny how he rapped the socks but not the games that he left to keep us occupied while our parents slept in. "snicker"

[islandgirl]

Santa never wrapped gifts for DH or myself, and didn't wrap our oldest DS's gifts either until our second son was born. I like the wrapped gifts better as do the boys. They each take a turn opening gifts which prolongs the fun & excitement! Over the past few years, DS(22) has missed a few Christmas mornings due to work, but DS (15) still prefers wrapped gifts.

[elis mom 08]

wrap. Usually a shiney or special type of wrap is used that is not to be confused with the family gifts.

[KMB733]

Santa always wrapped our gifts. Santa had special wrapping paper that was different from the gifts from my parents. That's how we knew what presents were from Santa.

[Roxie2006]

Santa wraps for us too!!.

[stretch2864]

Santa always left unwrapped gifts for me when I was growing up. Santa continued this tradition with my DD when she was little. Amazingly, Santa usually brought the gifts that were large, awkward, and would have been difficult to wrap! There was a snafu one year when Santa brought a faulty Easy Bake oven. DD was fretting over what we would do. I had to assure her that Target would take back a gift on Santa's behalf, since he was now back in the North Pole!

[Cam22]

Luke and I both grew up with Santa's gifts unwrapped, spread out in front of the tree, and ready for us to play with. We began the same way with Stefanie, but then she felt cheated that some of hers were not wrapped. Now that she is older, she still gets her stocking and one or two unwrapped gifts from Santa. But truthfully, I find wrapping to be a waste of time and resources and an additional burden on the landfill, so for several years now we have been using over and over pretty forest green boxes with red ribbon. I store these away in the garage and we have very little to put out with the trash the day after Christmas. One of my little ways to go green.