Do you still open gifts with extended family ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here,
I prefer opening gifts beforehand on Christmas morning. We tell them to come over in the afternoon at Christmas hoping they opened their gifts already. It just awkward watching an almost 30 year old woman open 16 gifts from her parents.

I was asking how do you word it to have people open their gifts at their home and then come over later. I guess from now on we’d just have Christmas dinner.

“Hi Mil, Fil, Sil, we can’t wait to see you! We’ll be having Christmas dinner around 3, after we’ve cleaned up from opening gifts. Does anyone have any new dietary restrictions?”

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thanks for the replies.

She’s not special needs.

[Anonymous]

Oh, OP. LOL.
This is my husbands family. We’ve been married 9 years. We have 3 kids.

We do “Christmas” with his mom and sister on a day that isn’t Christmas. It nothing but opening presents. For HOURS.

I few years ago I said no, I don’t want gifts myself nor are we giving gifts to you (his sister).

It’s completely ridiculous watching adults open gifts for hours. It’s just stuff from their Amazon list also (Hanes t shirts, lavender oil). HOURS of opening stuff.

My kids are somehow expected to sit there in the circle and unwrap things and watch others unwrap. So weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thanks for the replies.

She’s not special needs.

Does she live with them? If not, then this is their Christmas which you are sort of crashing. You don’t tell people how many gifts they can give to others.

[Anonymous]

Op here, I don’t care about her getting gifts. She’s coming to our home in the afternoon. I have assumed that having them over in the afternoon would allow them to have opened gifts at their own home already. Sister in law and parents in law live separately and then they come over to our house. It does take a long time for sister in law to open gifts.

Thanks to the ones who understand. I’ll take your advice.

[Anonymous]

We open gifts to each other (me, DH, our kids, grandparents and BIL) at my in laws home on Christmas Eve. Santa brings unwrapped gifts to our house for the kids on Christmas morning and the whole family all comes over to watch them and have brunch.

Are you opposed to seeing your SIL open her gifts from her parents because there are so many? What about your husband? Doesn’t he get as many gifts from them as she does?

[Anonymous]

Op here, my fiancé doesn’t get as much gifts as her. It’s awkward to me how many gifts she is getting and it taking a long time.

For the future, I wonder if this will be still a thing. She is almost 30 years old after all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here, my fiancé doesn’t get as much gifts as her. It’s awkward to me how many gifts she is getting and it taking a long time.

For the future, I wonder if this will be still a thing. She is almost 30 years old after all.

I sense something else is going on here. Your reaction, OP, is more that just being bored. What’s really going on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here, my fiancé doesn’t get as much gifts as her. It’s awkward to me how many gifts she is getting and it taking a long time.

For the future, I wonder if this will be still a thing. She is almost 30 years old after all.

OP I’m the PP above.

It’s ridiculous to me also. My husbands mom and sister do this activity with us also. We sit there while my brother in law unwraps Hanes undershirts from his mother in law. I mean, come on!

[Anonymous]

Op here,
Thank you above. Someone gets it. It’s just too much.

[Anonymous]

I remember how awkward it was too OP. I didn't like people staring at me as I opened gifts and my inlaws had us go one at a time so we all could watch the opener. I told my DH I wasn't doing that and asked if the two of us could exchange gifts separately. Fast forward a decade- it's like a bonanza on Christmas morning with grandkids opening gifts. I enjoy it immensely vs those childfree Christmases.

We host Christmas morning (only grandkids!) and invite whoever wants to join us to come. It's surprising how many people show up at 8am in their matching pajamas.

[Anonymous]

Op here, that’s like how it is. We’re surround her basically while she opens all these gifts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here, that’s like how it is. We’re surround her basically while she opens all these gifts.

NP.

That's so awkward and odd. Is everyone expected to focus on her this whole time. No thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here,
I prefer opening gifts beforehand on Christmas morning. We tell them to come over in the afternoon at Christmas hoping they opened their gifts already. It just awkward watching an almost 30 year old woman open 16 gifts from her parents.

I was asking how do you word it to have people open their gifts at their home and then come over later. I guess from now on we’d just have Christmas dinner.

Is your husband not also getting gifts from his parents? Are they not giving you a gift? Or you to them?

I am still having trouble picturing what happens. Maybe tell it like a story, from beginning to end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here,
I prefer opening gifts beforehand on Christmas morning. We tell them to come over in the afternoon at Christmas hoping they opened their gifts already. It just awkward watching an almost 30 year old woman open 16 gifts from her parents.

I was asking how do you word it to have people open their gifts at their home and then come over later. I guess from now on we’d just have Christmas dinner.

Is your husband not also getting gifts from his parents? Are they not giving you a gift? Or you to them?

I am still having trouble picturing what happens. Maybe tell it like a story, from beginning to end.

Not OP, but it sounds like she and her fiance have the extended family come for Christmas. The family brings the gifts for the future SIL and the fiance. Fiance gets gifts, but not as many. Future SIL gets many gifts, which OP finds objectionable.

OP, I think it is too early to worry about this, but if you want to host Christmas, the thing to do is for your husband to call his parents and ask them to open their gifts at home prior to coming over (preferably without mentioning you, since they will just dislike you for caring about something that doesn't have anything to do with you).