Anonymous wrote:My 7 year old would have a consequence. I wouldn't wrap any of the presents they played with and would place then under the tree u wrapped an let them know they ruined those gifts. I would leave the younger kids something smaller from Santa. The older kid would get a letter about respecting boundaries and Christmas magic. I'd share that the gift this year is not a physical one but a gift of patience that will last a lifetime.

Harsh. I'd hate to be your kid. He's 7, ffs.

My 7 year old would have a consequence. I wouldn't wrap any of the presents they played with and would place then under the tree u wrapped an let them know they ruined those gifts. I would leave the younger kids something smaller from Santa. The older kid would get a letter about respecting boundaries and Christmas magic. I'd share that the gift this year is not a physical one but a gift of patience that will last a lifetime.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, so many with perfect 7 year olds! I could definitely see mine getting excited about finding the toy they’ve been asking for and opening before getting permission.

OP, I like the idea of Covid changing things. Santa can’t enter people’s homes so he delivered to parents this year.

Until he hears that Santa went to his friends’ houses

The parents are supposed to pretend that Santa came so of course his friends won’t know. Duh.

Anonymous wrote:Wow, so many with perfect 7 year olds! I could definitely see mine getting excited about finding the toy they’ve been asking for and opening before getting permission.

OP, I like the idea of Covid changing things. Santa can’t enter people’s homes so he delivered to parents this year.

Until he hears that Santa went to his friends’ houses

Wow, so many with perfect 7 year olds! I could definitely see mine getting excited about finding the toy they’ve been asking for and opening before getting permission.

OP, I like the idea of Covid changing things. Santa can’t enter people’s homes so he delivered to parents this year.

Wow! I would assume your 7 yo is the oldest?
We would have a serious conversation with everyone about presents are to be opened on Christmas morning (or whenever you do it) as a family.
Again, assuming 7 yo is the oldest, I’d go with the COVID/shipped from the North Pole story as well to salvage the magic.
I’m sorry this happened. Also, time to look for new hiding places. I used to have gifts delivered to work and wrap them there and leave them there until my last work day.

Wait. Your kids found toys, opened them, and started playing with them? I’d be furious (definitely with the 7 year old, others depending on age) and not about Santa. How do they know the toys were for them?
Please tell me this is a troll.

My mother is 80 years old, but she still remembers how when she was little, she found a box containing a doll when she was rummaging in a closet near Christmas time. She wanted to be at least a little surprised on Christmas morning, so she didn’t open the box to see the doll, but every day until the box was wrapped, she would stick her hand in the box to feel the doll’s hair because she was so excited.

If the kids weren’t purposely snooping, you need a much better hiding place.

In your situation, if you have even younger children, I’d explain that, due to covid, Santa isn’t entering everyone’s house, so the toys had to be shipped from the North Pole this year. If your other kids are older, just spill the beans.

How old are the other kids?

Santa delivered them for us to wrap and give to you. Happy early Christmas!

Depends how old your kids are. Even after my oldest knew Santa didn’t exist he loved the story and enjoyed Santa for years to come. It is weird that they found the gifts AND that they would get them out and play with them without your permission. Boundaries.

Anonymous wrote:How hidden? And how old are the kids? The 7 year old needs a little talking to. THey could be from you, and is it OK in your house for the 7 year old to get into presents from you and tell the rest of them?

+1. We've had to have several talks with our 8 year old about not touching things that don't belong to him. Just because something is in our house does not mean it is his to touch without asking.

The is more about Santa. Where were the parents? Where were the presents hidden? Sounds like too much unsupervised time, especially for the younger siblings.

How hidden? And how old are the kids? The 7 year old needs a little talking to. THey could be from you, and is it OK in your house for the 7 year old to get into presents from you and tell the rest of them?

Our 7 year old found Santa’s stash and told his siblings. We woke to all of them playing with the toys. Do we try to keep the illusion ( come up with lies) or just tell them straight up?