Santa brings all the gifts. We did say something about how we have to pay Santa somewhat so that they don’t wonder why poorer kids didn’t get nice gifts.

Christmas is magical. If the kid asks Santa for an iPad, why would Santa bring a whistle and then the parents give an iPad??

In our house, Santa brings one gift, and it's never wrapped.

Santa brings 2 small gifts (decided well before Christmas and we go visit Santa EARLY in the season so the kids are committed and there are no last minute scrambles*) and the stocking.

*Ask me how I know.

Santa fills stocking and we have a big red sack that I put Santa gifts in. Its probably half of what my kids get. I don't think too much about it, just fit the bigger items in the sack and then wrap the rest from mom and dad.

I am careful not to wrap the Santa gifts in the same paper though! One roll that stays hidden is used for Santa gifts only.

I’m our house stockings and all gifts on Christmas morning are from Santa. We do one small gift from parents on Christmas Eve (pjs and a book). Santa is wrapped and in all the same special “Santa wrapping paper”. This way it’s easier for us to remember that everything is from Santa (and keeps Christmas morning pretty magical).

Santa gifts are not wrapped.

Anonymous wrote:I basically told my kids that mom and dad bring gifts. We are the Santa because Santa is just an idea not a real person.

I am weirdly delighted that there are other non-Santa families on here. We explain Santa is a fun game, with lots of caution that other families do it differently and not to interfere.

In our house everything is from Santa.

Anonymous wrote:Santa gifts are unwrapped. Also agree that the believing in Santa thing ends so quickly that this isn’t a big deal.

Maybe not to you at this point in your life it isnt. But it is a big deal when it is the stage of life you are in.

My kid is 10 now and stop believes. We do what we’ve always done. Santa brings a sack of wrapped gifts. She does a letter to Santa but he doesn’t always get what she wants. I’d say Santa brings approx 10-15 things. Some things she’s asked for and then filler type stuff. We do 2-3 parents from us/parents that are under the tree.

Santa brought about half the gifts, plus a couple of stocking items. Those were all wrapped in a different pattern of wrapping paper, and I printed out “To Larla From Santa” labels for those. I made sure none of the “less fun” gifts were ever from Santa. Ultimately, if there’s any question you don’t have a good answer for, it’s ok to join in the wondering and say you don’t know, you’re not entirely sure and nobody is, that’s the mystery and magic of Santa, etc.

At our house, Santa brings only one gift, unwrapped, and adds a few things to the stockings which we have already filled with small gifts for each other. Santa's gift is not the biggest item, but just something that will occupy the kids while the adults get coffee and get ready.

We put small things in each others' stockings to kids can ease into gift giving, but Santa still tops them up so there is a surprise. The "Santa doesn't bring the biggest thing" came from a friend's suggestion because our kids were in a school with widely varying incomes and not everybody was getting big gifts / it wasn't kind to talk about big gifts. But, it has served us well when the big asks started to be things like pets or, one year, a climbing structure: there was no pressure to magic that into existence. (BTW, the rule in our house is that pets can't be gifts, they can only be family decisions at non-holiday times.)

My DS 5 is either extremely innocent or incurious because he doesn't ask these questions. LOL

1 gift from santa
other items from mom and dad and family
our oldest was at a title 1 school and this is what all his classmates told him - so this is where we landed

I basically told my kids that mom and dad bring gifts. We are the Santa because Santa is just an idea not a real person.