Christmas gifts are often exchanged on Christmas Eve (December 2), Christmas Day itself (December 2), or the last day of the twelve-day Christmas season, the twelve-day night (January). Some cultures will open gifts on December 6, Saint Nicholas Day (in honor of Saint Nicholas, the original Santa Claus). Christmas Eve is a day with all its own traditions and for many it is as important as Christmas Day. These may include attending a midnight mass, singing carols, or eating a specific food.
In some cases, people choose to wrap, gift and open all or some of their gifts on Christmas Eve. The iconic publication insists that it is more acceptable to wait until the gap between the morning church service and Christmas lunch before going into gifts. For most children in the United States of America, Australia and the United Kingdom, gifts are opened on Christmas Day. Generally speaking, the entire month of December (and the closer you get to December 25) is a perfectly acceptable time to give Christmas presents in most popular books.
Some families also allow children to open a gift on Christmas Eve, as a fun sample of what to expect the next morning. But growing up I had a friend whose family opened socks on Christmas Eve and presents under the tree on Christmas morning. Santa Claus visits homes all over the world the night before Christmas, so it only makes sense to open presents on Christmas morning, after Santa is gone and toys are waiting under the tree. Whether you open your gift on Christmas morning with a sigh of amazement, an internal “oh my gosh”, or something in between, here's your guide to what to say and what to do.
Before you know it, they'll give you Christmas presents with love, while the anxious eyes of those who give them, crossed your fingers, will see if you like what you'll find. Others stay awake on Christmas Eve, waiting for the midnight strike on Christmas Day to fall under the tree. But there are still many timeless Christmas traditions, specifically those of Christmas mornings, that are especially nostalgic for families. The easiest way to answer this question is to consider when you will last see the person you want to give a gift to before Christmas.
This means that when they wake up on Christmas Day, they immediately feel festive in their Christmas pajamas, ready to open presents.
