12 Days of Christmas Day 12: Presents

Now, we all know that getting (and giving!!) presents is great, and a huge part of the season, but I'm not here to talk about the gifts themselves. I'd like to talk about when the gift-giving actually happens.

In a previous post, I talked about how Santa comes the night of December 24th in both countries. That wasn't entirely accurate.

In Germany, das Christkind comes in the evening on Christmas Eve, usually around dinnertime. The living room is usually closed off while dinner is being eaten. Depending on the family, the tree might or might not be already set up and decorated. At any rate, after dinner, the family moves over to the living room to see what goodies das Christkind brought for them.

In the US, we have to wait longer. While Santa does come on Christmas Eve, he won't come until all the children are asleep in bed. However, the wait is made up for by the magic of coming downstairs early in the morning to see the tree all lit up and the presents underneath. It's always been one of my favorite memories of Christmas growing up. Even if I then had to wait a few hours for my parents to wake up...

However you do it, the first reveal of the presents under the tree is definitely one of the most magical aspects of Christmas. Then, seeing everyone's delighted faces when they unwrap just the thing they were hoping for just puts the icing on the cake (or Christmas cookie, if you will).



I hope you all have a very merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachten!