How to set out presents on Christmas morning

Should presents be piled or scattered around the tree?

Both work. The choice is about the first look when the door opens.

A pile keeps everything close to the trunk. It looks full in a small room, and it is quick to build late at night. The catch is that children dig through it to find their own name.

A scatter spreads the gifts in a wide ring around the tree, out onto the floor. It takes up more space, but it looks bigger from the doorway. Each child can find their own part of the ring without climbing over a sibling.

A good middle path: a small pile close to the tree for the shared gifts, with each child's gifts fanned out in their own section.

How do you make the Santa scatter look?

The Santa scatter is a way of setting out gifts so the room looks as if someone came and went in a hurry. A few gifts sit out from under the tree, one or two are unwrapped, and the stockings bulge.

To build it:

1. Start with the unwrapped giftMany families leave the main Santa gift without paper, so it is the first thing a child sees. Set it at the front, facing the door.
2. Spread the wrapped gifts in a fanbiggest at the back and smallest at the front, so nothing hides behind a large box.
3. Leave a gap to walk throughChildren run in fast, and a clear path to the tree keeps toes off the smaller parcels.
4. Add small signs of the visitA half eaten cookie, an empty glass by the plate, or a gift tag in different handwriting.
5. Turn on the tree lightsand leave the main light off. The lights do most of the work.

Stand in the doorway once you are done. If you cannot see a gift for every child from there, move one forward.

What goes in the stocking, and where should it be?

The stocking is often the first thing children open, so it sets the tone. Keep the stocking small and easy: a treat, a little toy, socks, a book light or something for the bath.

If you have no fireplace, hang stockings on the end of the bed, a door handle or the back of a chair. A stocking at the end of the bed buys you quiet time in the morning. There is something to open before anyone leaves the room.

Fill each stocking with the heavy items at the bottom. Put something soft at the top, so the shape looks full when it hangs.

How does a Santa's last stop trail work?

A trail is a short line of small things leading from a bedroom door to the tree. It turns the walk into the room into part of the surprise.

Some ideas for the trail:

• Small wrapped giftsevery few steps, each with a child's name.
• Paper footprintscut from card, with a little flour or glitter on top.
• Notes from Santaeach one a clue that points to the next spot.
• A ribbontied to the bedroom door handle that runs to one gift.

End the trail at something worth finding, like the stockings or the one unwrapped gift. Keep it short. Three or four stops is plenty for younger children, while older ones may enjoy a longer clue hunt.

If two children share the house, give each a trail in their own color, so nobody picks up a sibling's note.

How do you set it all up the night before?

The night before goes faster if most of the work is done earlier in the week. Use this order:

1. Wrap and label everything in advanceLeave only the unwrapped Santa gift for the night itself.
2. Store gifts by childin one large bag or box each, in a room children do not go into.
3. Put batteries in toysthat need them, and take toys out of hard plastic packs if you plan to leave them unwrapped.
4. Wait until everyone is fully asleepSetting out often takes longer than you expect, so start once the house is quiet.
5. Fill the stockings firstthen set out the bags by child, then add the shared gifts.
6. Do the finishing touches lastthe plate of cookies, the trail and the lights.

Take a photo once it is set out. It helps you put back a gift that gets moved, and it is a nice record of the morning.

Should each child have their own wrapping paper?

A color for each child makes the morning calmer. Each child looks for their paper, and the tag only has to say who the gift is from.

Some ways to do it:

• One print per childsuch as stars for one and stripes for another.
• One ribbon color per childwith any paper, if you would rather use what you have.
• A secret codeSanta's gifts in a paper you never use for family gifts, so the handwriting on the tag never gives anything away.

Write each child's color on a list and keep it with the wrapping things, so every helper uses the same plan. For more on wrapping itself, see how to wrap a present.

How do you stop children peeking early?

A clear plan for the morning keeps everyone in their rooms until you are ready. Tell children the rules on Christmas Eve, so nobody is surprised:

• Nobody goes downstairsuntil a set time, or until a parent comes to get them.
• Stockings are allowedin the bedroom, or on the bed, before that time.
• Everyone walks in togetherso the first look at the tree is shared.

A no peek order for opening helps too. Some families go one gift at a time, youngest first, so everyone sees what the others open. Others let the stockings go fast and then slow down for the gifts under the tree. A short break for breakfast in the middle keeps the morning from ending in 10 minutes.

What if there is no room under the tree?

A small tree or a busy room does not mean a smaller morning. Try these:

• A chair for each childwith their gifts on and around it.
• A spot on the sofafor each child, with the stocking on the cushion.
• A tablenext to the tree, covered with a cloth, for the gifts that do not fit.

Large gifts, like a bike or a play kitchen, can stay where they are. Tie a ribbon to the gift and run it to the tree. A tag on the end tells the child to follow it.

Where do gifts from relatives go?

Keep gifts from grandparents, aunts and uncles to one side, or set them out later in the day. That way the morning stays about the gifts at home, and each relative's gift gets its own moment when they visit or call.

If relatives send gifts ahead, wrap them in a paper you use for nothing else. Then they are easy to set aside on Christmas Eve.