What day do you open Christmas gifts?

In Germany we celebrate the 24th as the actual Christmas day. That's also the day the Christmas tree is decorated and the kids usually see the decorated tree for the first time in the evening when "Christ child" arrives and has brought the presents already.

Here in the United States we compromise - one gift on Christmas Eve (just like you do, boomer) and the rest on Christmas morning.

I'm over all that now, but back in the day..

it was Christmas Eve, because my aunt's birthday was the 24th. First we had her birthday celebration. Then dinner. Then we had family presents for Christmas.
Once I stayed over at one set of cousins' and they opened more the next morning, much more, quite amazing to me how much more. Reminded me of an old boyfriend's family, with the gifts piled around a few feet high.. but not quite like that. I guess I was raised with light gift christmases, jolly enough at the time, though some of the trees were pretty large.

Then we'd go home late and drag ourselves up and go to my inlaws the next day, another long drive in the opposite direction, more gifts, though spare. (Ex and brother mostly got white sox for christmas..) We'd give each other stuff on the 24th before the first long drive.
And.. we'd have friends over on the weekend, whatever weekend it was, the earlier or next one, and part of that included gift giving of some sort, either foodie stuff or funny stuff or sincere small items well thought out.

Early Christmas morning. Then breakfast followed by church. If there are especially a lot of gifts, some may be opened after the church service.

When I was a child we always got to open one gift Christmas Eve after returning from my grandparents where all of the family spent the evening together.

friday, this year

We got to open gifts from brothers on Xmas eve; basically two small gifts each. It was usually enough to shut us up for the evening so my parents could get a free minute or two to relax.

Cycloptichorn

Gifts? Humbug. Get back to work.

and clean out the fireplace.

Pretty much what CJ said. When I was a wee Merry Andrew the presents were always opened Christmas eve. Christmas morning was for sleeping in as the kids had been allowed to stay up late the night before.

Allways on Christmas morning. No discussion.

The kids went to bed about 10 pm. Stayed up late so I would expect them to get up late. They got up at 4:30 am and woke me up to tell me that Santa had left lots of presents under out Christmas tree!!!

An hour late, with stuff all over the livingroom, the three year old (he was the one to get everybody else up) goes back to bed.

Gonna be a long day.

O Holy Night - that'd be Christmas Eve.

Presents were, and are, opened on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day was, and is, the most boring day of the year for me.

Ditto.

We do the same -- one present Christmas eve, then the rest Christmas day.

We drag it out forever... with Christmas dinner (served at about 2), we only just wrapped up Christmas celebration. Now a walk, then a movie or two.

we've always done it on christmas morning, breakfast , presents, family time, supper

pretty laid back this year, just my mom and i, french toast for breakfast, presents, calls from family, a couple of dvds, supper in about an hour, pot roast (slow cooker, roasted potatoes and parsnip, mashed turnip, lima beans

I will be right over, djjd. But I have never been a big fan of lima beans.

Christmas morning in my family tradition, one on Christmas eve was the wife's family tradition. A few years we let the kids do one on Christmas eve, but not normally.

The reason why originally (and that's done in many countries still today) the presenting of presents was done on Christmas Eve has simple reasons: with the first vespers on December 24 the liturgical Christmas time begins.

Thus, traditionally it's done afterwards - and before the midnight mass (which nowadays starts earlier).
And that's the reason why all the popular (German) Christmas carols ( like Silent Night, Holy Night, Oh, come, little children ...) refer to this.

Always Christmas morning, although we have taken to fudging in our old age.

My cousins and I are post all this, except that little planets of christmas happen in the individual families.

I can only channel Vonnegut, so it goes.