# Does "Santa Claus" wrap presents? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 15, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203 "2008-12-15T04:14:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nevermore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@nevermore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevermore)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/1 "2008-12-15T04:14:31Z")
A poll. Answer based on your own opinions, experiences as a child, and/or as many others as you know. 1. Are the presents under the tree from Santa Claus wrapped? 2. Are stocking stuffers wrapped? (Excluding trivially inexpensive items, of course) ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/2 "2008-12-15T04:16:02Z")
No and no. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/3 "2008-12-15T04:27:11Z")
Depends. Sometimes they are, sometimes not, there is no pattern (except for whose house you are at…). Usually no. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/4 "2008-12-15T04:27:18Z")
Yes and no. dangemermom–did your parents wrap the presents to you from them? (Or I guess, alternatively, did you only get gifts from Santa and not your parents?) I’ve never heard of Santa not wrapping presents, so it will be interesting to see if this is a widespread practice. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/5 "2008-12-15T04:35:17Z")
Santa never wrapped presents at my parents’ house, and he doesn’t at my house, either. He leaves one gift for each child, unwrapped, in front of the Christmas tree, as far over as possible, so it can’t be seen from the bedrooms. Anything in a stocking is so small as not to need wrapping and there’s mostly candy and one nice fruit in there anyway. Parents wrap. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/6 "2008-12-15T04:41:37Z")
Yes, and Yes at Casa de Rick ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/7 "2008-12-15T04:53:18Z")
Of course not, he has his elves wrap the presents. I believe I got my Santa gifts wrapped but I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/8 "2008-12-15T04:59:05Z")
Yes and yes. He had his own distinctive handwriting, even. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/9 "2008-12-15T05:00:20Z")
Santa does not wrap anything around here. Stockings are removed from the mantle and placed in front of the tree. Each person’s Santa presents fill and surround their stocking. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/10 "2008-12-15T05:09:46Z")
Yes, and he used to but as I got older he stopped wrapping the stocking stuffers. And now the bastard just gives me fruits like oranges and bananas in the Stockings rather than gifts… ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/11 "2008-12-15T05:12:57Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > Yes and yes. > He had his own distinctive handwriting, even. I’ve noticed the distinctive handwriting. I’ve also noticed that his wrapping paper is different from the other wrapping under the tree. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/12 "2008-12-15T05:41:32Z")
Elf labor unions allow them only to make the toys. They do not wrap. And obviously Santa doesn’t have time to do it. Stocking stuffers don’t get wrapped either. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/13 "2008-12-15T05:45:57Z")
Yes and no. ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/14 "2008-12-15T05:49:27Z")
Yes and yes. All of Santa’s presents were wrapped(still are, too. I’m in my mid-20s and I still get presents from Santa), even those that went into stockings. The only exception is for a few candies and fruits (Every year we each got an orange, an apple, and a pear) that are left unwrapped. Santa suspiciously shops for wrapping supplies at the same place my mom does and has her poor handwriting. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/15 "2008-12-15T06:01:21Z")
Santa does not wrap our presents. I also notice that he tends to give the big, bulky, oddly shaped gifts like dollhouses and bicycles, while parents give (and wrap) books, DVDs and puzzles in boxes. 😉 Stockings are a mixed lot, as they are filled by both parents and Santa. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/16 "2008-12-15T06:12:09Z")
When I was growing up, none of the Santa swag was wrapped. Now my wife likes to wrap the stuff under the tree (not the stockings, though, that would be overkill). It’s work that I could personally do without (I’m always the one who’s up until 3 AM on Xmas Eve wrapping the crap we’ve been hiding in a locked storage room), but my little girls love the extra anticipation and surprise of unwrapping presents. If you’re going to wrap, be sure to use different wrapping paper than what you use for stuff from mommy and daddy. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/17 "2008-12-15T06:20:48Z")
The presents under the tree are all wrapped, and some will be from “Santa”…randomly, even for my 30ish sons. been dong it all their lives this way, and they would be disappointed not to get a “Santa” present. Other presents are labeled with the giver’s ID and whatever they want to write. Things in stockings are not wrapped, and have no ID as far as the origins. Things in stockings can be taken out when the stocking owner gets up…no waiting…and there are always some goodies to eat before breakfast. Or maybe a bit of jewelry for my wife. After breakfast we open presents. The pattern depends on who is present…little kids get to go first and it is a melee…paper and ribbons and empty boxes everywhere. Then while they are playing, the adults take a relaxed attitude and turns opening theirs. Family time fun. ---
**Author:** ![Qwisp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qwisp/32/397_2.png) [@Qwisp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwisp)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/18 "2008-12-15T06:29:26Z")
yes all presents wrapped and under the tree. Santa only gives the good stuff. Mom and Dad give clothes. Stockings are unwrapped and can be dove into as soon as one wakes up. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/19 "2008-12-15T06:34:05Z")
> [@seodoa](#): > > Yes and yes. All of Santa’s presents were wrapped(still are, too. I’m in my mid-20s and I still get presents from Santa), even those that went into stockings. The only exception is for a few candies and fruits (Every year we each got an orange, an apple, and a pear) that are left unwrapped. Santa suspiciously shops for wrapping supplies at the same place my mom does and has her poor handwriting. :dubious: WE HAVE THE SAME SANTA! I never get Pears though… but Apples and Oranges indeed! And I’m in my Early 20s and get Presents from him. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203/20 "2008-12-15T06:34:10Z")
> [@Qwisp](#): > > yes all presents wrapped and under the tree. Santa only gives the good stuff. Mom and Dad give clothes. We do it that way too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-wrap-presents/477203.md?page=2)