I’ve always loved hearing other people’s Christmas stories. Their traditions, their memories, the way their family always serves hot dogs because one year Mom burned the turkey and Dad had to help — it really makes up the magic of the holiday. Now that I’m a mom with three girls of my own, I especially love hearing people’s Christmas morning traditions and memories. Hardly ever does someone remember what their big gift was each year, but they definitely remember waiting at the top of the stairs for their mom to put the Christmas music on, the sights and smells of Christmas morning, and being with their families.

So many people have Christmas Eve traditions and even Christmas Day traditions, but there’s something so special about Christmas morning. And in a world where we’re constantly pushed to do more all of December — Make these elaborate snowglobe cookies! Buy these pajamas for the whole family! Put up these time-intensive, expensive decorations! — it’s so lovely to hear about the simple, magical moments of Christmas morning that people remember decades later. These are the moments people want to relive. ~This~ is the Christmas magic they come back to over and over.

Waiting on Parents To Give the All-Clear on Christmas Morning

“We were not allowed to leave our rooms until our Mommie and Daddy came and got us. I remember being SO excited.” — Mary H., mom of two and grandmother of five

“When I was a kid in southern Oregon, our grandparents would walk with the four kids down the stairs singing, ‘Jingle Bells,’ then we’d gather around the tree with our mom and dad to open our presents.” — Ginny S., mom of two and grandmother of two

“We weren’t allowed to leave the back of the house until we were all awake and went to the living room together. Santa’s presents were all unwrapped and fully put together, sitting out in front of the fireplace. We enjoyed those first, then had breakfast. After breakfast, we opened presents from the family.” — Ashlee H.

“I make the girls wait outside of the living room while we turn on the tree, let the dog out, make coffee, all of that. And we sometimes tease them by saying things like, ‘Oh we need a second cup of coffee first!’ Play dragging it out.” — Sarah D., mom of two

“This was 1967. Christmas morning about 5 a.m. — we always had to wait in the hall. Mom went into the living room, turned on the tree, and started the stack of Christmas records on the record player. It was torture! Best memories ever.” — Mary C., mom of two and grandmother of five

“We always had to wait for the sun to come up. I remember my brother and I would peek at the tree from the stairs but weren’t allowed to go fully down. We’d come back up and, for some reason, sit in the bathroom — I think because it was closer to the stairs than our room — and wait for the sun to come up so we could wake our parents.” — Nick S., dad of three

Opening Presents in Bed

“We wait in our big bed in our matching pajamas until Daddy goes to fetch our stockings! We open them in the bed. He also preheats the oven for our Christmas cinnamon rolls!” — Gayle R., mom of two

“I had a bag at the foot of my bed for Father Christmas to put gifts into. So when I woke up and saw the bag full, I knew he had been and would run for my mum. She’d get in bed with me and we’d open all of my new things before going downstairs.” — Julie D., mom of three and grandmother of seven

“To keep us from ripping into gifts too early, our parents always left one present on the stairs that we could open before they woke up. It was usually a book, and my siblings and I would all sit on the stairs and read while we waited for them to come downstairs.” — Sarah H., mom of four and grandmother of six

“We always came home from Midnight Mass to find that Santa had already visited our house! He always left one present for each of us on our parents’ bed and after we all got our jammies on, we’d pile in together — all seven of us — and open that one gift before we went to bed.” — Barbara T., mom of four and grandmother of 12

Waking Siblings Up To Wait Together

“My big sister always woke me up, and we’d go into our little brother’s room and get in bed with him. We’d all peek out together at the tree — I’ll never forget the year three bikes were propped up in front of the fireplace — and then drag our bags from the foot of our beds where Santa stashed smaller gifts into the same room. We’d watch old VHS tapes of Christmases from years before until 6 a.m. when our parents would let us wake them.” — Samantha S., mom of three

“I always jumped out of bed first and ran to get my siblings. We’d all go sit in the living room with nothing on but the Christmas tree and whisper excitedly about what we thought Santa brought us.” — Donna Z., mom of four and grandmother of 10

“I’d go down the hall first thing in the morning to wake my big sister and would have to put my hands up so that I didn’t see anything in the living room as I ran down the hallway. My sister was always adamant that we walk in together, and so I never took even one little peek until I had her up.” — Janice P., mom of two

Finding Magical Bits From Santa

“Santa always left us a letter by his cookie plate, and it was full of the loveliest details of our entire year — stuff that happened back in the spring, even — and always gave us the warm fuzzies. Opening presents after that always felt so special.” — Theresa L., mom of one

“Santa used a specific wrapping paper for each of us, no gift tags, and we always had to look for the paper in the bottom of our stocking. Some years it was a big piece and we’d know immediately, and sometimes it would be a teeny tiny piece we really had to search for.” — George R., dad of two and grandfather to seven

“We knew Santa had visited because we’d always have a piece of red yarn tied around our bedroom door that trailed all through the house and would land at one big present. One year it was a playhouse for my sister and me, another year the string landed at two big bean bag chairs on the front porch of each of us. That was always the start of Christmas morning.” — Christine A., mom of one

Special Christmas Morning Breakfasts

“We bake Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve and eat them for breakfast on Christmas morning. It’s just a nice little treat!” — Jamie K., mom of two

“We open stockings, but before we open gifts, we always stop to go put an egg bake and a butter braid in the oven.” — Richelle M., mom of five

“I always looked forward to presents, but I also couldn’t wait for my mom’s special gingerbread cookies. She’d make them from scratch Christmas morning — we would come downstairs and find her rolling them out — and having one all nice and spicy and warm right after opening presents was the best.” — Roger F., dad of two and grandfather of six

No matter what your Christmas morning consists of, as long as you have people you love to spend it with, it’s sure to be a magical one.