By: Jessica DiRamio

It's a debate that I've seen get pretty heated amongst the Mom crowd.  I've seen Moms reduced to tears over the idea of doing it or not doing it.  I myself don't do it.

What is "IT," you ask?  Wrapping Santa presents, of course!

There are two clearly defined camps on this topic:  those who do and those who don't.  Amongst "those who do," there is even a group of Moms who wrap every single, teeny-weeny present and stocking stuffer.  Phew, I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

I am in the "those who don't" camp.  When this topic comes up, some of my friends look at me as if I don't buy presents for my kids at all.  This, as we all know, is simply not the case; I just choose to not wrap their presents from Santa.  Here's my stance on this:

Our kids believe that Santa and his elves make their presents.  It's part of the magic. They also believe that Santa brings all of their toys in his bag from the North Pole to our house.  If the toys are made, why are they in the packaging our kids see these toys in at the store?  Better yet, why are these packaged toys wrapped up just like the other presents Mom and Dad give to other people?

Understand that I don't profess for one second that this school of thought is easier than wrapping each present.  I believe both options are ridiculously time consuming.  I feel for those parents who are up to all hours of the night on Christmas Eve finishing the wrapping.  Just know, that I too, am up until the wee hours of the morning setting up my girl's presents, too.

On Christmas Eve, once my kids go to bed, my husband and I spring into action.  I have various hiding spots throughout the house.  To prevent missing presents, I keep a list on the computer of the hiding spots and the presents in each.  Once each present it located (and checked off the list), I get to work by pulling each present out of the packaging (Thank you, Amazon.com, for creating "frustration-free packaging!").  I set up each item, my husband puts batteries in the electronic toys, I put Barbie in her car/pool/kitchen.  If there is a scene to be set, I set it up.

This takes a lot of time and effort, but to me it's so worth it. My girls come downstairs on Christmas morning and can immediately start playing with their toys; a scene that just warms my heart year after year.

My husband and I choose not to wrap.  My parents chose not to wrap.  My grandmother did not wrap her kids' presents either.  It's a family tradition that I hope my girls will continue.