Would You Wrap Christmas Gifts If You Had 7 Kids? This Influencer Family Says Nope

If you’re a parent who celebrates Christmas, you’ve probably had a moment when you’re looking at wrapping presents and felt overwhelmed. Felt like maybe this year, you might just skip wrapping the gifts all together in a little moment of rebellion. Well, one influencer family with seven kids did just that. They just put the kids’ Christmas gifts under the tree with little cardboard signs so they’d know whose gifts were whose. And now that this is feeling like something we’re allowed to do, it’s honestly quite freeing.

Hannah and Daniel Neeleman of Ballerina Farm fame, a ranch based in Kamas, Utah, recently shared a behind-the-scenes glimpse at their life on the farm with their seven children: sons Henry, Charles, George and daughters Frances, Lois, Martha, Mabel, as well as an eighth on the way. Daniel took to Instagram to share a short video with his 370,000 followers of their children’s presents set up in front of a wood stove and by the Christmas tree, all just laid out on the ground without any wrapping at all. A little suit with the name “Henry” written on a piece of cardboard, for example. Some magic tricks and a new pair of jeans with “Charles” written out so he would know these were his gifts. A pink scooter and a doll house all set up under the tree for Martha, another smaller suit for George.

Why don’t they wrap their presents? “After 6 kids you stop wrapping the presents. Trust me on this one,” Daniel captioned the video. And we can kind of see his point.

As could Daniel’s followers. “I think I might do this next year. So much wasted time wrapping and all that wrapping paper to the landfill. Maybe all gifts go in one large box to wrap,” wrote one person. Another said, “Environment wise, great idea, all that wrapping paper is pretty unnecessary and wasteful.”

“Santa never wrapped my presents growing up and we’ve carried on the tradition,” another noted. “I loved waking up to my ‘pile.’ It was magical!!” One more commented, “I’m 1 of 8. Our parents never wrapped our presents either. Did the same thing you’re doing.”

Not everyone agreed, however, and wanted to remind Daniel that gift bags are a thing. “Gift bags are easier to use, for me it’s a part of the Christmas atmosphere,” wrote one person, while another person pointed out, “Just get 6 bigger boxes and put it all in one box for each one.”

We should point out that there were a few wrapped gifts peeking out from under the tree, and we’re incredibly curious to know what might be inside those wrapped gifts. It’s almost as though leaving the others unwrapped makes them extra special.

This idea does make sense for a lot of reasons, not least of which being that everyone can just sort of dig in on Christmas morning without the mess of unwrapping presents. And just think of the hours of work these parents have saved themselves, especially since they took the time to set up the toys so they’re ready to be played with immediately. As one follower commented on the video, “I think I’m stealing this idea.”