Childhood Christmases

[grannybat84112]

It's lovely to read all the variations on family traditions for the 
holidays. Such a refreshing change from American mass-marketed 
consumer culture.

Dave jogged my memory:

> ... presents from each other and Danish 
> relatives were opened Christmas Eve (as is Danish custom); presents 
> from English relatives were opened Christmas morning, by our beds.

This reminds me of something I was wondering over the weekend. On 
Xmas day Harry and Ron wake to find their presents piled at the foot 
of their beds. I had thought this arrangement was a boarding school 
practice--putting all the kids' presents under a single tree might 
produce some problems. But then I remembered a song from a play about 
Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitain, "The Lion in Winter."

I'll spend my day the lover's way
Unwrappng my gifts in bed

So this is a holiday tradition among English families? Or is it 
common among the British in general?

Grannybat