Back in the day we'd spend christmas with my German grandparents who were really into it.
On the evening of the 24th we'd first have dinner with them, it was always a really plentiful meal, like you often see in the movies/cartoons :)
They also had an enormous real christmas tree with all the way in the top a little figurine of an angel we called the "christkind", loosely translated the christ-child.
Then we'd have to go away out of the living room and wait by the locked living room door while the "christkind" came into the living room to bring us our presents.
In the mean time, while we were waiting behind the door making our last wishes and singing christmas song, my grandma/grandpa sneaked out the backdoor and through the window of the closed off living room to place our presents by the tree/crib while our parents were stalling us behind the locked door.
they always had a little bell we could hear and we were 100% convinced it was the "christkind" we were hearing, it was magic! :D
The last thing my grandparents did was remove the little figurine from the tree. Then my grandparents sneaked back out and joined us behind the door, then my grandfather would look to the keyhole to make sure the christkind was gone.
Often time he would say stuff like, oops, he's not done yet, one more present! and we'd have to wait a little longer...
We believed it all :)
then it was finally time to go inside, and admire our presents. the christkind that was hanging in the tree was now gone and went back to heaven after fulfilling his duties :P
then everybody got to open one present at a time.
I was the youngest so i always got to open the first one, then it was my nephew, my neices, and so on until everyone had opened one present, then it was my turn again, and so on until all presents were opened.
It was actually really magic for me as a kid and i'd love to do something similar when one day i have kids of my own :)
