I Am Probably WAY over Thinking This.... Looking for Reassurance

They might be disappointed at first, but like others have said, that's life sometimes. It's not as if they are not getting them AT ALL and my guess is they will be really happy when they do get them later and not care that they didn't come from Santa on Christmas morning. They will also have some time to hopefully enjoy and appreciate the other gifts under the tree. Sometimes when kids keep getting everything they want for Christmas, they expect that to continue and then when "Santa" can't deliver (i.e. a pony) they are way more disappointed than if they had never had that expectation in the first place. Think of it like a vaccine - you are giving them a little dose of something "bad" to help build-up their immunity for what lies ahead.

I doubt they wil be upset. Just say loudly 'I'm glad you got this today from X aunt/uncles so Santa knows to not bring you one tomorrow morning!'

They will be disappointed, but think how happy they will be later that evening. I wouldn't worry about it. And I also think your MIL is acting like a big poopy head.

Uhh.. yeaahhhh... you are WAY over thinking this. The kids don't care WHO gave it to them (other than they will really love their aunts and uncles!). They will just be thrilled to GET the things!

Oops... lol... I mis-read. Thought you were going over to MIL's on Christmas EVE.
Well, in that case, ehh... they probably will be a tad disappointed, but it is a GREAT learning lesson for them. And like DVDMOM said... there will be other disappointments regarding gifting (no pony?!!! EEK!) and they are not too young to be exposed to a little bit of reality (we don't always get what we want). In the end, they WILL get it, so their disappointment will be very short lived. They will quickly (Christmas morning) adjust to being excited about whatever else they have received. They are young. Their attention span for that is pretty short. And then, think of the "heroes" the aunts and uncles will be! And yet, the lesson (being grateful for what you DO have and not dwelling on what you don't) will have already been learned.
:)
Don't over worry about this. It's life. They'll be fine!

Contact Mr. Claus and ask him to leave your children a note along with whatever else he brings. He can write that he knows about a little surprise that's already under their grandparents' tree, so they need to be patient (which means not whining and saying, "Is it time to go to Grandma's yet?" every two minutes), and they'll find it there in the evening.

Of course, you have NO idea what it could be.

It may not be necessary, but it could be fun for your children - and for you. (If you have questions later, you may have to begin explaining that Mr. Claus is in cahoots with a few people - or they're in cahoots with him.)

Um, I have no idea what a DSi is. I hope it doesn't explode or anything. :*\

Yes, you're over-thinking!

You're going to have a day long celebration--the DS's will be a GREAT surprise later in the day!

(It will be a gentle lesson for over-confidence! LOL)

Boy oh boy... do you have some manipulative inlaws.

I'd short circut this one.

I think Santa should leave some DSI GAMES (or "stuff" of whatever kind) in their stockings. So that the kids are anticipatory instead of heartbroken

It would be a different matter if they weren't getting it at all. That's fairly easy to spin. Your inlaws, however, seem to be pulling every guilt trip in the book about you changing plans not to schlep hours out and instead have your christmas at home.

Yes, they will be upset.
No, I wouldn't worry about it.
They must know the gift giving will be in parts over the day (you could tell them that if you like), so by the end of the day they'll be fine.

I had a distant cousin on my husbands side of the family that years ago got extremely fed up with the lengthy Christmas list / ransom demands.
The sheer feeling of entitlement was an overpowering monster and he finally put his foot down.
That Christmas there was precisely ONE gift per person under the tree and that was it - other relatives were forbidden to give gifts and if they tried they were kept till birthdays later on in the year.
Needless to say there was a weeping and a wailing and a knashing of teeth but they stopped with the 'give me, get me, buy me' mantra and future Christmas's were much more enjoyable.

Now, I personally wouldn't go to that extreme myself, but then my son has never been a greedy gift monger.

Sam, your kids might be upset about it, but that's life! If no one was giving them this gift, they would have to live with it. It is good for children to be disappointed when they are little, because there are tons of disappointments when they grow up. Plus, not getting everything you want helps children learn to not feel entitled.

So, just focus on what they do get and tell them that Santa doesn't bring everything children want. When the aunt and uncle give it to them, they will be relieved and happy, and THAT'S what counts!

Hope this is a nice SIL that's giving the present? LOL!

Dawn

I think Mary L.'s answer is perfect to solve your dilemma of avoiding disappointment. Have Santa write a note explaining that he himself cannot get everything on kid's lists, so he tells aunts/uncles/grandparents about present ideas also. Problem solved, and they'll be so excited that night.

Merry Christmas!

I think your kids just want the DSi and won't worry about who purchased them. If I'm reading your post correctly, they'll get the DSis before Santa comes, so that's all good. If they're really getting them Christmas day evening (ie - after Santa), you might have to reassure them that DSis weren't forgotten - they're just coming later in the day from aunts and uncles.

No... kids can surely understand that not all gifts are under the tree or that they all come form Santa. It's good for kids to appreciate that family can get them gifts too, that's how you teach gratitude. Especially since Santa will be leaving a few gifts under the tree anyways.

Well, when "family" gives the gift before Santa gets there, it seems like it will be logically taken by the kids. They might wonder (for a split second) what Santa will bring instead. A 5 and 6 yr old will not over think this like Mommy is :)

Well, Santa knows, right? So he didn't bring them b/c Grandma and Grandpa have them. And maybe tell them that they need to appreciate gifts and not get an attack of the gimmies. Christmas is more than what is under the tree at 6AM on December 25.

Just tell them that the grown ups talked to Santa and he told them he knew that XXXX had already bought them the desired toys. We have had this type of conversation recently.

Our boy wants a bike. I got one free, nearly new still has the cardboard in the spokes, from a friend. The boy wants a particular one that is orange from walmart. I can't afford toys this year so he is going to get what I can come up with. I had to tell him that Santa "might" be bringing him a bike but that Santa does not shop at Walmart and if he brought a bike it would be different. He started crying and said to call Santa back and tell him to go to Walmart and buy the right one...life is so simple for him....

We have conversations like this almost every November and December. Just tell the kids you talked to Santa and he knows what is going on and that he is going to do what he does. Surprise them.

The problem with getting them games for the system they won't recieve until evening is it gives the upcoming gift away. Unless you leave them wrapped until after your SIL & BIL give their gift....put a note on the outside to "not open until evening".

Start reminding the kids now that Santa can't get everything on everyone's lists. Try to be sure they get their #2 items since #1 won't be opened Christmas morning.

I think you're worrying too much. It's a good opportunity to teach them that may not always get what they ask for, or get it when they want it.

On another note - I thought Santa letters were a wish list, and not a 100% expectation of what a child will get for Christmas. It's not as fun when they know what they're getting. Call me crazy ;-)

I assume they will be upset that Santa hasn't brought it because they'll be thinking that they're not getting them at all. Once they receive them later in the day from their aunts & uncles I'm sure they'll be thrilled.