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How to manage your kids' Christmas wish lists, from Santa letter to Christmas Eve

How to handle kids' Christmas wish lists: collect every wish, rank them, decide which gifts come from Santa and which from you, keep brothers and sisters fair, set a budget per child and track what is bought, hidden and wrapped before Christmas Eve.

The wish lists arrive in October, on the back of a cereal box, in a toy catalog with forty things circled and in a letter to Santa that changes every week. By December there are three children, two sets of grandparents, a budget and a closet you are not allowed to open.

A little system keeps it calm: one list for every wish, a decision about who gives each gift, and a way to see at a glance what is still to buy, hide and wrap. Here is how to set it up.

Step 1: Collect every wish in one place

• Write each wish down in the child's own words, the day they say it. "The big blue truck from the shop" is a real clue in December.
• Keep one list per child, but all the lists together, so nothing lives only on a sticky note.
• Note sizes and favorite things while you are at it: shoe size, favorite color, the character of the year.
• Ask grandparents and aunts to tell you what they plan to give, so the same toy does not arrive twice.

Step 2: Rank the wishes

Ask each child for their top wish and a couple of "really wants". Everything else is "nice to have". Ranking early means the one thing they will remember is never the one that sold out.

Step 3: Decide what comes from Santa and what comes from you

Families do this in different ways, and every way works if it is consistent. Some give the top wish from Santa and the practical gifts from parents. Some keep Santa to the stocking and one special gift. Pick a rule, and use it for every child.

Step 4: Keep it fair between brothers and sisters

Children compare. Count, for each child, the number of gifts, how many come from Santa and roughly what you have spent. You do not need them identical, but a big gap is easier to fix in November than on Christmas morning. Gifts from grandparents and other family are worth tracking too, but keep them out of your own budget.

Step 5: Set a budget per child

Choose a number of gifts and a budget for each child before you shop. Then every purchase goes against it, and you can see when one child is done and the next still needs a gift or two.

Step 6: Track every gift from bought to wrapped

• Bought, on its way, arrived, hidden, wrapped: move each gift along as it happens.
• Write down the hiding spot the moment you hide something. Every family has a gift found in March.
• Keep the wrapping for the last two weeks, a few gifts a night, instead of all of it on Christmas Eve.

Step 7: Write the letter to Santa together

Sit down with each child and write the letter from their top wishes first. It is a lovely tradition, and it quietly confirms what they really want before the last shopping trip.

Step 8: Make a plan for Christmas Eve

• A list of every Santa gift, child by child, with where it is hidden.
• The stockings: what goes in each one.
• The little jobs: cookies eaten, a carrot nibbled, footprints by the fireplace, batteries in anything that needs them.
• A final check that every child has the same number of gifts under the tree.

The pocket version (save or screenshot)

How many gifts should Santa bring?

There is no right number. Many families keep Santa to the stocking and one or two gifts, so the big or expensive presents come from parents and no child wonders why Santa was more generous next door. Whatever you choose, keep it the same for every child in the house.

What if a wish is not possible this year?

Mark it "not this year" and keep it on the list. It is a useful note for next year, and it stops anyone in the family buying it by accident. For the letter to Santa, help the child choose a different top wish.

Something to do while they wait: a Christmas picture hunt for kids

What is in the Kids' Christmas Wish List & Santa Gift Tracker?

It is a spreadsheet for Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers or LibreOffice. You add up to 20 children with their sizes, favorite things and a target number of gifts and budget, then up to 300 wishes with a priority, who gives it (Santa, parents or family), the cost, where to buy and a hiding spot.

A Check column tells you what is next for each wish: pick who gives it, buy it, hide it, wrap it or ready. A fair share check compares brothers and sisters for number of gifts, gifts from Santa and spend. It prints a Letter to Santa for any child that never shows who is giving what, and a Christmas Eve list of every Santa gift with its hiding spot. Gifts from grandparents are tracked without using your budget, and an Idea Bank has 85 gift ideas by age.

Planners that do this for you

Kids' Christmas Wish List & Santa Gift Tracker

$6.00Wish lists · Santa or parents · hidden and wrapped · fair for siblings

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Updated 2026-11-06.