Present opening difficulties

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I was just wondering how everyone else feels about this particular part of christmas.
I have real difficulties opening presents . Not the physical part, i can open them just fine! But i hate doing so, because everyone looks at me and they look at my face for the reaction i give to what they have bought me, whether i like it or not etc. This makes me feel really nervous, in fact i could go as far to say as it spoils the whole day all together for me! Often im panicking so much about trying to portray the correct emotion i dont even notice what iv been bought! i feel shaky and nervous and under pressure, so much so that after iv opened a couple of presents i have to insist i will open the rest later . It probably doesn't help that my entire family is present at the "opening sessions" and so to add to the fact that the whole day is pandemonium there is also at least 20-30 extra people hanging around which just makes things even more stressful for me. When my bf gives me a present i ask him not to look at my eyes/face as i open it and i find this really helps me. Does anybody else share this dislike of being "observed" as we open presents etc. I really find it spoils xmas day for me which is a shame as im only 17!! and xmas still holds a special place in my heart

Same here. I dislike everything about gift-giving and recieving at Christmas. It is way too much happening in such a short amount of time that I find it awkward and extremely discomforting.

My family doesn't do the sit-in-a-circle-and-take-turns thing when we're opening presents. We just open them all at once in a free for all, so everyone else is too busy opening their own to notice what you're doing, and it's only afterwards that you're expected to go to the person and thank them for whatever they gave you. So you've got breathing space to come up with a facade if you don't like it.

But I had to do the taking turns method at someone else's house a few times... and I like my family's way much better.

If you want to hide your disappointment, dont say out loud the name of the item immediately after you unwrap it, just smile and say thanks.

Yes, I hate people watching me open presents. I'd rather we all opened presents at once. Or, if I'm the only one opening presents like on my birthday, I'd rather escape to the bathroom and open them all up in there. Not that I've ever been allowed to do that.

That's the main reason I fear birthday parties (mine that is). I rarely have them.

I also avoid this by insisting on getting presents early and in unwrapped form. For example, I've already gotten my main xmas present. It also arrived at my house via UPS. No one watched me open it. Plus I knew already what it was and that I'd love it. It was great.

I don't mind, but I'm obnoxious about opening gifts at Christmas: I open about one per day for the entire vacation, if I have a choice. It must be really annoying but it's fun for me.

I can relate but I just say thank you to everything and having my natural emotion and let me parents read that as they will, not to mention I rarely get presents that I didnt ask for at all and when I do my parents think there stupid too (if they are).

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I’ve always felt embarrassed when opening gifts. I’m not really sure why…perhaps some self-esteem issue, like I don’t deserve to receive gifts or something. It is always very uncomfortable.

It doesn’t help that I have a long history of being broke at Xmas either…

Can't you open ur gifts in private?

I mean, if they know you have an issue of shyness....

It's only fair that they be accomodating...

i'm afraid not ..because then of course i would be being "anti-social"..it doesnt seem to matter that, yes i would be more comfortable opening my presents somewher in private..i have to go downstairs and open presents with "the family" half of which i dont even know!! Then of course i mess-up..dont pick the right emotion or dont pick it fast enough..and get labelled "ungrateful" which results in a look from one of my parents which i have learned means "just wait until everyone leaves young lady" ....sighs..its not like i dont want to make my family happy..its just such an upheaval and the harder i try, the worse i seem to come off

Believe it or not, I never used to have difficulty opening presents, but now I do. I lost the ability to know how to do it.

As for my reaction, they ask me what a certain present is, and when I don't know, people really get mortified.