Buying guide for Best Santa sacks
Santa Claus has a magical bag. Whenever the jolly old fellow reaches into it, he pulls out the perfect gift. A growing Christmas tradition for many families is to borrow that idea and use a Santa sack of their own to spread holiday cheer. While the Santa sack parents use isn't magical, it is similar to a stocking. Children leave the empty sack in a specific place, such as at the foot of the bed or under the tree, and wake up to find it filled with presents.
If you're looking for a Santa sack this year, there are a few features to consider, such as size, material, and design. To help you find the best one for your holiday, it's important to peruse lists that feature the top products on the market. That gives you a quick snapshot of the brands to keep in mind. Also, reading a guide put together by a trusted source can help answer any questions you may have so you can make an informed purchase.
Things to consider before choosing a Santa sack
What is a Santa sack?
It’s a large, reusable sack with a drawstring closure. Like with Christmas stockings, children leave an empty Santa sack out on Christmas Eve and find it filled with presents in the morning. The sack is also handy for people who travel during the holidays. You can put all your gifts in one or several sacks so they’re easier to transport and deliver.
Is a Santa sack worth it?
There are many benefits to starting a Santa sack tradition.
Save money: If you're prone to overspending, getting only what will fit in the sack can help you limit the number of presents you spend money on.
Save time: It can also save time because you don’t need to wrap every present that goes into the sack. If you hide the sack well, it can cut down on Christmas Eve prep time because all the presents can be stored in one place and easily carried out to the tree after the children go to bed.
In short, a Santa sack can streamline your Christmas, making it more efficient, so you can get a good night’s sleep and spend more time enjoying the holiday rather than stressing about preparing for it.
Santa sacks can be kind to the earth
One way to help save the planet is to reduce and reuse materials like paper. When you use one of these sacks, you can skip wrapping each present. That means much less waste — no paper, bows, ribbons, gift tags, cards, or tape. If you purchase a good-quality sack, you can reuse it year after year, making it an eco-friendly option as well as a family tradition.
A Santa sack can teach your child about giving
One popular use of a Santa sack is to have your child fill it up with toys they’ve outgrown or no longer play with. These toys can be given to other children or donated to a charity so others may enjoy them. Many parents have their children fill up their sack on Christmas Eve, so Santa can take the unwanted toys and replace them with new toys. Or, your child can fill up the sack after Christmas instead.
To make the sack even more special for your child, attach a letter from Santa Claus to the sack.
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Features to look for in a Santa sack
Size
In general, these sacks are about 27 inches tall and 20 inches wide. If you’d like a larger sack, there are a handful of models that are around 36 inches tall and 27 inches wide. Also, you can find gift bags that are even larger, but these typically aren’t reusable. They’re made of plastic, like trash bags, and are meant to wrap just one gift, such as a bicycle.
Closure
A drawstring is essential for sealing the Santa sack. The higher the price of the sack, the more durable the drawstring tends to be.
Material
If you're serious about your gift giving, and you would like a Santa sack that lasts for years, consider selecting one that’s made of cotton, cotton/polyester canvas, or burlap.
Design
Typically, these sacks don’t have an elaborate design. Many are off-white, green, or red and resemble a mail sack. If you prefer yours to be a little more festive, it's possible to find some embellished with traditional Christmas designs, such as Santa, candy canes, or reindeer.
Personalization
Although many of these sacks are plain, some give you the option of customizing the writing on the sack. If you’d like to have a special message or your child’s name printed on your sack, look for a model that offers this option.
DID YOU KNOW?
When filling up your Santa sack, remember to put anything fragile at the top so it has less chance of breaking.
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How much do Santa sacks cost?
Inexpensive
If you're considering a sack that costs less than $10, make sure it’s durable enough to last through the season. These inexpensive items aren’t meant to be keepsakes that get passed down through the generations.
Mid-range
From roughly $15 to $25 is where most families can find what they need. The best Santa sacks in this price bracket are durable, personalized, and at least 27 inches tall.
Expensive
For the most part, the sacks that cost around $30 are best for a professional Santa Claus. These items can be a little larger than those in the mid-range category, but the big difference is they’re manufactured to look more like Santa’s red sack and less like a canvas mail sack.
A Santa sack can be delivered with a note from your child’s Elf on the Shelf thanking them for behaving this year.
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Tips
- Use the sack to wrap large gift items. Instead of struggling to wrap a large or awkwardly shaped gift, just stick it in a Santa sack.
- Use the sack like a stocking. Have your children leave their empty sack under the tree on Christmas Eve so Santa can fill it with presents.
- Use the sack to save time on Christmas Eve. Before Christmas, you can hide the Santa sack and fill it with presents as you purchase them. Come Christmas Eve, all the hard work is done.
- Use the sack to carry presents on your holiday travels. If you're visiting family for Christmas, a Santa sack is a convenient place to put all your gifts. Instead of balancing stacks of boxes, you can just sling the sack over your shoulder like Santa does.
- Be a secret Santa. If you’d like to surprise someone for the holidays, leave the filled Santa sack in front of their door with a note.
- Use the sack for an office party gift exchange. Fill the Santa sack with generic or joke gifts for the office party. Each person can then pull out a random gift. To make this activity more interesting, you can let people “steal” a gift from someone else instead of reaching into the sack. The person who lost the gift gets to pick another one from the sack.
- Add a theme to your Santa sack gifts. It can be fun to get a bunch of gifts that all fit a similar theme. If your child loves Paw Patrol, for example, all the gifts in the sack can be related to the television show.
FAQ
Q. Should I wrap presents before putting them in a Santa sack?
A. The answer to that depends on the recipient and your established tradition. Some people wrap the presents and others don’t. Even if you choose not to wrap the presents, they can still be a surprise for your child. To keep things exciting, have your child reach into the sack and remove presents without peeking inside.
Q. Where should I put the Santa sack?
A. While many people put their sack under the tree, that isn't the only option. It can be left near the fireplace, at the front door, or even at the foot of your child’s bed. If you want to make a game out of it, the sack can be hidden so your child has to search for it to find their gifts.
Q. When do you open a Santa sack?
A. Tradition determines when the gifts are opened. Some families open the sack on Christmas Eve so kids can play with the toys the next day. Others prefer to wait until Christmas Day. If you have more than one child, have them take turns reaching into the sack to remove a gift.
