What do the French give each other for Christmas?
Less, and with more thought. An American Christmas often has a pile under the tree, and stockings on top of that. The French version is quieter. Among adults, one well-chosen present each is normal, and in a large family people often draw names so that everybody buys for one person.
Much of it is bought early now. In France, many people use Black Friday, at the end of November, to start their Christmas shopping.
The presents themselves lean towards things that get used up or used daily: something to eat, something to drink, something to read, something to wear. It is the same instinct that keeps a French wardrobe small. The question is not what would be fun to unwrap. It is what this person will still be glad to own in March.
What are the classic French Christmas gifts?
A box of chocolates from a real chocolatier is the most French present there is. It is given to hosts, to teachers, to grandparents and to colleagues, and nobody is ever disappointed by it. Candied chestnuts, marrons glacés, are the seasonal luxury version.
A book is the next. France takes its literary prizes seriously, the biggest are announced in early November, and the winners are bought in enormous numbers as Christmas presents. Giving someone the novel everybody is talking about is entirely respectable.
Then perfume, which the French give each other readily; a scarf or gloves; a good candle; a bottle of champagne; and things for the kitchen and table, a proper knife, linen napkins, a cast-iron pot. If you give a knife, tradition says the receiver hands you a coin in return, so that the gift does not cut the friendship.
What do you bring to a French Christmas dinner?
Chocolates or champagne. Either is always right. What surprises Americans is the advice about wine: the host has usually chosen the wines to go with each course, so a bottle you bring is a present for their cellar, not for tonight’s table. Hand it over without expecting it to be opened.
Flowers are welcome, but the considerate way is to have them delivered beforehand or the day after, so that the host is not hunting for a vase while the oysters wait. Do not bring chrysanthemums, which in France are for cemeteries. The rest of the etiquette is in the French dinner party quiz, which I recommend taking before you are invited anywhere.
What do French children get for Christmas?
Toys, from le Père Noël, and generally fewer of them. French children write him a letter, and since 1962 La Poste has run a secretariat in Libourne, near Bordeaux, that answers the letters addressed to him. The shoes go by the tree on the night of the 24th.
There is less of the surrounding machinery. Stockings are not really a French tradition, and neither is a present from every single relative. The emphasis falls on one or two things the child truly asked for. The fuller picture of how the night works is in how the French celebrate Christmas.
The official test
How French Is Your Christmas?
Oysters or shrimp, the 24th or the 25th, shoes or stockings. He has a verdict.
Take the quizWhat are étrennes?
They are the gifts of the New Year, and they are mostly money. In late December and January it is customary to give a tip to the people who look after you all year: the caretaker of your building, the cleaner, sometimes the postman. Firefighters and postal workers come to the door selling their calendar for the coming year, and you give what you like for it.
Grandparents also give étrennes to grandchildren, a banknote in an envelope on New Year’s Day. So cash does have its place in a French December. It simply arrives a week later, and it is called by a nicer name.
Gifts, two countries
| France | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Among adults | Often one present each | Several, plus stockings |
| The safe choice | A box of good chocolates | A gift card |
| For the host | Chocolates or champagne | A bottle of wine, to open |
| Wrapping | Done by the shop, simply | A project of its own |
| Cash | In January, as étrennes | In a card, at Christmas |
Questions, answered
What is a typical French Christmas gift?
A box of good chocolates, a book, perfume, a scarf, champagne, or something for the table or kitchen. The French tend to give fewer, more carefully chosen presents.
What should I bring to a French Christmas dinner?
Chocolates or champagne. If you bring wine, do not expect it to be opened that night, as the host has usually chosen the wines already.
Do the French do Christmas stockings?
Not traditionally. French children leave their shoes or slippers by the tree or the fireplace for le Père Noël to fill.
What are étrennes?
New Year gifts, usually of money: tips for caretakers, postal workers and firefighters, and banknotes from grandparents to grandchildren.
When do the French open Christmas presents?
Either late on 24 December after the réveillon dinner, or on the morning of the 25th, depending on the family.
Still wondering?
Ask my French husband.
A short ruling in a few seconds. Written by AI from our Journal, in his voice.
He judges America weekly on Instagram, and Le Bulletin collects the best of it.
Before you go
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Mine is very French. Eight questions to find out about yours.
