Serbs typically don't exchange gifts on Christmas Day itself. Instead, they do it over three consecutive Sundays leading up to Christmas Eve: dětinjci (gifts from the kids), materice (from mom), and oci (from dad).

Gift-giving happens as a sort of ransom game. In the morning, you sneak up on the gift-giver, tie their hands and feet with a towel or scarf, and they buy their freedom with a present.

It's all done as a playful joke. Don't picture families tying people up like bank robbers with bruises left behind afterward. Kids often can't hold back their laughter when they're supposed to tie up their parents, who pretend not to notice and keep sleeping. A Serbian friend told me his dad would actually start running away, and the whole family would chase him down to finally get their gifts.

Kids sometimes get toys or just a small bill that inevitably goes toward candy. Parents usually get a promise to behave better next year as their gift, though kids sometimes just skip giving it altogether.