At my DDs 1st bday we opened some gifts during the party and others were saved til the next day. She was pretty overwhelmed and as part of the excitement for littlies is the unwrapping i decided to wait til she could focus and enjoy it. we sent photos by sms of her opening the present to the person who gave the gift.

i don't really like the idea of everyone sitting around watching the unwrapping, especially for kids, but it doesn't really bother me if people unwrap during or after.