You've spent weeks planning out the perfect list of gifts for your kids for Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa. You think you are all set, and then the worst happens... the kids find the gifts. Your perfect plan is foiled. But how can you avoid the dreaded discovery?
I discovered many years ago that the best laid plans NEVER go off without a hitch when my gift of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle glove was blasting fighting sounds to my recipient... my four year old son... with every bump on the road. I did my best to "cough and cover" the noise, but I was 100% sure that my attempts to salvage the situation were all in vain.
The best thing to come out of that disaster? I was forced to figure out some tips and tricks to ensure that my kids didn't ruin any more of my surprises.
Here are seven spots to consider hiding presents this holiday season:
1. A friend or family member's house.
The neighbor's garage or a grandparent's attic are great places to keep a cache of presents.
2. A closet your kids don't use frequently.
Maybe it's their own closet! Ha! Other good spots include the closet where you keep cleaning supplies, the linen closet, or an office closet -- just make sure they're up high enough to be out of sight of prying eyes!
3. The trunk of your car.
But make sure to put a blanket over them, and no noise-makers (remember that TMNT glove?)! Our children found presents hidden in our trunk one year because they weren’t covered. Oops!
4. Kitchen pots.
A big pot that you hardly ever use makes the perfect spot to hide small gifts!
5. A closed up plain box labeled for donation.
One year we put some presents in a big brown box, closed it up, and left it out in plain view, marked for donations -- the kids never even touched it!
6. In a storage bin or suitcase in the attic or basement.
Simply use an empty suitcase or bin (the ones you had your holiday decorations in would be perfect!) and leave it right where it's usually stored so as not to arouse suspicion.
7. Under the bed.
Just like the closet, this is often the last place your kids will ever look ... as any parent who has dug a year's worth of sock orphans out from under their kids' beds will attest.
PRO TIPS
- You might want to keep a list of where you've hidden all of the presents so you don't forget where they are -- though there's nothing like the surprise of finding a long-forgotten, wrapped Christmas present hidden under the beach blankets at the back of the linen closet -- in July!
- Now, as a parent myself, I've decided to hide gifts in a few different spots as a way to minimize the chance of the kids finding the entire pile of presents before Christmas morning.
- Make sure noise-makers are turned off!
- Save the labels and gift tags for last minute. That way, even if they do find wrapped gifts, they won't know who they are for. I like to use a sharpie to write symbols (smiley face, star, you get the idea) on the bottom of wrapped gifts to keep track of who they belong to. Just be sure to create a key so you don't forget!
Hope these ideas help you preserve the surprise of those awesome gifts you're stockpiling for Christmas morning. Hope you have a wonderful -- and awe-inspired -- holiday season!
Noelle Monaghan is the publisher of Macaroni Kid in Worcester, Mass.
