74 replies to this topic

[samisma]

my mom used to hide the little gifts in hers and my dad's underwear & sock drawers knowing that my brother and i would NEVER look there. she also used to hide gifts in the cabinets above the stove & refrigerator etc. She'd put them inside the large mixing bowls or inside empty boxes of cereal (that my brother and I didn't like) and just put the stuff "away" in the cabinets". Big stuff they used to hide in the trunk of their car. That however was ruined for them when I was about 9. Someone must've known what they were doing and broke into the car. Kinda made for a crappy holiday. My bro and I had no idea what we missed out on, and we didn't mind. But my parents were beyond upset. After that all big gifts were hidden at the neighbor's house. Luckily dd isn't too hard to hide things from right now. I just put those childproof door knob covers on everything and problem solved!

[Gporter34]

Since we are in a new house this year it won't be as much of a problem as in years past. I am putting everything in the garage as I buy it and only hubby and I have keys to get in there. For added security, lol, I am putting it all in a cabinet that is also locked and only I have the key to that one.

[jendeere]

When I was a kid, my mom would take my little brother christmas shopping with her and when they got home I would pay him to tell me what she got me. Terrible, I know. Taking advantage of a 3 year old, lol. My sister and I were horrible. We would unwrap our gifts, play with them, and then wrap them back up. Luckily for me, my daughter is nothing like me and could care less about finding her presents. DH is the same way. I really don't have to hide things very good because they don't go snooping. DH on the other hand, has to wait until Christmas eve to shop for me because he knows I will find it.

[allshoppedout]

For the most part, we put huge items in the attic...which is not fun because we have drop down attic steps, so it is alot of extra work, but very secure up there. For smaller items that I keep finding and wrapping as I go...or for food type items/chocolate/candies, I put them in storage totes and pile junk/stuff on them. Kids just think it is more of Mom or Dad's junk. It is very fun being so sneaky just to make your kids happy.

[stacymck]

When we were renting a house, we had our own washer and dryer. Well the house came with them so we stored ours in the basement. They were the best hiding places by far.....my kids weren't going near them, as I may actually have to of used them. Now in our own house, they are "hidden" in my room....more or less in plain sight. The kids don't come/go in my room, except when either my hubby or I are in there.

[SuperMommy]

Parents house is always a good option. What about a small, storage space? It's so close now you could just use it for Nov. and Dec. That's only 2 months of rent for one. We have a large storage unit for some excess stuff when we moved (that we need to get rid of), but our rental place has small, inside units for around $30 a month. $60 would definately be worth that secret. Or maybe you could find a neighbor that you could help each other out. You hide their stuff and they hide yours. That way even if the kids found the gifts, they wouldn't be theirs.

[cc1824]

I have a locking hall closet that I have used, and a closet that is under stairs. My older 2 children would go through every square inch of the house if we ever left for 10 minutes. My younger 2 have not yet snooped and they are 10 & 11!!

I use my closet in my bedroom, it has alock on it, also i put a locking door knob on our office at home and then I put stuff in there; sometimes and yep you'll laugh at me, I lose gifts or forgot i bought them. i'm still looking for a toe ring I bought my kid 5 years ago. ha ha. A couple of years ago I used my office at work, my boss didn't mind and since their s only a few of us it didn't matter.

Well I just put stuff where i can find room, but my kids are to old for santa they are just nosy.

[nick_jenni_jocelyn]

i have a closet that we call the "surprise closet" i put all the things in there that i get on sale and use for bdays, other family members, DD's school, etc. its easy to tell her that it for her cousin Kyla(when its really for her) and she is ok with it and doesnt ask about it anymore.

[sdigman6]

I have had to put things in my sons closet after all. Seems that is the safest place , I just wish it was bigger. I have to hide the bigger boxes someplace else which I am working on.

[lelee24]

I love some of the ideas...especially the empty luggage. My BFF and i hide stuff for each other...and I use our basement...the kids are terrified to go down there!. funny story....when I was a kid my mom had a guest bed that was about 3 feet off the ground with a long dust ruffle. Playing hide seek one day I crawled in among the "stuff" she stored there and came face-to-face with a large stuffed rabbit that was to be my Easter bunny gift...I felt soooo guilty because not snooping was a biggie in our house and I knew how disappointed my mom would be if she knew I'd found my gift. I love surprises!

[Illinoismom]

believe it or not I had things in plain site

[speeddiva]

I love all the ideas! I keep small stuff in purses in my closet and then we have a camper that I store all the gifts in, it's locked so the kids can't get in there. I usually just crank up the heat and wrap out there too. Then on Christmas eve while we're at church the neighbor gets it all and puts it under our tree.

[wnc_mom]

My son is only 2 this year but i still have to semi-hide the items so he don't start playing with them the big items we are getting him like this JD powerwheel tractor will be stored at my inlaws who luckily this year just bought a new house so i have 2 empty houses to store christmas YAY! it's gonna suck next year if they find renters! both my parents and my DH own there own business's with lots of extra storage but we are running around in each so much that i can't hide DS stuff there this year but Def. my DH at mom & dads store! My parents always stored our gifts in there room they would buy a door knob that locked and both had a key so when they were not in there room they could lock it and we couldn't snoop!

[lcplwinkerswife]

When , me and my brothers were little we didnt snoop but as we got older we did . But last year I had to hide stuff from my husband cause hes really bad at snooping well he was in the military and i used his sea bags cause he knew all that was in them was military gear , so I lucked up on that one.

[fluffkin79]

This year is pretty easy. Our kids are still young and can't go outside alone, so there is no chance of them finding their gifts in the garage. Even if they could, the stack of boxes is about 8 feet high, so they couldn't reach the top to start unpacking it! They know that I have been shopping all year and storing it in the garage. The hard part is that I has to take the kids with for the Target toy cleance, so they were with me when it was purchased. I am counting on the youngest 2 to forget what we bought in February, but the oldest might remember when she sees it again. At the time, I told them that everything was for someone else, tried to distract them with toys we weren't buying, and tossed my coat on top of some of the things I didn't want them to see. In our house, most of the gifts come from Mom and Dad, Santa only brings stuff that will fit in a stocking. So, I have boxes in the garage labeled "spoiled" and "unspoiled", depending on whether the kids were with me when we bought it. I am a bit of a Kleptomanic, so our garage has tons of boxes. It should be fairly easy to hide things in boxes labeled "Clothes - too small - rummage sale" for a few years. Or maybe have friends or neighbors hide stuff for us. Unfortunatly, DD is one that has to try something to know its true - she will not listen to logic. I don't think she will stay out of boxes because I ask her (guilt her) to, and if I threaten to return or donate her gifts I will end up having to do just that, probably more than once. I will do my best to hide gifts and keep the surprise. I remember regretting looking one year, and remember how tempting it is to look anyways.