Friday, December 14, 2007

Where To Put The Christmas Presents


I remember one year I just couldn't wait until Christmas. Just. Couldn't. Wait. I needed to know what I was going to be getting! Would it be exactly what I wanted and asked for? Would it be a great new toy I didn't even think of? So, this particular year I found the hiding spot. And I found the Christmas List my Mom had. I knew and saw what everyone was getting. Including myself. I was excited. I was nervous I'd get caught. I felt like I had the best secret in the whole world.

Then Christmas morning came. And you know what?


It just wasn't fun. The most excitement I had was trying to figure out which package contained which toy. Because I already knew the toys that would be opened. I had to fake my surprise. And I'm not a good actress.


Last year my son found where we had hidden his presents. He saw one before it was wrapped. He admitted it wasn't fun knowing what it would be.

And still, this year he has asked if we have hid his presents again this year. He has been looking. He can't find them yet - we haven't bought them yet. This year we told him they were being kept at his aunts house so he couldn't look at them. That kept him quiet for a few days. But he knows eventually they have to be brought back to our house. He's been staking out places we might put them.

Tonight husband and I have a date. To go shopping for his presents. Now I really need a place to hid them.

He knows we buy the presents, but I want them to be a surprise for Christmas morning. I don't want him to have learn the hard way the pretending of surprise on Christmas morning (like I did). Because, as parents that's what we want to do. Make life easier for our children. Even down to hiding the presents in the best, hardest to find place we can think of.

I'd better start finding a spot fast!

Cross-posted over at DCMetroMoms.

4 comments:

Toni said...

Oh, Robin, I was so much worse than your son. We lived in a teeny weeny house and there was simply only a couple places to hide things and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure them out. I (shaking head in embarrassment) actually unwrapped and rewrapped my gifts several years because I couldn't bear the idea of NOT knowing what I was getting. Like you, I was disappointed but couldn't help it.

Andrea Frazer said...

It's funny you write this, because I was just thinking of this today as I hid my son's and daughter's presents in the closet. They are 4 and 3. I wonder what year they'll start searching? I figure I have two Santa years left in them - if I'm lucky! Thanks for visiting me at my Babycenter site. Come by again. It's nice to see a familiar face. Andrea

Anonymous said...

Our garage is full of boxes from our move in the summer. We haven't gotten around to getting rid of them all. So, that's where I'll be hiding them.

Some say that they are hiding their kids pressies under the kids bed, which would not work for me.

How about the attic?

Robin said...

Thank you all for you input and ideas!

Toni - my sister said she was going to start leaving her presents for her husband at my place cuz he does the same thing you did!

Andrea - I think you've got more than 2 years left. And when the older starts doubting, the younger won't, and it'll make the older doubt longer. With an only, once it's over, it's over.

Mishelle - the garage is a great place - it's cold here, so he's not going in there to get stuff to play with outside much anymore!