The Best Places To Hide Christmas Presents

By the time I was about 10 years of age I was an expert at discovering where my parents had hidden our Christmas presents.  Not that they were that imaginative!  Usually the top of the wardrobe in their bedroom was a pretty likely choice.  I guess they thought since we were too short to reach the upper shelves we wouldn’t try.

With a look out on guard and a decent chair to stand on and a couple of encyclopaedias for added height, tippy toes notwithstanding, success was ours.  Looking back though, I still remember missing the feeling of anticipation that comes with surprises, or heaven forbid, disappointment, when the gift we thought was ours went to another sibling.  We never stopped looking, curiosity killed the cat, so they say.  In our case, it spoilt part of the fun at least.

All grown up, with children of our own, I found that it is not that easy when it comes to being one step ahead of determined little people, especially at this time of year.  There is also the occasional big stuff to consider, like bicycles, cubby houses and trampolines.  I still remember one Christmas Eve, Miss 3 year old,  her first Christmas excited about the man in the jolly red suit, walking out and catching us trying to assemble a swing set in the back yard, in the dark!!

I’m sure you will agree there are some things that are just too big to hide at home.  So, where do you hide the Xmas presents, big and small, successfully and manage to pull the wool over your own resident Sherlock Holmes’?

We have many great suggestions where you could hide your presents, but in the countdown to the big day, here are even more ideas for you:

Best Hiding Places for Christmas Gifts:

• Grandma and Grandpa’s house empty nesters have tons of room and they will love joining in the secret.
• A friend’s house arrange with a friend to hold each other’s Xmas presents until the last minute and have a gift wrapping party when you make the exchange (any excuse for a party right?)  Could make for interesting times though if the kids do find the presents and what appears Christmas morning turns out to be different!
• The garage especially good for OCD dads that have a very neat man cave where everything has its place and the kids are too scared to mess it up.  Who in their right mind is going to go through boxes labelled ‘tax returns for the last 5 years’ and ‘irrigation system spare parts’?
• The roof space – cover goodies in large plastic bags and hide up inside the roof space.
• Interstate shopping use online layby and have goods delivered at the last minute, or get relatives who you are going to visit interstate to buy the presents and store them at their place.
• In suitcases hide presents in suitcases and then store them under the beds or up above the wardrobe.
• Hide gifts in boxes marked something else.  E.g. the Christmas Decoration Box.

Whatever you decide works best for you, the element of surprise has to be kept at all costs, don’t you think?

What is the most interesting or unusual place you have hidden your Christmas presents?

Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney, she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

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