Holiday Gift Hiding Hack

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I shared this a few years ago in hopes of helping other losers like me. Flash forward to 2021, when thanks to a pandemic and menopause brain fog, I’ve already hid and lost several gifts. Not to mention the confusion post my Cyber Monday shopping frenzy. I can’t even remember what I’ve ordered so when packages arrive at my door, I’m completely surprised.

I’m dusting off this post and re-sharing in case your brain is Christmas pudding, like mine. I mean, clearly I’m the worst because I forgot to actually do this this year and it’s MY hack!

Here’s The Post…

I figured out the trick to hiding Christmas gifts so my kids won’t find them AND I won’t forget where I hid them—a holiday hack made necessary due to my chronic habit of misplacing things. So many things.

I tend to Christmas shop early, frugally snapping up stocking stuffers and gifts when I see them on sale. I sneak them into the house and hide them—usually hurriedly flung to the back of a closet.

But, when Christmas nears and I need to take stock, I can’t always remember where I hid everything or even recall what I bought in the first place.

One Christmas Eve a few years ago I found myself alone in the basement shouting, “Holy Christ!!” but not in a Christmassy way. No, it was decidedly more, “I bought our son a laptop in November and now I can’t remember where I hid the thing!!”

This year I finally came up with a gift hiding hack to:

a) Stop misplacing gifts

b) Alleviate the stress of misplacing gifts

c) Save time and energy by not misplacing or forgetting gifts

The Holiday Gift Hiding Hack To Save Our Seasonal Sanity:

Empty a storage bin (more if needed) and label with something boring. I used “Car Mats.” It sounds like something the kids would never look at and it’s a fitting label for a bin that will be stored in the garage until Christmas day.

Tape a sheet of paper to the inside of the bin lid. Create a table with each family member’s name and the subcategories STOCKING and GIFTS. Make a note every time you add something to the bin—stocking stuffers, a gift (what and who it’s to and from) e.g. Avery/flannel sheet set/from her pets.

And yes, keeping a digital list on your phone is probably more efficient, but pen and paper old school is how I roll.

Include an envelope to stow gift receipts. This is a much better method than my current receipt management system which is either crumpled up in a drawer, lost in the bottom of my purse, or accidentally recycled.

Stocking Stuffers: Designate a temporary stocking (plastic trash bag…classy, I know) for each family member and pets too if you’re into that, and label each by name. Keep the “stocking bags” in the bin and each time you buy a stocking stuffer, put it in the correct bag. Update the tracking sheet with each new item to save yourself the trouble of rummaging through the bags when you forget what you put in there. And you know you will.

Gifts: If possible, wrap them as soon as you bring home and label the gift (to and from). Keep wrapping paper, scissors, tape, pen, and gift tags in the bin. Update the tracking sheet (for when you forget what the heck you wrapped).

Unless the gifts are from Santa, immediately put wrapped presents under the tree. If your tree isn’t up yet, hide wrapped gifts in one of the “boring” storage bins. Even if the kids find the bin and peek inside, the gifts are wrapped up tight.

This makes Christmas eve so fast and easy you won’t even believe it. More time for you to ~~get to bed early~~ stay up way too late eating shortbread and binge watching Netflix.

Hide the bin(s) in plain sight—in the garage or anywhere it would make sense for your family to see a bin hanging around.

Christmas Eve transfer the plastic stocking bag contents into the real stockings, and put the presents under the tree. Then go to bed at a reasonable hour for once and rest easy knowing you haven’t misplaced a single gift this year—a true Christmas miracle.

Happy gifting everyone!

Eco fyi—

Christmas paper is not recyclable. Brown paper is a more eco-friendly option. You can make it festive by stamping or adding bows or greenery. Wrapping with reusable fabric is another great option (for you I mean. As if I’m ever going to do that). I’m a reusable gift bag kinda gal.