10 Best Places to Hide Christmas Gifts Where Your Family Will Never Find Them
There’s a scene in National Lampoons’ “Christmas Vacation” that I’ve never liked (yes, just one). Clark Griswold sneaks into the attic to hide a bag full of Christmas gifts, but discovers an old, dust-covered Mother’s Day gift, dated 1983, hidden in the same secret location. (Given that the film was released in 1989, that doesn’t make the forgotten gift as old as it seems today.) It’s implied that Clark hid it and then forgot it pretty quickly, but that always seemed like a stretch. logic for me. He forgot where he hid the gift back then, but a few years later he’s drawn back to the same admittedly clever gift-hiding nook? This is no coincidence – he goes straight to the point!
Either way, if you’re anything like Clark (and aren’t we all a little like Clark?), you too will soon find yourself in the midst of gift-shopping and gift-hiding season. But as you tiptoe around your own home, don’t be tempted by the simplest—and therefore most obvious—hiding places. Your partner knows what those bags are hidden in the back of the closet, and your kids will look under your bed as soon as you take your eyes off them. Let this be the year you confuse them all by hiding their gifts in places they won’t even think of thinking about.
Holiday Storage Containers
Even if you don’t have an inch of storage space in your basement or attic, there should be at least a couple of empty dumpsters lying around when you get around to decorating your home for the holidays this year. No one thinks of rummaging through holiday storage baskets for anything when the decorations are on display, so secure them in a dark corner once you’re done pulling out all the lights and fill them with gifts.
Christmas tree box
Likewise, if you have a fake Christmas tree box that isn’t torn apart on one side due to years of trying to get the stupid tree back into the damn box that clearly was never big enough for it in the first place, then you have There’s another perfect hiding spot to complement your storage box trick. This would never work for me personally given the state of my Christmas tree box, but I hope it is an option for you.
Stacks of empty shipping boxes
If you haven’t pulled yourself together to decorate for the holidays this year and so your red and green baskets are still full to the brim, you have other options: Hide your gifts (almost) in plain sight – these are the stacks of empty Amazon boxes that You almost certainly have one somewhere in your home. If you don’t have such a stack – and that’s kudos – you may have some sturdy moving boxes that you’ve been clinging to since your last turn, that you didn’t want to part with, but that don’t serve much of a purpose. between moves.
Incorrectly labeled (or half-filled) storage containers
Likewise, if you have stacks of storage containers of different sizes, shapes and colors in your basement or attic, chances are some of them have a little extra storage space. Do you have a trash can only half filled with spare blankets or sentimental baby clothes and you know no one will look for it? It’s an empty space that finally has a greater purpose.
Suitcases
Assuming you don’t actually need these suitcases for your vacation, this is another place that can easily be overlooked by a gift seeker, especially if they are hidden in a rarely visited area of the house, such as the basement, attic. , or garage.
Coolers
Like suitcases, these coolers that you only use a few times a year can double as a hiding place for gifts during the holiday months. Put the gifts in the refrigerator, add another storage box on top, and your family won’t know.
Spare wheel well in your trunk
I’m not a big fan of hiding gifts in the open part of the trunk – mainly because I drive an SUV in which the trunk can be seen from the back seat, making it a terrible hiding place. But even if my suitcase was locked, I would be worried that one day I would slip, forget about the gifts and open the trunk in front of my son. How about a spare wheel? No one will look in there, especially if you have a lot of other random items – reusable bags, blankets, jumper cables and the like – cluttering the space.
Under your child’s bed
I admit it seems a little risky, but I also think it’s kind of genius. When was the last time your child tried to comprehend the abyss under their bed? Exactly. If it’s hidden properly, it can be the best hiding place of all. This is especially good if you store their out-of-season clothes in baskets under the bed—no child, teen, or teen is going to be digging through last summer’s shorts and swimsuits for gifts. However, you know your child best, so be careful in this matter.
The creepiest place in your house
Do you know where my son will never find a gift? In a dark, narrow tool cabinet in my creepy circa 1925 basement, that’s where. You have to go down into it, people, like it’s the basement of a basement. Sure, you may not have a creepy 100-year-old nook that served God knows what original purpose, but you probably have the equivalent space: an attic space, a cluttered shed, a corner of the basement where house centipedes hang out (I’m kidding). ). Wherever others in your home want to venture is the perfect place to seal and hide their gifts.
Someone else’s house
You know who doesn’t care what your spouse gets for Christmas? Neighborhood teenage kids, that’s who. Do a small gift exchange to completely hide your gifts in another home—whether it’s a friend, neighbor, or relative—and hide their gifts in your home. Be upfront with everyone that they can spy if they want, but they will only find out what Uncle Dave bought for Aunt Janie.