a FUn , FREE thing to do for your kids this holiday season (name tag switcheroo)

[Grumpy's Gal]

I know money is tight for a lot of people right now. So I'm going to tell you something my mom did for us one year at Christmas. It's FUN, it's FREE and some thirty years later, we are all still talking about how much fun it was.

Remember the year that mom....... yep -- it comes up all the time during the holiday season. We have such fun memories of that year based on this one thing she did.

My sister could NOT keep her hands off the gifts. Every year when wrapped gifts started going under the tree, she'd have to feel and shake each one and try to figure out what was in them. It drove her CRAZY not to know. (She's still that way, by the way.)

Ok - we all sat down to open gifts on Christmas morning. All of us kids had a gift in their hands to open and my mom yells WAIT! Then she says:

All of the gift tags that says Michael, really go to Sarah.

All of the gift tags that says Sarah, really go to Becky.

All of the gift tags that says Becky, really go to Michael.

We had so much fun digging out the gifts from under the tree and then determining who they really went to.

To this day, I can't tell you a single gift that was received but every year it comes up about how much fun we had that year. As kids, it seemed like our mom was never very much fun and way too serious but that year, I found out that my mom did have some fun personality in her.

Maybe that's something you can do with your kids.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

We take a evening and drive around looking at the christmas lights some neighborhoods do such a nice job putting out decorations. Well not technically free we also have a tradition of baking as a family during new years eve day..Happy Holidays !!!

 

[GinnyEmma]

What a fun story!

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

Unfortunately, Christmas has become so commercialized that many times I wonder if young kids today actually know the whole meaning of it. I totally agree OP that presents, although give joy for the moment, are usually forgotten by the time the holidays end. The memories, however, remain for many, many decades and making special memories for your kids is usually free.
Growing up we never got presents (immigrant parents did not know any better) but I still remember the magical feeling of seeing our tiny little fake tree all lit up with one plastic Santa underneath it. For us, that feeling WAS
Christmas along with all the baked goodies my mom would make. It was not much compared to our elaborate Christmas' now (read $$$$ worth of gifts under the tree) and yet my mind always wanders to those simpler times when I am running around stressed and exhausted trying to create the perfect holidays.

 

[Robmom]

That is such a cute idea.

 

[swilshire]

All of the gift tags that says Michael, really go to Sarah.

All of the gift tags that says Sarah, really go to Becky.

All of the gift tags that says Becky, really go to Michael.

We had so much fun digging out the gifts from under the tree and then determining who they really went to.

I stopped tagging with names years ago because the four kids were so obnoxious about trying to figure out what was in all the boxes. I choose five symbols (DH is the fifth) and use them instead of names. They still shake to try to figure out which symbol is who, but I never confess until Christmas morning.

Sheila

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

I stopped tagging with names years ago because the four kids were so obnoxious about trying to figure out what was in all the boxes. I choose five symbols (DH is the fifth) and use them instead of names. They still shake to try to figure out which symbol is who, but I never confess until Christmas morning.

Sheila

you know, as kids I never thought we were obnoxious about it. But now that we have kids of our own, I know we were!

 

[Coll0610]

A co-worker who had a bunch of kids (6 or 7 I think) used to use code on the kids presents. One year it was the first letter of their middle name. Another year it was their grade in school. Then he wouldn't let the kids open the gifts until they figured out the code.

 

[krcit]

Cute ideas. My kids favorite thing to do is to get hot chocolate and drive around and look at all the pretty lights. My ds has been asking to do it already but there's not enough lightsd up yet!

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

A co-worker who had a bunch of kids (6 or 7 I think) used to use code on the kids presents. One year it was the first letter of their middle name. Another year it was their grade in school. Then he wouldn't let the kids open the gifts until they figured out the code.

that's cool. Sometimes my in laws will put a hint in the "from" portion on the gift tag and we have to figure it out. Sometimes it says from Alexander (Alexander Graham Bell) once for a new phone. Things like that.

 

[jstbcuz]

I have 3 kids and I never put names on them. I pick 3 kinds of paper and it might be all snowman paper or it might be totally different paper. All of child #1s is in green snowman, child #2 in red big snowman and child #3 in little red snowman paper. Nobody knows til Christmas morning which is theirs.

 

[windycitymom]

We spread a tablecloth in front of tree and eat dinner (pizza) on the floor with Christmas lights as the only light. We also have a fireplace, so we would also make hotdogs and s'mores in the fireplace and eat that by tree light only (our tree is in the same room as the fireplace).

 

[krcit]

I have 3 kids and I never put names on them. I pick 3 kinds of paper and it might be all snowman paper or it might be totally different paper. All of child #1s is in green snowman, child #2 in red big snowman and child #3 in little red snowman paper. Nobody knows til Christmas morning which is theirs.

I do something like this but each kid has their own color and it stays the same every year. My oldest is red, middle is green and my youngest is blue. I don't put their presents out until after they go to bed on Christmas Eve.

 

[skw444]

I have 3 kids and I never put names on them. I pick 3 kinds of paper and it might be all snowman paper or it might be totally different paper. All of child #1s is in green snowman, child #2 in red big snowman and child #3 in little red snowman paper. Nobody knows til Christmas morning which is theirs.

We do this too!

 

[mainstreetmagic]

FUN! And that's really smart, because I was a very bad daughter. I knew where all of my mom's secret stashes were, and I used to unwrap my gifts and look at them, then wrap them back up, before Christmas. So how fun and what a good way to keep the kiddos on their toes!

 

[zoemurr]

all put gifts under the tree early? We don't have anything there until "Santa" (and yes they know) put them there Christmas Eve..

I think all the Lego that goes thre would be way to easy to detect.

 

[jlodoj]

I do the different kind of paper too. We only have gifts for other family members and friends under the tree until Santa comes on Christmas Eve.

 

[gnkmom]

I remember when my FIL was alive he used to have the gifts come from different holiday characters... but he would only use the initials. (Frosty the Snowman = FTS, or Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer = RTRNR) It was fun to try to figure out who it was.

 

[BoogasMom]

I do the different kind of paper too. We only have gifts for other family members and friends under the tree until Santa comes on Christmas Eve.

Same exact scenario here! I love seeing my kids reactions to their gifts on Christmas morning. Santa leaves their gifts grouped together and they have an identifier that they have to use to figure out which grouping is whose. Usually it's something from their fave football team that isn't wrapped...Redskins for DS 7 and Cowboys for DS 10 but sometimes it's an item with their name on it.

 

[MickeyP]

I also do different paper, but different theme for different kid:

#1 snowmen
#2 candy canes
#3 Santas
#4 gifts and ribbons
#5 trees