DD Found Presents, How to Handel this

[QVCshopper]

I bought a lot of gifts with my kids with me (no choice, since I found some on great sales). I'm not really doing the "this is from Santa, this is from Mommy and Daddy" thing. They are just getting their gifts all at once, and they will appear on XMas night.

I kept the gifts in a closet, and the kids knew they were there but couldn't play with them. I let them look at them since July. They were happy with this. On 12/1, I said Santa's elves were coming for the gifts, and I wrapped them all and hid them very well. Santa will wrap them and get them ready and bring them back. The kids checked the closet to make sure the gifts were gone.

I didn't celebrate XMas as a child, so I know I'm unorthodox, but this works for us. I worked with my kids to select what they wanted, and they know about sales and understood why we bought them when we did.

Merry XMas to everyone!

 

[pipersmom]

OP, you absolutely did the right thing. I was a "snooper" when I was younger (and even as a teenager, lol) but at some point I realized how disappointed I would be when I knew what everything was and stopped trying so hard. Probably the year my mom came home from work early and found my best friend and I sitting about 5 ft from the tree with every present unwrapped in front of us- even my brother's! (I was 8 or 9 at the time.) She promptly took all my gifts and said I would get nothing for Christmas. The gifts were back on Christmas morning, but boy was I sweating it until then!! I have to confess though, even now I like to shake and rattle packages and try to figure out what they are. Too bad I can't hire out doing it, I've gotten pretty accurate in 37 years!! LOL. Anyway..Have a great Christmas!


sidenote- My mom worked literally about 50 yds away from our house in the next building over..she wasn't being awful leaving me home alone after school...lol.

 

[Jenvenza]

Wow, thats kind of harsh don't you think. I never yelled at her. She cried because she knew she was wrong, and if you read the post, I told her that I she could still get them for telling the truth.

Actually, I dont think that was harsh at all. I was thinking the same thing. She accidently found the presents and she told you about it right away and you told her if she found them, she couldnt have them, unless her Dad said it was ok.

We accidently found present one year and I told my mom right away. I cannot imagine her telling us we couldnt have them because we accidently found them.

Your house, your rules, but THAT seems harsh to me.

 

[Zookeeperof4]

Well two years ago I had carefully stashed some gifts in my basement and guess what happened. We had a freak storm and the boxes of gifts got wet when my basement flooded.....I was soo upset. We ended up being able to salvage most things by taking them out of some boxes but still...it was rotten. Last year we hid things in crazy places and then had to play where did we put this gift at 2am on the eve. This year we are using my trunk for now....then yesterday we went grocery shopping and I used my remote to pop my trunk and my son says umm mom shut the trunk...SHUT the trunk...LOL Ooops on me....thankfully the girls were in the car and my 10 year old son has known the truth for years now.
I still remember the year he asked for the truth....I was so sad for him. But he has actually enjoyed the holiday that much more and even tried to CATCH me wrapping things. Plus it has become a huge weight lifted off me as he has stopped asking for all expensive things..he knows if there is one big thing he really wants then having a few smaller priced items will make sure he gets it.

 

[roscoepc1]

I wouldn't buy her new gifts, but she'd get the ones she saw.

I put all gifts in my closet. My girls know if they want to snoop, then snoop. But I stressed to them that 3/4 of the fun of Christmas is in the surprise, so if they look, they'll be ruining their own Christmas fun.

I do hide the "Santa" gifts somewhere they can't even get to, just in case, lol. Temptation is strong when you're little.

This has worked for both me and my sister (she does the same)...7 kids, with over 20 years of Christmases....no one has ever peeked!

 

[WantToGoNow]

I wrap the gifts as soon as I can after I buy them. Then if the kids find them, all they find are nice wrapped gifts. The Santa gifts ride around in the trunk of dh's car - the kids are never in that car and I don't have to worry about one of them opening the seat back and finding them. Right now, though, I bought 4 items at Kroger this am and they are in the back of the Ford Freestyle - would only take a look through the window to find them. As soon as dh gets home from work, I'll move them to his car until I can wrap.

My oldest dd(now 25) was always a snooper and she almost always knew what she was getting before Christmas. I figured if she wanted no surprises, that was ok with me. I actually remember peeking in the huge JC Penney box my mom always had sitting in her bedroom every Christmas - really took the joy out of the gifts when you knew what they were. But then again, I knew I was getting that dart board I really wanted - the one I only got to keep for a couple of months because it was taken away after a dart went through my cousin's hand - hey, she was old enough to know not to hold it while people threw darts at it.

I think you handled it well and your dd probably won't be doing anymore looking in places that she normally doesn't go.

 

[cantwaitvaca09]

again want to Thank All of you that have reassured me that I did do the right thing. And for those who disagree with my "parenting" that's ok to.

To add some follow up, I have not said a word to her from that day. She did tell her Dad on her own and he was like, how do you know they were for you? Are you getting anything good? She was like YEAH!!!!

So today I made her a Santa Video and told her Santa sent her an email. In the past two hours after seeing her email video from Santa, she has played school with her baby sister, to teach her letters, So that I can finish my work at home work. And she right now is cleaning up the toys.

Here is the link to make your own video email. Its free...
http://portablenorthpole.tv/home/

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

My kids haven't snooped, but my youngest has been with me when I shopped and I always just said "We're buying this for your cousin, if this is something you would like we can write it on your list for Santa when we get home." The funny thing is my sister (the cousin's Mom) did the same thing with her son without us even having talked about it.

Of course since I do most of my shopping online that didn't happen much, he might've gotten suspicious if it had .

 

[krcit]

I was such a snooper when I was a kid. I would even unwrap stuff and rewrap it until I realized it's more fun to actually be suprised on Christmas(like some previous posters have said) I'm actaully a bit worried because tomorrow I'm taking the 2 younger kids to see Shrek while the 14 yo stays home by herself. I'm thinking she is going to snoop and find everything while I'm out. I'm going to hide everything in the basement before i go and then tell her I saw a few crickets down there. That should keep her out of there

OP, glad that it all seems to have worked out