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How do you get the presents in without the kids knowing?

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  • 22-12-2019 6:25pm
    #1
    Kermit.de.frog
    Registered Users Posts: 23,499 ✭✭✭✭


    Hey, I don't have kids yet but i'm curious as to what your tricks of the trade are for getting the presents to the tree on Christmas eve without them knowing?

    This is how I found out Santa was fake incidentally - I stumbled across the presents one Christmas eve stocked up in another room in advance. I pretended I didn't. They were none the wiser.

    Kids ears are fine tuned instruments on Christmas eve (mine were anyway) waiting for Santa.

    So how is the mission accomplished in your house?

    Happy to hear any disasters in this regard too. :cool:

    P.S sorry if asked before, I didn't see a thread


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    #2
    jk23
    Closed Accounts Posts: 877 ✭✭✭jk23


    I suppose wait until Christmas eve late after they have gone to bed and lock the door the presents are being kept in.


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    #3
    punisher5112
    Registered Users Posts: 24,647 ✭✭✭✭punisher5112


    Leave in neighbours or car or family house....

    Then when all in bed including ourselves santa comes along and leaves the gifts.....


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    #4
    alchemist33
    Registered Users Posts: 10,969 ✭✭✭✭alchemist33


    We always wait until after midnight. One keeps watch while another ferries bags from room to room. Them barricade the living room door while arranging. Its always a late night for us, and we'd have a film or similar set up to keep us entertained.


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    #5
    pablo128
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,221 ✭✭✭pablo128


    The first house we lived in had a flat roof, so the toys were hidden in the back of the folks wardrobes. I must have only been 6 or 7 when we twigged it.


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    #6
    Toots
    Administrators, Business & Finance Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 16,905 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Toots


    Our house also has a flat roof, and previously we lived in an apartment so we've had to keep them off- site! We stash them in my parents' attic. It's massive and full of stuff, so we hide it under some other stuff. Then on Christmas eve we all go over there to help make a massive batch of stuffing, and everyone gets involved in that except my Dad and my husband, they're usually in watching TV or something.

    Once stuffing making is underway, husband sneaks up the attic and loads the stuff in the car, then pops home under the pretence of checking up on the dog. Dad usually keeps a lookout during the present transfer. At the house, he unloads them either in to the shed, or under the bed or in the hot press.

    We've other visiting to do, then mass, so we're usually not home til about 10pm, so the kids are put straight to bed, so no opportunity to go rooting for stuff. Then when they're thoroughly asleep we set everything up in the living room and go to bed ourselves.

    Hoping to be able to buy our own house in the next few years and I'm definitely going to be looking for one with decent attic space!


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    #7
    Dr. Bre
    Registered Users Posts: 7,552 ✭✭✭Dr. Bre


    Dress up as Santa ?


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    #8
    daheff
    Registered Users Posts: 5,835 ✭✭✭daheff


    bring them in from the car when kids are asleep. lock them away somewhere where the kids cant find them.



    incidently OP- I'm the same as you....my sister found where they were hidden one year and showed us all. magic ruined...but as i remember i wasn't overly disappointed. I couldnt take the suspense as a kid, so knowing in advance made the wait time more bareable


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    #9
    _Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 18,485 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    Small bits are kept in the loft until Christmas Eve.
    Herself brings kids to town and I’ll retrieve them and stash in our delressing room under clothes.

    Larger items like bike are kept under sheets in shed on farm and I’ll get that late when kids are asleep.


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    #10
    Lord Spence
    Registered Users Posts: 2,136 ✭✭✭Lord Spence


    Well, presents hidden in the attic, take em down around the 22-23rd to wrap em all and then back up into the attic until late christmas eve. Thats the easy part the hard part is getting into their room on christmas eve night to fill theirs socks. Always a family tradition to have the socks in the room, absolute nightmare but its worth it when you hear them find them the next morning.

    Anyways Happy Christmas everyone!!! Probably my last time here till after the big day. Relax, Enjoy try not to stress and enjoy all the hard work you put in to make the day special.


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    #11
    bee06
    Registered Users Posts: 4,514 ✭✭✭bee06


    My almost 2 year old found his Santa present last week! Will have to do a better job next year. Working on the premise that he won’t remember!


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    #12
    ShaShaBear
    Registered Users Posts: 5,528 ✭✭✭ShaShaBear


    We have everything stored in our wardrobe at present. The doors are lockable and even at that, everything is either inside a sealed, unmarked box or black bag so there's no way of them telling what's inside. They aren't allowed in our room unsupervised at any point in the year as our furniture isn't fixed to the walls (wall issue) like they are in other rooms, so there's no real risk of them even hunting for stuff let alone finding it by accident. We just wait until they're completely out, then shut their door tight and take things down and wrap them in batches. We're lucky in the sense that our bathroom is upstairs, so they're 100% used to the noise of us going up and down the stairs randomly throughout the night and it doesn't wake them.


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    #13
    Littlehorny
    Registered Users Posts: 2,351 ✭✭✭Littlehorny


    A good neighbour is ideal if you have big items alright. When my kids were small the next door neighbours had no kids and now our kids are grown up we are minding their little nippers presents.


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    #14
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    Littlehorny wrote: »
    A good neighbour is ideal if you have big items alright. When my kids were small the next door neighbours had no kids and now our kids are grown up we are minding their little nippers presents.

    Yeah we used to search our house from top to bottom every year. Never found anything. Really cemented our belief in Santa. Finally asked my mam a few years ago how she used to keep them so well hidden. The neighbours house! That neighbour was a really lovely lady. She used to work for Hasbro too and she'd always give us board games at Christmas.


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    #15
    Blaizes
    Closed Accounts Posts: 809 ✭✭✭Blaizes


    Having a bit of a meltdown about this at the moment trying to hide stuff in wardrobes, hot press etc husband has take kids out visiting. Don’t forget to take price tags off everything.I’musually cool but this year lots of awkward clumsy boxes and kids who roam all over the house. Stress lots! Good luck to all parents tonight keep calm!!


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    #16
    Cloudio9
    Registered Users Posts: 1,351 ✭✭✭Cloudio9


    Calpol


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    #17
    pablo128
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,221 ✭✭✭pablo128


    I've to disappear for an hour later on with my little one.

    She's 11. I doubt if she even believes in santy anymore, but we'll keep up the pretence for another year to make sure.:pac:


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    #18
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    I have no kids but my place is currently like Smyths.

    I have presents sectioned off based on who gave me them to mind.


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    #19
    rushfan
    Registered Users Posts: 970 ✭✭✭rushfan


    Some years ago, I was videoing the kids opening their presents, they were a lot younger, the room is a mass of torn wrapping paper, stuff everywhere. The eldest ( approx. 5 or so ) leans back, serious expression & says "Are you sure Santa Claus exists?" Quick exchange of looks with herself wondering where had we gone wrong. We said " of course, why???". Eldest says "No, it's just that we have this wrapping paper upstairs!!!". Note to self...……….


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    #20
    Blaizes
    Closed Accounts Posts: 809 ✭✭✭Blaizes


    rushfan wrote: »
    Some years ago, I was videoing the kids opening their presents, they were a lot younger, the room is a mass of torn wrapping paper, stuff everywhere. The eldest ( approx. 5 or so ) leans back, serious expression & says "Are you sure Santa Claus exists?" Quick exchange of looks with herself wondering where had we gone wrong. We said " of course, why???". Eldest says "No, it's just that we have this wrapping paper upstairs!!!". Note to self...……….

    Yeah it’s little things like that that can catch a parent out.Funny story though!


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    #21
    Postgrad10
    Registered Users Posts: 2,792 ✭✭✭Postgrad10


    rushfan wrote: »
    Some years ago, I was videoing the kids opening their presents, they were a lot younger, the room is a mass of torn wrapping paper, stuff everywhere. The eldest ( approx. 5 or so ) leans back, serious expression & says "Are you sure Santa Claus exists?" Quick exchange of looks with herself wondering where had we gone wrong. We said " of course, why???". Eldest says "No, it's just that we have this wrapping paper upstairs!!!". Note to self...……….


    Ha ha. Hence Santa never wrapped presents in our house!


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    #22
    rushfan
    Registered Users Posts: 970 ✭✭✭rushfan


    Postgrad10 wrote: »
    Ha ha. Hence Santa never wrapped presents in our house!

    The problem with that, as we subsequently discovered a couple of years later was that they were really disappointed that their pressies weren't wrapped.


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    #23
    ldy4mxonucwsq6
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,537 ✭✭✭ldy4mxonucwsq6


    rushfan wrote: »
    Some years ago, I was videoing the kids opening their presents, they were a lot younger, the room is a mass of torn wrapping paper, stuff everywhere. The eldest ( approx. 5 or so ) leans back, serious expression & says "Are you sure Santa Claus exists?" Quick exchange of looks with herself wondering where had we gone wrong. We said " of course, why???". Eldest says "No, it's just that we have this wrapping paper upstairs!!!". Note to self...……….

    Wardrobes, attic, shed, car boot, bottom of ironing pile under all the clothes, along the tops of presses, I have stuff stashed everywhere!

    We leave out our own wrapping paper for santa to use if he has time.


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    #24
    Postgrad10
    Registered Users Posts: 2,792 ✭✭✭Postgrad10


    rushfan wrote: »
    The problem with that, as we subsequently discovered a couple of years later was that they were really disappointed that their pressies weren't wrapped.


    I understand what you mean. Once you start, they’ll wonder why Santa stopped.

    Santa once left the sticker of the bike shop he got my bike in! Clever 5 year old that I was figured out he must have purchased it in a neighboring town as his sleigh was too full.


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    #25
    Blaizes
    Closed Accounts Posts: 809 ✭✭✭Blaizes


    Postgrad10 wrote: »
    I understand what you mean. Once you start, they’ll wonder why Santa stopped.

    Santa once left the sticker of the bike shop he got my bike in! Clever 5 year old that I was figured out he must have purchased it in a neighboring town as his sleigh was too full.

    Ah so sweet!


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    #26
    argentum
    Registered Users Posts: 471 ✭✭argentum


    Our kids used to go to mass on Christmas eve with my wife so I'd go on a journey to work to collect all the presents left there since they were bought.
    I'd leave them in the toilet under the stairs,lock the door and tell them it was broken and the presents were never found.
    My favourite thing when my eldest was young was that he loved pokemon and especially pikachu. I won a few of them in the amusement machines in the square and kept them in the attic.
    Every Christmas eve i took the old tatty one from his bed when he was asleep and put a brand new in his arms and told him santa did it
    For his 18th i gave him the 4 tatty ones that I'd put up in the attic.
    He was amazed


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    #27
    pablo128
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,221 ✭✭✭pablo128


    It's a waiting game now till they go asleep. Another hour should do it.

    There's probably lads out in sheds as we speak, putting new bicycles together, or assembling little kitchens or the like. Putting stickers on crooked and trying desperately to straighten them.:pac:


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    #28
    _Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 18,485 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    We stoppped putting chocolate in girls stockings in their rooms few years ago after one woke up, thankfully we got her back and she didn’t remember.

    Herself took them off today to do a few messages and I got everything down from attic and locked in the study. Bike was retrieved from farm and is in back of my van outside.

    They’re still awake here but we are just chilling having a nice glass of wine. Another 30-40 minutes should see coast clear.

    This will be our last year, youngest is 11.


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    #29
    DvB
    Registered Users Posts: 10,152 ✭✭✭✭DvB


    Just got everything down there now. My wife keeps watch while i carry them down, then I keep watch while she sorts them into their respective piles. 20 more minutes and we'll be done and off to bed.
    Ours are 9 in january and reckon we're coming to the end of the santa days unfortunately, I'll miss running this gauntlet every Christmas eve.
    "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" - Charles Dickens




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    #30
    Bigus
    Registered Users Posts: 4,939 ✭✭✭Bigus


    Santa set up a full size set of metal framed garden swings and see-saw for my kids one year in the dining room, and bunks beds another . He did very well to be so quiet and constructed them very well considering how drunk he was .


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    #31
    ratracer
    Registered Users Posts: 3,206 ✭✭✭ratracer


    I’m working tonight, so for the first time since my 13y.o was born, Mrs RR has to fly solo in the sleigh! I have every faith in her. Youngest is 10, so like others, it will likely be the last momentous Xmas for a while. I just hope I can get home before they wake in the morning!!

    Over the years, I’ve had to take down plasterboard slabs from the garage walls to store/ recover items. That was almost trickier than some of the big builds we’ve had to do under varying stages of Christmas merriment!!

    Happy Christmas all!!


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