I totally remember doing this as a kid. Fortunately, my kids haven’t tried this yet, although they are forbidden to go in the basement after Thanksgiving. ;-)
Each present is wrapped differently…thought everybody did it this way. Obviously not. Actually, a while back, I took to just permentently wrapping the boxes in different paper and just placing the presents inside. Have a bunch of different sizes and it works perfectly.
As long as you remember to tag the gift so you know who it’s for.
I remember one year finding all my gifts before they were wrapped and then being so disappointed on Christmas to find no surprises. I really regretted that.
One year my mom got disgusted with us shaking the gifts and not leaving them alone that she simply put numbers on them so we wouldn’t know what was for who. She had a list of what was for who and gave the gifts to the appropriate person.
With 2 girls I would wrap there presents in colors that coradinate with them I would use a solid color on their bigger gifts and then would use a print on the smaller gifts that a background color of the solid. So if I wrapped the older ones larger gifts with a solid green then the other paper had a green back ground and the younger on if in a solid red her background would be red. The adults would be wraped in what I ever I liked. It made givng out the gifts easy.
My younger daughter was my snoop and would get her older sister in trouble for having her help her. We were in the military so each new house had a different hiding spot.
Now that we grandparents we get to carry on the traditons that we started with our girls and yes that encludes that wrapping now I just have to figure out for 3 kids 3 solid colors for 1 boy and 2 girls. Any ideas out there, they are all 3 and younger?
I almost cried this year when my son (4) saw my husband bringing in a big lego box, his main present (it was after bedtime, but he heard noises and came out). I never found presents early. They were in the trunk of my mother’s car. My husband is NOT sneaky enough (I am enjoying your ideas- thanks. The neighbor-house is a master idea!)
Growing up, every present was in a different paper. We laid out like 20-30 wrapping papers on the bed, my mother wrapping on the floor to one side, me on the other, both watching Christmas Carol on TV and chatting and sharing the presents that weren’t for each ohter. We created 10-20 beautiful packages with ribbons, bows, etc. over the 2 hours of movie.
DH gives like 40+ presents to his huge family. He buys one mega-roll from the discount club and wraps everything in it in about an hour. That’s how they all do it- you can tell who gave a present by the paper. Muhc more efficient, but it’s missing something….
I even like matching the gift recipient to the paper–snowmen and santas for the kids, more ornate and “serious” paper for the adults. To me wrapping the gifts and making the packages pretty is part of the fun!
I never wanted to find my christmas gifts. I actually enjoyed the surprise of opening my gifts and being surprised. it did lead to a rather annoying christmas tradition though, where I would dream that I was getting up and going downstairs to open gifts, only to wake up and find that I was still in bed. This dream occurred over and over again through out the night, one year after another.
It’s interesting hearing everyoine’s wrapping stories, but I think the different wrapping paper in today’s strip is just to provide visual interest to the reader.
My son and I have a unique relationship. On Christmas morning he is more surprised by what he got for me than what he gets. I usually just go by his list because he has limited space. I usually have specific wants and he does not have much time to shop and I do.
I will open one of my presents and remark in delight “How did you know just what I wanted?” He just grins. It has taken friends and relations a bit to figure out the gag. It has worked very well for us. We both enjoy the game and we both get just what we need and want.
His girlfriend is rather puzzled at our tradition and still does not know I am the one who chose her engagement ring.
My sister was the snoopy one - I don’t remember snooping myself, unless you count lifting and shaking the gifts once they were under the tree. Mom used to have a code system (and it wasn’t easy to spot where she had written the code number on the package.) For gifts that were too large (or would be obvious), she would make rhyming clues that led us on a hunt. One year, I asked for an ironing board (just moved out a few months earlier), and she hid it in my own car! I had a 65 Mustang, and there were a total of 7 vehicles (all Ford products) on the property. The clue was that it was in a Ford. Imagine me w/o a coat - about 10F - looking in EVERY vehicle, because I just knew she wouldn’t hide it in MY car. Obviously, I was wrong!
I do the wrapping to match the recipient too. And it really isn’t any more expensive because I’ve been using the same five rolls of wrapping paper for seven Christmases now. I switch it up each year so each person gets a different wrapping paper than they did the year before. No one has ever complained.
I ALWAYS wrap each gift in different paper. It’s less boring that way!
When I was a kid, my parents hid our gifts in the trunk of their car to keep us from finding them, which was completely unnecessary for me since I wasn’t a snooper (I always liked being surprised on Christmas morning by what I got!) but my sister … she was a DIFFERENT story!!! She was DEFINITELY the reason for keeping our gifts out of the house!!!!!
One time I saw something that was for me when I was a kid but I didn’t tell my parents, brothers and sisters what I saw something that my mother hid in the basement years ago. I am not a sneaker to see something that was for Xmas gifts.
We usually use the recycled Xmas wrappings to wrap the gifts. Save the money.
My birthday was only a few days after Christmas and at a very young age my mom started wrapping my b-d presents in Sunday funnies. Of course the rest of the family just gave me something that said “Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday?
The one time my brothers and I snooped, we found an unwrapped portable TV in the top of the garage. We spent the next 2 or 3 weeks arguing about who it was for, and when my younger brother received it, my older brother and I were both bitterly disappointed. (but at least the arguments stopped) It was the worst Christmas season ever, and we never snooped again.
I collect Christmas wrapping paper. I have lots of beautiful rolls and add more every year. Strange, I know, but I love each and every one and miss the ones I use up. (stranger ; )
I wrap for the person I’m giving the present to.
My mother hated wrapping gifts and used as many gift bags as possible. I consider this a wrapping cop-out.
Oh No, gift bags have saved entire towns from the horrors of those who, like me, cannot wrap a pretty package to save our lives. Yes, I wrap the permanent boxes, but slowly and, usually over again…but the gift bags are wonderful for birthdays and all else but Christmas.
I have gotten more ecologically minded over time, but I will use up every bit of a wrapping paper if I can, so none is wasted, including making a patchwork.
I never snooped since the day I inadvertently found out Mom and Dad were Santa. That made me wonder if they’d stop giving presents if they knew I knew.
Susan001 said,
“Wrap”, “hide”, and “seek” as onomantopaeas?Brother!
I don’t think those words were intended to be onomatopoeic - just funny, which it was! And Brother! ?? Oh Susan001, it seems like you also can’t stand Lynn now! (She did write the words after all.) Gee, is there anything that actually does give you joy and pleasure? :o\
Macushlalondra I really like the idea of the numbered gifts! I might have to try that this year, and I’m sure everyone will find it absolutely maddening!! xD
The majority of your regular comments on here are, shall we say, quite negative, and you rarely make comments that would suggest that you are a happy person! After all, your comments are the only bit of you we get to see, so I think I could be forgiven for thinking that you are not exactly one of the happiest people around here.
It is so refreshing to see that list of things that give you pleasure. I do however think it’s sad the way you often come across so loud and proud about being single and child-free… as though it’s a major cause for celebration, as though it’s somehow detrimental or pleasure-reducing to be in a relationship with kids!! You have made the point many, many times. Just sayin’.
OpenWings, it did drive my brother and me nuts! We loved to pick up the presents and shake them and try to guess what was in them. It was so much fun. But when she numbered them it took all the fun out of it to shake them not knowing if it was for me or for him!
I use the same roll for all the gifts, every year a different colour scheme (single colour paper, another colour ribbon). Quite like the effect. The presents from other parts of the family make for the variety of colour under the tree :)
Susan001 I hope you’re not saying you’d be the type of mother Susan Smith and Andrea Yates were…
OpenWings almost 15 years ago
LAUGH, LAUGH, LAUGH, LAUGH !
xD
mroberts88 almost 15 years ago
duck, whats wrong with that?
The fun part is looking for the presents, and trying to find them pre-wrapped.
Kaytebb almost 15 years ago
Duck…you wrap ALL your presents with the same paper? Geeze that takes away half the fun. Besides there’s no right or wrong way to do it.
cdward almost 15 years ago
I wrap presents in old newspapers. Not sure what I’m going to do when the local paper folds.
lightenup Premium Member almost 15 years ago
I totally remember doing this as a kid. Fortunately, my kids haven’t tried this yet, although they are forbidden to go in the basement after Thanksgiving. ;-)
DolphinGirl78 almost 15 years ago
lightenup: do you honestly think that they haven’t gone down there after Thanksgiving??? :)
ComicDetectiveDA almost 15 years ago
Michael’s hair is growing longer every day.
lewisbower almost 15 years ago
I had a deprived childhood. The presents were hid next door.
eardroppings almost 15 years ago
Hide and Seek, don’t you peek!
pearlandpeach almost 15 years ago
Each present is wrapped differently…thought everybody did it this way. Obviously not. Actually, a while back, I took to just permentently wrapping the boxes in different paper and just placing the presents inside. Have a bunch of different sizes and it works perfectly.
Allan CB Premium Member almost 15 years ago
I use one roll for everyone’s present … then I move on to the next. Saves money and time/effort.
alondra almost 15 years ago
As long as you remember to tag the gift so you know who it’s for.
I remember one year finding all my gifts before they were wrapped and then being so disappointed on Christmas to find no surprises. I really regretted that.
One year my mom got disgusted with us shaking the gifts and not leaving them alone that she simply put numbers on them so we wouldn’t know what was for who. She had a list of what was for who and gave the gifts to the appropriate person.
bald almost 15 years ago
i thought that was why they had sunday comics with the newspaper, that’s what i used to wrap presents
mommy2mals almost 15 years ago
With 2 girls I would wrap there presents in colors that coradinate with them I would use a solid color on their bigger gifts and then would use a print on the smaller gifts that a background color of the solid. So if I wrapped the older ones larger gifts with a solid green then the other paper had a green back ground and the younger on if in a solid red her background would be red. The adults would be wraped in what I ever I liked. It made givng out the gifts easy.
My younger daughter was my snoop and would get her older sister in trouble for having her help her. We were in the military so each new house had a different hiding spot.
Now that we grandparents we get to carry on the traditons that we started with our girls and yes that encludes that wrapping now I just have to figure out for 3 kids 3 solid colors for 1 boy and 2 girls. Any ideas out there, they are all 3 and younger?
masnadies almost 15 years ago
I almost cried this year when my son (4) saw my husband bringing in a big lego box, his main present (it was after bedtime, but he heard noises and came out). I never found presents early. They were in the trunk of my mother’s car. My husband is NOT sneaky enough (I am enjoying your ideas- thanks. The neighbor-house is a master idea!)
Growing up, every present was in a different paper. We laid out like 20-30 wrapping papers on the bed, my mother wrapping on the floor to one side, me on the other, both watching Christmas Carol on TV and chatting and sharing the presents that weren’t for each ohter. We created 10-20 beautiful packages with ribbons, bows, etc. over the 2 hours of movie.
DH gives like 40+ presents to his huge family. He buys one mega-roll from the discount club and wraps everything in it in about an hour. That’s how they all do it- you can tell who gave a present by the paper. Muhc more efficient, but it’s missing something….
Deezlebird almost 15 years ago
I even like matching the gift recipient to the paper–snowmen and santas for the kids, more ornate and “serious” paper for the adults. To me wrapping the gifts and making the packages pretty is part of the fun!
cleokaya almost 15 years ago
I never wanted to find my christmas gifts. I actually enjoyed the surprise of opening my gifts and being surprised. it did lead to a rather annoying christmas tradition though, where I would dream that I was getting up and going downstairs to open gifts, only to wake up and find that I was still in bed. This dream occurred over and over again through out the night, one year after another.
imrobert almost 15 years ago
It’s interesting hearing everyoine’s wrapping stories, but I think the different wrapping paper in today’s strip is just to provide visual interest to the reader.
ireg almost 15 years ago
My son and I have a unique relationship. On Christmas morning he is more surprised by what he got for me than what he gets. I usually just go by his list because he has limited space. I usually have specific wants and he does not have much time to shop and I do.
I will open one of my presents and remark in delight “How did you know just what I wanted?” He just grins. It has taken friends and relations a bit to figure out the gag. It has worked very well for us. We both enjoy the game and we both get just what we need and want.
His girlfriend is rather puzzled at our tradition and still does not know I am the one who chose her engagement ring.
Smiley Rmom almost 15 years ago
My sister was the snoopy one - I don’t remember snooping myself, unless you count lifting and shaking the gifts once they were under the tree. Mom used to have a code system (and it wasn’t easy to spot where she had written the code number on the package.) For gifts that were too large (or would be obvious), she would make rhyming clues that led us on a hunt. One year, I asked for an ironing board (just moved out a few months earlier), and she hid it in my own car! I had a 65 Mustang, and there were a total of 7 vehicles (all Ford products) on the property. The clue was that it was in a Ford. Imagine me w/o a coat - about 10F - looking in EVERY vehicle, because I just knew she wouldn’t hide it in MY car. Obviously, I was wrong!
notinksanymore almost 15 years ago
I do the wrapping to match the recipient too. And it really isn’t any more expensive because I’ve been using the same five rolls of wrapping paper for seven Christmases now. I switch it up each year so each person gets a different wrapping paper than they did the year before. No one has ever complained.
Gretchen's Mom almost 15 years ago
I ALWAYS wrap each gift in different paper. It’s less boring that way!
When I was a kid, my parents hid our gifts in the trunk of their car to keep us from finding them, which was completely unnecessary for me since I wasn’t a snooper (I always liked being surprised on Christmas morning by what I got!) but my sister … she was a DIFFERENT story!!! She was DEFINITELY the reason for keeping our gifts out of the house!!!!!
Wildmustang1262 almost 15 years ago
One time I saw something that was for me when I was a kid but I didn’t tell my parents, brothers and sisters what I saw something that my mother hid in the basement years ago. I am not a sneaker to see something that was for Xmas gifts. We usually use the recycled Xmas wrappings to wrap the gifts. Save the money.
longandgreen almost 15 years ago
Used the Sunday funnies for years, the kids loved it. We enjoyed the rereading them as much as what was in them.
Llywus almost 15 years ago
My birthday was only a few days after Christmas and at a very young age my mom started wrapping my b-d presents in Sunday funnies. Of course the rest of the family just gave me something that said “Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday?
JanLC almost 15 years ago
The one time my brothers and I snooped, we found an unwrapped portable TV in the top of the garage. We spent the next 2 or 3 weeks arguing about who it was for, and when my younger brother received it, my older brother and I were both bitterly disappointed. (but at least the arguments stopped) It was the worst Christmas season ever, and we never snooped again.
Templo S.U.D. almost 15 years ago
Pathétique, Michael (and Elizabeth)
summerdog86 almost 15 years ago
I collect Christmas wrapping paper. I have lots of beautiful rolls and add more every year. Strange, I know, but I love each and every one and miss the ones I use up. (stranger ; )
I wrap for the person I’m giving the present to.
My mother hated wrapping gifts and used as many gift bags as possible. I consider this a wrapping cop-out.
pearlandpeach almost 15 years ago
Oh No, gift bags have saved entire towns from the horrors of those who, like me, cannot wrap a pretty package to save our lives. Yes, I wrap the permanent boxes, but slowly and, usually over again…but the gift bags are wonderful for birthdays and all else but Christmas.
mroberts88 almost 15 years ago
Burgundy, thats kinda sad.
pibfan868 almost 15 years ago
I have gotten more ecologically minded over time, but I will use up every bit of a wrapping paper if I can, so none is wasted, including making a patchwork. I never snooped since the day I inadvertently found out Mom and Dad were Santa. That made me wonder if they’d stop giving presents if they knew I knew.
mroberts88 almost 15 years ago
Burgundy, Im not like that. Ah well, different people.
OpenWings almost 15 years ago
Susan001 said, “Wrap”, “hide”, and “seek” as onomantopaeas? Brother!
I don’t think those words were intended to be onomatopoeic - just funny, which it was! And Brother! ?? Oh Susan001, it seems like you also can’t stand Lynn now! (She did write the words after all.) Gee, is there anything that actually does give you joy and pleasure? :o\
Macushlalondra I really like the idea of the numbered gifts! I might have to try that this year, and I’m sure everyone will find it absolutely maddening!! xD
OpenWings almost 15 years ago
Susan001 well, thank goodness for that! :o)
The majority of your regular comments on here are, shall we say, quite negative, and you rarely make comments that would suggest that you are a happy person! After all, your comments are the only bit of you we get to see, so I think I could be forgiven for thinking that you are not exactly one of the happiest people around here.
It is so refreshing to see that list of things that give you pleasure. I do however think it’s sad the way you often come across so loud and proud about being single and child-free… as though it’s a major cause for celebration, as though it’s somehow detrimental or pleasure-reducing to be in a relationship with kids!! You have made the point many, many times. Just sayin’.
mroberts88 almost 15 years ago
Burgundy, it seems to me that using different kinds of wrapping paper per person in a large family would be very time consuming, and a pain.
RinaFarina almost 15 years ago
@susan001, who are Susan Smith and Andrea Yates?
alondra almost 15 years ago
They are women who murdered their own children.
OpenWings, it did drive my brother and me nuts! We loved to pick up the presents and shake them and try to guess what was in them. It was so much fun. But when she numbered them it took all the fun out of it to shake them not knowing if it was for me or for him!
Love all the stories here, what fun to read!
OpenWings almost 15 years ago
RinaFarina they’re both “mothers” (for want of a rather harsher description) who murdered their own children.
hildigunnurr Premium Member almost 15 years ago
I use the same roll for all the gifts, every year a different colour scheme (single colour paper, another colour ribbon). Quite like the effect. The presents from other parts of the family make for the variety of colour under the tree :)
Susan001 I hope you’re not saying you’d be the type of mother Susan Smith and Andrea Yates were…