How do you stop your kids from snooping?

barbszy · #1 (**permalink**) 12-08-2008, 12:41 PM

I caught Big DS in the act of snooping for Christmas gifts this afternoon! He was SO busted, he didn't even try to deny it

So what are your best tricks for snoop-proofing the gifts?

I am thinking about wrapping everything but not putting on tags--instead I will number each gift. 1, 2, 3....and then I will have a list of who gets #1, and so on.

I do not have a lockable place to store the gifts.

debknechtel · #2 (**permalink**) 12-08-2008, 12:52 PM

We used to hide them in suitcases...the kids have never thought to look in them......Now my FIL is 2 doors down and we use an empty beedroom up stairs that has tiny doors to the rafters and hifde it there

Hugs dEbbie

**bluebird** · #3 (**permalink**) 12-08-2008, 01:14 PM

I have never had this problem. Guess that is good???

kathymac · #4 (**permalink**) 12-08-2008, 01:25 PM

Debbie, I had to laugh when I read your post. When DD's were little, we hid all of their presents in suitcases in our bedroom closet. They never thought to look in there.

I am an expert hider. DD's have never been able to find any of their presents. It took DD1 a long time to stop believing in Santa. I heard her telling DD2. "There has to be a Santa. I've never seen any presents in the house until Christmas morning." LOL!

Kathy

**DeBora4BobbyL** · #5 (**permalink**) 12-08-2008, 03:08 PM

This is from the all-time best Christmas gift snooper in the world. I never got caught (the only thing I ever did that I never got caught at). I found the gifts, figured out how to slide the scissors through the tape with that nothing would rip, and see what I got, and then put the paper back, and put tape, the exact same size over the old tape. Nobody ever suspected I already knew what I got for Christmas. lol

Okay, now that you know my secrets, here is what I did with my kids because if they were anywhere near as good as I was, I was in trouble. I kept their gifts at a friend's house until Christmas Eve. The cool thing about that is if you and your friend exchange your children's gifts, then IF either set of children find the gifts, they will think that is theirs and they will be surprised on Christmas morning when the gifts they open are different. LOL Aren't I just pure evil? lol If you don't have a friend nearby, you could also leave it at a family member's house. If you have a shed you can lock up, you can do that, but keep the keys with you.

**bluebird** · #6 (**permalink**) 12-08-2008, 03:41 PM

DeBora you were evil! lol I would have never gotten away with that.

Pag36 · #7 (**permalink**) 12-08-2008, 04:04 PM

DeBora you win hands down lol. I learned a few years back that Gina (dau #2 as well as child #2) had snooped behind our bed it was fixed so there was a triangle area behind our bed so EX & I put gifts there except for each other, anyway Gina got behind there when her older sis was not there yet and opened all that was to her and she said come Christmas morning she had to pretend to ooooh and aaaah etc and was the worse Christmas she ever had. She never did it again. We also use to hide them in suit cases in the attic (praying no mice would end up chewing etc).
I now hide them more or less in plain site but in totes some you can see thro' but others are opaque. No one messes with them Steven does not know they are in there. I will be glad when I get them wrapped as tired of seeing the totes in my kitchen lol. Just got Steven one of the Lego Starwar kits he wanted it is big so is up in Loft where he does not go.

**happymomof4** · #8 (**permalink**) 12-08-2008, 04:22 PM

I wrap all my gifts right away. My oldest was the snooper. Then he would tell the others. I get large christmas bags. The real big gift bags. I put each kids presents in a bag after I wrap them. I write down who's bags are who's on my christmas list on my computer at work. This way when the kids go in my closet they see wrapped gifts but don't know who's are who's. I have a waterbed so we have this door at the foot of our bed for storage between the drawers. The kids don't know about it so any large things I put in there.

**Coll** · #9 (**permalink**) 12-09-2008, 07:09 PM

As far as I know dd1 and ds never snooped. Probably because I always got them what they asked for.
Miriam and Maddie, not sure if they snoop or not. I'd have to say not.
DeBora, that sounds like something I would have done. But never did. I had 4 sisters who would have gladly ratted me out.

**DeBora4BobbyL** · #10 (**permalink**) 12-09-2008, 11:11 PM

Coll, I usually did it when my parents took my brother somewhere and years before my sister was even born. My parents bought our Christmas gifts and came straight home and wrapped them. I didn't know there was no Santa, so I didn't think there were gifts for me to look for. LOL

My DH still remembers me looking under the tree and checking to see if the tape was perfectly only the packages after I'd been gone, because I feared my kids might be as good as me. lol I also wrapped their gifts with a super amount of tape so it would be nearly impossible for them to slice through the tape and re-tape without me noticing.

I was just telling people the other day about how I didn't do naughty things because I always got caught. This post made me remember that there was actually 1 thing that was naughty in which I didn't get caught. lol