We've been sweating all over each other in stores to buy holiday gifts, and we're going to receive more than we need as a reward for our efforts. So where's the fun of it?
For me, it happens in between the stress of shopping and the moment of exchange, when I transplant a scarf into a mysteriously huge package that might enclose anything. And of course I don't want to live with the pile of tchotchkes heaped up in plain view, so into the hiding place they go. Every home has one, some are filled with them, and when our cohabitants get wind of them we have to create new ones. I've seen switches behind bookcases, caverns beneath floorboards, paintings covering vaults in the wall, and hollowed-out dictionaries. Where's yours? We won't tell.
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My parents sometimes hid my brother's presents in the one place they knew he'd never look...the vegetable crisper in the refrigerator!
I have a small sewing chest with a false bottom that works well. Bigger items get stashed in my closet, usually inside large handbags or shoe boxes.
Inside luggage that appears to be sitting innocently idle on the top shelf of the coat closet, waiting for an exciting adventure.
My shopping bags are sitting in plain sight next to my nightstand. Hah! Perhaps I am too trusting?
Seattlegirl, I've got one up on you! One of the gifts is sitting out in plain site on my nightstand. Of course, it's recipient doesn't live with me.
I just wrap everything promptly, and stash it under the end table in my living room.
Presents just mostly got stashed in the den since we weren't going to have most of the recipients over until Christmas anyways. For those few who would be over, the gifts were stashed in a bag under the futon. As for between me and him, we just gave the other the gift when we bought it - too complicated hiding something from the person you're sharing a small apartment with.
Ha ha! This topic brings back childhood memories. I was SO bad about searching for presents when I was a kid... I once went as far as to sneak into the living room and carrrrrrrefully peel the scotch tape off the end of one of my gifts under the tree. After I had satisfied my pathological curiosity, I re-stuck the tape on the gift, and that was it, until a day or so later, my parents had the family over and there was a very brief quiet moment where no one was talking and they happened to be admiring the tree. Well, I got discovered because in that one quiet second, the tape popped right off and exposed the gift inside. All heads turned to look at me. My flushed face gave me away! I retired my snooping ways after that...
I have an old secretary desk that has real secret compartments. Granted, they are tiny, but it was a great place to hide some of my husband's gifts like his iPod and iPod cards. He still doesn't know they are there!
He doesn't know the SECRET COMPARTMENTS are there. He did get the iPod, no fear!
One Christmas when I was a kid, my mum hid our presents at her friends house and her friend hid hers at ours. Mum's friend had two boys, so you can imagine my sister's and my suprise when we went present snooping and found an action man and spiderman outfit. We never went present snooping again :-)
i'm like deliriumsama, I wrap as soon as the presents enter the front door. I actually keep my supplies 5 feet from where i drop my shoes.
All my life, presents were wrapped immediately and placed under the tree as soon as it went up, as part of the torture and decor of the season. Now I have cats and rabbits who would find that tltogether too enticing, so my gifts (wrapped) are just in my closet, safe from nibbling, until Christmas Eve. I miss the prettiness of the gift wrap out on view, though.
My grandmother used to stash my presents "high up" in her closet or on top of things she couldnt see the top of. The only problem is that I'm 5'11 and my grand is 5'2 :) Everything that was to tall for her, was completely visable to me.
My biggest triumph was hiding my daughter's bike. At the store, on layaway. I like to do my shopping early but was completely clueless as to where to hide a bike from her. I ended up paying for the bike, less $1 and picking it up the day before Christmas. The ladies at Wal-Mart thought I was nuts but it worked.
I also did the same thing one year when I bought a huge new tv. I found it during a crazy one day sale at Kmart on Thanksgiving but I was leaving for Jamaica the next morning and didn't want to leave a brand new $1000 tv unattended for a week and a half.