My mom always hid the presents in the very same place each year. When I was younger, it was a hard to reach space, but that was remedied by dragging a chair stacked with books to climb. When I was a bit taller, it was just a matter of tippy-toeing and stretching as far as I could.
When my mom got wise to what I was doing- really, it took her years to do so- she started wrapping all the gifts as soon as she bought them. Which saved me a lot of time. If I couldn't figure it out by shaking it or weighing it...I don't want to brag...but ok. I am unusually talented in this area!! Really! Say there was a Jeopardy category 'What's In the Box?' And they handed each contestant a package to shake, I would own it. Run the category.
But I digress...
If I couldn't tell by the shape or feel or noise- and my mom got creative and began wrapping things inside of things, once she just wrapped her suitcase which was packed full of my gifts- I just unwrapped them when no one was looking. I was good at not tearing the paper. Just lifting the seam and using a bit of glue to put it back. Tape was a give away. Mom counted how many pieces she used.
So, see, if all went well, when Christmas morning dawned and the family gathered to open their gifts carefully one by one, with lots of oohing and ahhing, I would know *exactly* what I was getting.
"Why spoil the fun??" I've been asked many times over the years. But, for me, that *was* the fun!
Still is, actually.
I think packages with "Do Not Open Until Christmas" on them are just...cute.
CC
