Where Did I Hide Those Presents?

Back in the day of “big believing” I had to be a good hider of presents. I was a snooper as a child and was devastated upon finding certain presents so I vowed to be a good hider as a parent. In order not to have any difficult conversations with a young Carter I used to tell her, “don’t believe, don’t receive.” I wanted the magic to last as long as possible.

When American girl was the present of choice I used to have boxes sent to my friend Sally’s house. It is hard to hide those distinctive giant boxes. But as a Carter got older I just hid things at home.

I like to buy Christmas presents all year long since I refuse to go shopping in December. It is nice to spread out the paying for Christmas, but it has two distinct draw backs. First, I forget how much I have bought for each person and often discover that I have bought everything for one person and nothing for another. Second, I forget where I have hidden everything.

Forgetting is something I totally understand now, but was shocked about as a child. My mother once stumbled upon a huge tea set in the garage in August she had bought me two years earlier. She just let me have it for no occasion when she found it, but I was appalled that she had forgotten about it for almost two years. Hell, now I can forget about something for a decade. Today, while I was getting boxes out to wrap things in I found a pair of earrings I was given two or three years ago that got left in the box I saved to recycle.

So now I need a map and a gift check list so I can make sure I give all the gifts I bought. My only caveat is I never forget a gift I made for someone. Maybe if I just made all my gifts none of this would be a problem. Perhaps it’s time for me to learn to knit.