Design

The Art of Gift Hiding

December 12, 2013

We believe we should all love where we live.

We’re a couple of homebodies, working to uncover the home our home wants to be. And we’re so happy to have you here. 

Portfolio

Projects

Design

We're Chris + Julia

read more

What we're                   right now

Loving

browse the shop

Befores, afters, mood boards, plans, failures, wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here. 

We have a long-standing relationship with DIY, and love rolling our sleeves up and making it happen. 

Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can make that space in your home better. Right now.

browse all

browse all

browse all

02

01

03

Popular Posts

1.

2.

3.

Top Categories

When I was growing up, after I uncovered the truth, you know the truth, and suddenly came to the realization that all of our Christmas presents HAD to be in the house somewhere–I got curious. I never remember hunting for them or anything, but I might poke in my parents’ closet with a terribly pounding heart just to see if maybe I accidentally saw anything. They were good, my parents. Hiding dozens of presents for five little girls somewhere in a fully occupied house.

And then one year, at a moment when I wasn’t even feeling curious, I reached for a suitcase in my very room and as I unzipped it, I was face to face with a full suitcase of gifts. Wrapped, thankfully. Oh, they were good!! Suitcases are still a favorite idea of mine when it comes to stashing gifts. But I love the excitement of hiding gifts practically under one’s nose like my parents did. In my very own room! It brings back a thrill. When Wayfair asked me to share a gift hiding idea using one of their products, I wanted to implement that very idea–the challenge and thrill of hiding a gift in the open instead of in the back of a closet and just try not to feel giddy.

How about in the dining room–right in the middle of the table?! They sent me this modern window box, that although is a little tall for a daily centerpiece (at least in our casual house), for the holidays things can get amped up a bit. I draped one of Ikea’s faux sheepskins over the top and filled it with all of our leftover bulbs from previous years. Shiny! Glittery! Matte! Red! Gold! A few silver thrown in. It took 10 minutes and feels so festive.

But the real fun part, and don’t tell Greta, is what is taking up the space under those ornaments and faux fur…
It will be our little secret. ;)
Do you have a favorite hiding spot for gifts in your house? Sometimes (okay, for the past two years!) I hide Chris’s gifts too well and then I can’t remember where I put some of them–which can be fun later in the year too! Ha!
This post was in partnership with Wayfair, who has a gift for everybody on your list in their holiday gift shop. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

What do you think?

  1. Jenn Leigh says:

    My mo did the same thing when I was younger. I once found a keyboard hidden under my bed. I wasn’t looking for gifts I just randomly decided I should see what I had shoved under there for years. I felt so bad when I found it.

  2. I love this so much! I was an awful sneak and would always look [which I also regretted- especially when my younger niece would get what I had my eye on]. Can’t wait to implement this one year

  3. This is so clever. Love the idea of hiding them in plain sight. My husband was not as good as you. One year, the lore goes, he and his brother found and unwrapped a new gaming system and played it most of the afternoon before my mother-in-law got home. Then, they boxed it back up and wrapped it. It wasn’t until Christmas that my mother-in-law realized it had already been opened.

  4. Jimena says:

    If you could see my husbands car right now! As a family we always use my car so the other one has all the presents in the trunk. We have 3 boys, 14, 8 and 3, you can find superheroes, a skate, tennis raquets and more!
    I will always remember the christmas I found one present hidden,I spent days thinking it was for me,and it was for my sister!! Sad, I know:( now I wrap everything as soon as posible and put initials!

  5. My parents had the BEST holiday gift hiding solution – they hid all my gifts at the neighbor’s! We would go to my grandma’s house two hours away every year on Dec. 24, and we’d get home really late, around 11 pm or so. And when I got home, suddenly there were gifts under the tree and I got to open them Christmas Eve. Needless to say, I believed much longer than most kids – how else do you explain gifts appearing out of thin air?

  6. Debby says:

    That’s awesome, I love it! I totally relate to that giddy feeling!

  7. So fun! One year, my parents forgot hidden presents in the attic and they happened to be MOST of my younger brothers gifts. He just sat so patiently throughout the entire christmas morning, and at the end we all went hunting for the gifts. It’s a funny memory for my family. I am shocked that your gifts are WRAPPED. I need to get on that!

  8. Rachel says:

    I love this! You’re totally right about the thrill of knowing the house is brimming full of gifts and not knowing where they are! I always have so much fun hiding them around the house – although it’s not to hide them from kids – it’s from my husband! :-)

  9. Such a fun idea! I always wondered where our gifts where and found out as an adult my parents kept them at my dad’s office (he is self-employed and owned a shop so just kept them in his back room!) and in our neighbor’s garage! Their kids were babies/younger so they didn’t noticed and once we were older and their kids were prime Santa age, we always had their gifts in our garage.

  10. When I was a child, my brother and I had a small playroom. Shortly after Thanksgiving my mom would tell us that the playroom needed to be locked because if Santa saw how many toys we already had he probably wouldn’t leave any more on Xmas eve. I am embarrassed at how many years I fell for this ruse!

  11. AviLynn says:

    I was thinking yesterday how I’ve forgotten where I hid these little boy plastic dish sets I bought. I just can’t remember!

all the latest

We believe we should all love where we live.

We’re a couple of homebodies, working to uncover the home our home wants to be. And we’re so happy to have you here. 

HI! We're Chris + Julia

read more

Load More

Reader Faves

SHop all

What We're                     Right Now

What We're                 Right Now

Looking for our favorite things? A place to shop our home room by room, or just catch up on what Julia's wearing / loving right now? Browse the CLJ shop. 

Loving

looking for inspiration? 

A reader recently asked me if I’m starting to fully embrace traditional style and whether we still consider our house to be a “modern Colonial” and why. It was a really great question and so timely — I had really just been thinking about my approach to this home and how my style has changed […]

Can We Send You Our Love Letter?

Another way for us to stay in touch! Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. Sign up below!

Follow Along on Instagram

Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations

@chrislovesjulia