I love how pretty the presents look underneath the tree! After the kids no longer believed in Santa I thought we could enjoy having the presents under the tree before Christmas. Wrong! Of course the kids could read their names and they counted how many they each had and tried to figure out what was in the packages. So the next year I didn't put any names on the presents - I numbered them. One of them got all of the the even numbered presents, and the other one got all of the odd numbered presents.
A new tradition had begun - and after that there was a new "code" every year. One year, Megan's numbers were divisible by 5 and Derek's were divisible by 3. Another year she had bows and he didn't. Another year I used paper in warm colors for one and paper in cool colors for the other. As the kids got older and smarter I had to get creative. I would answer yes and no questions as they tried to break the code and they usually were able to figure it out before Christmas. The only code they never cracked was the year I used h,n, and e for Megan (she went to Handke School) and the letters s, l, and k for Derek (he went to Salk Junior High). What fun!
Don't forget to hop over to Sherri's today for her brand new pattern - and remember to leave a comment so you are eligible for her giveaway!
Christmas is for children, and the other designers in the Cross Country Christmas Blog Hop will each share a story about children today.
What a creative mind you have! One more memory they'll never forget. Afterall, it's all about making memories.
Posted by: Wendy | November 17, 2009 at 06:11 AM
I love this idea! I've always put names on all the gifts - but I may have to try your code idea this year. My grown daughters will not know what is wrong with me! [email protected]
Posted by: Darlene B | November 17, 2009 at 06:53 AM
Well, being as I only had one daughter, I never had to resort to "codes" but that would have been a lot of homework, and I would have been the one to forget who got what code!! haha!! But... just shows how you come up with so many wonderful patterns, and how your mind works, very clever and creative!!!
Posted by: lovetostitch | November 17, 2009 at 07:10 AM
How clever! And challenging! Our gifts never showed up until Christmas morning; but at my husband's family, gifts were always under the tree. It was fun both ways.
Posted by: Penny Fraley | November 17, 2009 at 07:12 AM
oh how fun! That would be so kewl if I had more than one kid but everything under the tree is for her every year! LOL
Posted by: Margi Borck | November 17, 2009 at 07:28 AM
Good job with marking the gifts. We can always stay a step ahead. lol
Posted by: Linda H | November 17, 2009 at 07:28 AM
How very creative!
Posted by: Jocelyn | November 17, 2009 at 07:37 AM
Oh my -- that's just wonderful! I would never have thought of such a clever way to make figuring out presents so fun!
Posted by: Margaret | November 17, 2009 at 08:00 AM
That is so fun and creative!
Posted by: Trisha | November 17, 2009 at 08:17 AM
Have to admit - this is a new one by me. Never heard of "coded presents" - love the idea...LOL
Okay, what happened when the number was 15 - dividible by both 3 and 5?
I'll go to my corner now...LOL
Posted by: Cindy C. | November 17, 2009 at 08:34 AM
I have numbered presents too-each year it is a different system.
Posted by: Pat B | November 17, 2009 at 08:49 AM
Such a creative and clever idea, coding presents! The things parents succumb to to outwit their kids, LOL!
Posted by: Marianne | November 17, 2009 at 08:57 AM
I love having presents under the tree as added decoration, but with two obnoxious cats and a dog who loves to open presents, I don't dare.
Debbie
Posted by: Debbie St.Germain | November 17, 2009 at 08:59 AM
That is a very creative way to keep them guessing.
Posted by: Jewel | November 17, 2009 at 09:01 AM
Que divertido lo que cuentas, veras aun hoy intento averiguar Que puede haber en mis regalos, como no entender una Los hijos!
Posted by: marta | November 17, 2009 at 09:12 AM
OH my goodness, my Mother DID THIS SAME THING TO US!!! She used numbers the first year that she stopped putting our names on it - and that was all to easy to figure out "birth order" so the next year she put animal names.. cow, dog, cat, sheep... we still handled and rattled the packages quite a bit though ;) which drove her crazy. LOL
My mom passed years before I became a mom, but now that I have a 5 year old and twin 2 year olds I can understand why she'd do such a thing ;) I wish she were still around so I could tell her just how smart she was...
thanks for sharing your story - as it brought back a lot of memories for me!
Love from Texas! ~bonnie
Posted by: bingo-bonnie | November 17, 2009 at 09:23 AM
Another great idea! I am sure enjoying this blog hop! :)
Posted by: call me crazy | November 17, 2009 at 09:31 AM
I have been doing this for years about 10 years now and my kids still can't crack my original code!!! Every year they think they have it figured out - but no one ever has. So if you make up a good one that no one can figure out - just use it again. You can even re-use the same tags!
Posted by: Kim | November 17, 2009 at 09:49 AM
What a great idea. There were 7 kids in our family. My Mom and Dad would have had to spend the whole season just creating a code! LOL.
My son-in-law's family will address the tags like this: To Emily from Mickey if it was a Disney present.
Posted by: Christine Thomas | November 17, 2009 at 10:00 AM
This is such an awesome idea. When we were younger we tried everything to get a peek at what was in our packages. What a fun, creative tradition!
Posted by: Meghan | November 17, 2009 at 10:06 AM
Love this story! Very creative and you sure have smart kids!!!
Posted by: Ruby | November 17, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Hey...I love the code idea - very cool!!! This is my first year with both of my girls not believing - I'll have to remember that going forward. You are so creative! Thanks again....piece.
Posted by: Jean Burke | November 17, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Codes: you are a genious! Now, how can I get that to work for an only child??!!!
Posted by: Julie in WA | November 17, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Neat idea! Thank you.
Posted by: Darlis | November 17, 2009 at 11:14 AM
that's a terrific story - thanks for sharing!
Posted by: TheaM | November 17, 2009 at 11:20 AM
Kids always think all the gifts are for them, no more people, just them. But, christmases are for kids and the ones who have a child inside, like we!
Posted by: arlette | November 17, 2009 at 11:21 AM
Cute ideas. I still put a tiny little initial on a piece of scotch tape on the back of the package and they still haven't figure that out. Silly kids. Maybe when they are all over thirty they will! ha!
Posted by: Jenny | November 17, 2009 at 11:44 AM
You're so clever!
Posted by: Kelly Wenhold | November 17, 2009 at 12:21 PM
LOVE the creative way you make packages special and oh so much fun!! i will have to remember that one!
deanna gipson
Posted by: deanna gipson | November 17, 2009 at 12:51 PM
I do the same things for the kids. They each get their own wrapping paper design or color.
Also, I buy gifts throughout the year, wrap them and put a number on them. Then I list them in a book so I know what is in each package. I do have to hide the book from the kids, especially my daughter (18).
Posted by: robin(rsislandcrafts) | November 17, 2009 at 02:25 PM
You are one clever mama!! What fun that must have been! And then recalling it all again makes the fun multiplied!!
Posted by: Sandi | November 17, 2009 at 02:53 PM
You remind me of those years of kids at home shaking the presents under the tree before Christmas. It was fun to disguise the boxes and make them noisy etc.
Posted by: Gloria | November 17, 2009 at 03:02 PM
My dad does the same thing to me and my siblings! Everything went great until the one year he used the number of the letters in our middle name squared (homeschoolers are cool :) ) and gave us the wrong number. That was the only year we didn't get it right!
Posted by: Melissa | November 17, 2009 at 03:53 PM
Not only do I like your story, I LOVE the idea.... CODE..... makes Christmas wait just alittle bit merry.
Posted by: Mimi | November 17, 2009 at 05:08 PM
That's a great idea. One year when I was a kid I wanted a Kodak camera. I guessed my gift and my mom thought that I peeked but I could tell by the shape of the box lid.
Posted by: Mary-Kay | November 17, 2009 at 06:13 PM
My mother in law used to torture her kids by writing out a list for each of them. She would write each child's name in beautiful calligraphy at the top of the page. The list was written in short hand and they never could figure it out. If it were me, I would have taken short hand in school!
Posted by: marcella | November 17, 2009 at 09:02 PM
Wow, you're creative in so many ways. Great story.
Posted by: Leslie Schmidt | November 17, 2009 at 10:48 PM
coded presents, evidence being creative is your talent. thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Leslie | November 18, 2009 at 12:56 AM
Not only is gift-buying a creative outlet, but so is wrapping and marking - so much fun!
Posted by: Nancy B | November 18, 2009 at 08:17 AM
Sure wish I'd thought of coding the gifts when my kids were all little. Would've been a lot of fun! Oh, well, maybe someday I will have a pack of grandkids to try it on!
Posted by: Jayne Honnold | November 18, 2009 at 08:26 AM
ha ha! We use codes too! I'm thinking would should use some of the seven dwarves names (though I do not have SEVEN kids!)
Posted by: Sharrieboberry | November 18, 2009 at 01:20 PM
Great idea!
Posted by: Pat | November 19, 2009 at 09:42 AM
I love your idea about using a code for Christmas packages. One year I thought I could remember who got what...guess what...I had to open the packages first to see who they went to and then rewrap! NOT FUN! Thanks for being a part of the blog hop!
Posted by: Linda | November 19, 2009 at 10:08 AM
Gingerbread Houses bring back so many Christmas memories for me.
Posted by: Kitty | November 22, 2009 at 04:21 PM