Hide and Seek

Tired of your kiddos and family members getting an early season preview because you’ve once again tried to hide gifts under your bed? Here is a top 10 list of new ideas for hiding places that will ensure the utmost secrecy until Santa officially arrives. 

10. Kitchen cupboards and drawers you never use.

Everyone’s got junk drawers and high cupboards that very rarely are opened. This year, get out the step stool, stash away, and then hide the step stool. 

9. Your car trunk.

If you aren’t someone who is constantly carting around your kid’s soccer equipment and team snacks, this could be a winning way to keep the presents out of the house, and constantly on the move.

8. Your office.

It may be a pain to drag bags of presents to and from your office or cubicle, but if you have the space, it’s one place you can pretty much ensure your loved ones won’t be visiting.

7. The junk pile.

Have a corner in your basement or attic of old boxes covered in dust cobwebs? We all do. For just a few weeks, add another box to the stash, this one filled with packages a little more pristine.

6. Your neighbor’s house.

Assuming your neighbor doesn’t watch your kids and isn’t a regular hang-out, try hiding a few gifts under their bed or in their linen closet.

5. Behind the books.

Lucky enough to have some spacious bookshelves and small gifts? Try stashing what you can in between the books and the back of the shelf.

4. In shoe boxes.

Another winner for smaller packages, if you’re someone who often keeps shoeboxes around as storage for your shoes. Try moving a couple of pairs into a dresser or closet space, and instead filling those boxes with your prettier packages for a bit.

3. Looting the luggage.

If you aren't going to be traveling this holiday season, use those big empty roller bags and trunks as an easy place to keep things all zipped up.

2. Keep it cool.

Have one of those large coolers leftover from tailgating and picnic season? Give it a little off-season life and throw a couple of presents in there.

1. Under their bed.

Best for teenagers and significant others who don’t spend a lot of time playing on the floor. No one expects their gifts to be kept in such close proximity. It will be more fun to show them where their gifts are hidden than to actually watch them open them. 

Hostess with the Mostest

This holiday season, if you can’t be the hostess with the mostest, be sure to honor those that are. Bring stylish, fun hostess gifts your friends and family will love when you head over the annual Christmas open house or cookie exchange. Here’s what we’re loving this season.

From left to right, top to bottom:

1. Adorable hidden animal mugs from Uncommon Goods, $21. Try pairing with a package of your favorite coffee or hot chocolate.
2. Wishbone bottle opener from Anthropologie, $14. Perfect and appropriate for those that cooked the holiday bird.
3. Beautiful tea towels are a lovely addition to any kitchen. Check out a few of these from Studio Patro, $24. Consider wrapping around a bottle of wine.
4. Everyone loves a nice candle this time of year, and we’re loving these Barr Co. Natural Wax Candles, $25.
5. Elephant nutcracker from Anthropologie, $20. Are the chestnuts roasting over an open fire? They’ll need this.
6. Try this little volume on the sophisticated gentlemen in your life, $20. Try something out while you’re together celebrating.
7. A great gift is always even greater when it’s personalized. These monogrammed bottle stoppers from Pottery Barn are fabulous, $20.
8. Peppermint bark is a delicious holiday treat, and if you don’t feel like whipping up your own, Williams-Sonoma makes a delicious version, $27.
9. Coasters are the perfect accessory for occasions that call for libations. We like these from Rifle Paper Company, $18.

Have any other fabulous hostess gift ideas to share with us? We’re looking forward to the holiday party season! 

The Holiday Switcheroo

If you were like millions of other Americans this past weekend, you got busy on Friday tearing down the Thanksgiving décor to make room for the Christmas tree and holiday wreaths. It’s always fun to blast the Christmas music while eating turkey leftovers and decorating the house, but it’s also a lot of work.

Rather than creating the three traditional holiday schemes—Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas—use base elements to anchor the decorations. From there, add and subtract components as the weeks go on. For example, pumpkins (at least those you choose not to carve for jack-o-lanterns) can carry you from Halloween through Thanksgiving, and red berries go from Turkey Day to the end of the year and well into winter if you so choose.

Anchors that can work for Halloween and Thanksgiving: burlap, mums, gourds, acorns, sunflowers.

Anchors that work for Thanksgiving and Christmas: red plaid, cranberries, birch logs, metallic accents, wishbones, pine cones.

Here are a few transitional ideas to get the creative juices flowing:

• For Halloween, hide decorative spiders, spider webs and bats within a pumpkin and gourd arrangement, and simply pick them out when the trick or treating is over.

• Choose a red and gold tablescape for your Thanksgiving table, as opposed to the typical accents of orange and yellow, to make it easily adaptable for the Christmas season.

Photo credit: Magic Holiday Home

• Move branches of fake cranberries from the Thanksgiving table décor to the Christmas tree, and then on to the mantle for easy, holiday-neutral winter trimming.

Photo credit: This Next

• Consider spray painting late season pumpkins white, and then applying glitter or sparkle paint to make them relevant for weeks longer than normal.

Photo credit: Paint and Tofu

Save yourself some decorating time this season, and use it to do more of what you during the holidays, like drinking eggnog and watching “Elf” (our personal favorite).  What are your favorite holiday decorations?