Ten Year Old Peeked at Her Gifts

Hahaha I used to unwrap and rewrap my presents.

Bleh, she shouldn't have done it, but it's just so much temptation!

Hide them where she can't find them next year. For now - just realize that waiting is sometime unbearably hard. She is only 10 :).

I would have just laughed. Christmas is about them being happy, they are their presents. She may have ruined it for herself but really she has only ruined it for herself and that is punishment enough.

If it makes you feel better even when they don't peek then have an inkling what is in the packages anyway, it isn't like you have a long list to go from.

So my advice, do nothing, she punished herself.

Oh man. One day while she's at school I'd take any presents with holes in them and carefully unwrap them, take the contents out of the boxes and fill them with coal or rocks. Then when she opens them on xmas and is shocked at what is inside you can gasp at her and say oh no! You didn't peek did you!?! Didn't you know that Christmas presents that get peeked early turn to rubble (coal)? I thought you knew! =(

It would be priceless.

Ten years from now you'll be telling stories about this and laughing together. No big deal. Don't return them. Don't punish her. Let it go.

do you still have the receipts? I'd be pretty tempted to take them back if it's possible.

Why would you temp a child by putting presents under the tree so many days before Christmas?

You left the gifts where she could find them. If you want a surprise, hide them better. You may be disappointed, but the gifts are hers. Now she won't be surprised and the fun of Christmas morning will be somewhat dimmed for her. She may have thought she wanted to know, but I bet she'll regret it when Christmas comes. That's her consequence. She's not a little kid. I'd just leave the gifts under the tree Christmas morning and let her open them. I wouldn't take them away, I wouldn't get her something different and I wouldn't make it about your disappointment. The gifts are for her. I wouldn't punish her for ruining your fun, that's not what giving to others is about. Hide the gifts better next year.

Put the peeked ones away until much later maybe until her birthday. Tell her why she's not getting them. Is Santa still believed? Have him take them back and replace them with a rock/coal. She should know the story that naughty kids get lumps and not gifts and peeking is naughty.

Then again I don't like sneaky covering up of the "holes". If she had just left the holes I would have just chalked it up to "little person just couldn't wait" and I would have been the one to learn a lesson. Don't put presents out so early to tempt. The hiding of the holes is a whole other level of deceit. She knew she had done something "wrong" and was trying to hid it to avoid the consequences of the action. I do not like and do not put up with out right lies or attempts at deception.

Awww I did this when I was around the same age; My parents hid my gift at my grandma's. A week or so before Christmas they left me at my grandma's while they went shopping and I saw a suspicious bag in the closet. I opened and it was a beautiful baby doll with a gorgeous dress; I didn't know it was for me but I took it out and played with her all afternoon! lol.

My grandma just laughed when she saw me; she told me the doll was indeed for me and I couldn't wait for Christmas. We put the doll back in the closet and after that I counted the days until I could play with my baby doll again.

In my case, I was ecstatic on Xmas day and would have been devastated if my parents had returned it.

anyways, kids do these things please don't punish her just let this one slide. I'm sure she will be happy with her gifts.
Happy holidays!

I did that one year.

My mum returned them.

Never did it again.

She LET me know that she was returning them... So all the tears and tantrums happened before Xmas.

Don't return them.

My sister & I did that one year. It was very disappointing on Christmas day. We already knew what the gifts were. A BIG FAT LETDOWN. That was enough to fix our wagons. Never did it again!!!!!

I say let the disappointment be punishment enough.

Ahhh, kids, right? I would get blocks of wood and bricks, etc... and wrap them up in place of the original gifts that were peeked at. She'll be surprised, disappointed, and then overjoyed when she gets the actual gifts you intended for her to get... maybe even wrap the original ones in different paper so she doesn't recognize the wrapping.. Haahaha joke's on her! :D Then, tell her later that peeking isn't part of Christmas...?

We always wait til Christmas Eve to put out presents unless they are mailed in or brought over from friends and family...

Sneaky little people, I tell ya! :)

Once we knew the secret of Santa, my parents didn't bother to hide the gifts. They simply put them in back of their closet and said we could look if we wanted, it was up to us if we wanted to ruin our own surprises. None of us ever looked.

PS- who couldn't resist shaking, tapping, poking, sniffing and weighing the wrapped ones under the tree, though? Totally fair game...I'd say let it go and enjoy your holidays with your kids.

I remember, as a kid, my brother and I shaking, poking, smoothing the paper to try to guess what we were getting. My brother would sometimes tear a bit of paper. We just thought that was a part of Christmas. It was fun. Didn't spoil the day for us, either, even if we had figured out what was under the tree. My mother would catch us doing it and scold us. But she never punished us for doing it.

I think it's a personality thing. I'm 30 and I still can't resist peeking at presents (hence the reason my husband doesn't shop until christmas eve for me). I also like to be spoiled for movies, TV, shows, etc. I just like knowing. I hate surprised and the unknown. As a kid, I would hunt those presents down, open them, and re wrap them.

Now my kids would never dream of opening presents early (and I leave them out under the tree). Part of it is that they like the excitement of Christmas. They love the surprise and the build up. The other part is that they know it hurts the giver's feelings if the surprise is ruined.

Your daughter sounds more like I am, and now that you know this, you either need to accept it (my mother did and just had me start wrapping everything - including my own gifts - because she hated to wrap) or you really need to hide it so that the temptation isn't there for her.

My parents told me that if we peeked at our gifts or found them before Christmas, we didn't get them. My kids are too little, but I plan to do that same. My brother and I knew better than to go sneaking around looking for gifts (sneaking, cover-ups, etc. were not encouraged in our house) - we were actually terrified that we might accidentally find something, so we never looked too closely in the closets as Christmas approached. Maybe we had more self-control than most others (I gather this from reading the responses below), but once wrapped, our gifts were under the tree, and there they sat undisturbed until Christmas Day.

I think you should put those two gifts aside for future holidays, if she gets them at all. Sneakiness and breaking the rules doesn't get rewarded.

ETA: Oh yeah. The one time we did find something accidentally, we went and confessed to our parents right away because we were both distressed, and they gave us those gifts anyway. ^_^

Oh, just pretend you don't know and next time hide them better. I remember my brother and I doing this when we were kids about that age. We were soooo excited. I still could not wait to get what I saw. Don't stress about it!

I loved peeking when I was a kid. One time I found out through a friend which cabbage patch doll my mom got me but then word got back to her and she swapped it with another friend.

You have 3 choices: Return them for something else so she is surprised or pretend you didn't realize she peeked and try to cover it up or let her know you know she peeked and you're dissapointed.

Some people just like to know. I'm still that way. I don't care for surprises & never have.

She is 10 & it's not like she still believes in Santa so make a choice. If it bothers you say so.

It could be fun to see her fake "surprise...." I'm sure she'll still be excited when she opens her presents.....

She is probably regretting it already. Maybe unwrap them, put them under the tree, but she can't play with them until Xmas. Tell her simply you are disappointed.

LOL, my husband always tells the story about how he peeked at his Christmas gifts and ruined Christmas for himself. He said he never did it again when he realized that there weren't any surprises on Christmas.
I wouldn't do anything, I think it's a lesson in itself. Next year, hide the gifts better!

I do have to say I love the idea of wrapping up some coal and telling her that if she peeks at her gifts they turn into coal. Then give her the actual gifts on Christmas. Depends on what kind of sense of humor your daughter and family have!

I have 2 kids that are 6 and 10 years old.
They are nice good normal kids.
BUT... WAITING until Christmas... is a long time for them. They are excited already. What kid wouldn't be?
My own Dad, I remember him as being giddy as a child... seeing all the presents under the tree too. He'd want to open them early. He was so cute that way. He has passed away already... when I see my kids, all excited over their gifts under the tree, I think of him. I tell them they are like their Grandpa, with a twinkle in their eye.

BUT... my kids have a hard time waiting.
THUS... we do NOT take out the presents or put them under the tree, until the day before Christmas.
Because, they have tried to peek at the gifts too... poking holes in it.
I do not scold or punish them for it.
I think of my late Dad.
It is the spirit and excitement of children, during this season.

The 2 gifts your daughter saw that she most wanted... was this to be from you/your Husband or from "Santa?"
(my 10 year old still believes in Santa with all her heart.).
Just keep it wrapped, and put it away someplace she can't find it.
Tell her she cannot open it, even if she THINKS she knows what it is. And tell her that because she cannot wait and will poke holes in the wrapping, you must... put it away.

take them away and hide them until when yo open presents. maybe give them to her later in the day....

I would return them.
I've told mine that if they look for and find where I've hidden their gifts they will be returned and they won't get them.

There is nothing to "do." Tell her, lightly, "Oh well, now that you peeked, I guess nothing will be a surprise to you on Christmas morning." That will probably make her sad and she won't do it again.

This is a learning experience for her. I think it's normal for most kids to peek.

You can enjoy her reaction next Christmas, because I doubt she will peek again, after seeing how Christmas was less fun when she already knew what she was getting.

Let it go.

This takes me back many years. As the younger by six years of two children, I was duped into peeking by my older brother. So, I knew I was getting the radio, the doll and a few other things. So on Christmas morning that year for the most part, I was not surprised. But I knew it would hurt my mom to know I'd peeked. So I worked really hard not to show what I'd done. Opening those gifts wasn't really very much fun for me that year. I guess that was my 'punishment' for peeking. Yet, I don't think I've had any permanent damage, just the fact that I can still remember it. I love surprises and not knowing my gifts ahead of time. So, I guess I 'learned my lesson.'

J.

My Mother got so mad I did something very wrong before Christmas. She let me open them, then she sent them to my cousin in Poland. Unbeknownst to me, she had my Grandmother write a long letter to her.

JA ma Więcej niż JA mógłby chcieć, Taki jest Ameryka.

I have more than I could want, such is America.

Sprawiać przyjemność Biorą Te Dary Boże Narodzenie I obmyślają mnie.

Please take these gifts of Christmas and think of me.

Cały Moja miłość,

All my love,

Leokadia

L.

My Mother kept the practice letter, and wrote the complete one(learning English when I did, her handwriting was very like mine when I was a child). I never saw this letter until I was a bit older. I never knew the impact it had on my cousin either. She struggled so much, worked so hard. She went to school, learned English, and moved to America. She worked hard, found a nice man, married, and has a lovely family. They brought her Mother over as well. She still has the Valentine Barbie doll I "gave her". I found the second half of this at my Grandfather's funeral.

I was angry at my Mother for a long time, as kids, it's second nature. I slowly learned the value of things, and what Christmas truly was all about not very long later. When I was old enough, I made up packages for Poland, and gave my favourite well cared for clothes, my old coats, and some of my sturdier toys. We put in artwork I had done, and letters I wrote in shaky Polish. I sent things they liked, such as embroidery kits and sewing materials(very expensive in Poland). By the time I grew up and met my cousin in person, I learned just how much one gift could mean to a person. that's the true gift of Christmas.

I'm not suggesting you do anything so drastic, I am just giving you a Christmas gift story, and hoping you take something from it. I do suggest, however, a small punishment fitting the crime of opening an ordinary package(not a gift). Perhaps extra chores?

Tis the Season!

I don't put any gifts under the tree until Christmas Eve after the children have gone to bed, except the gifts the children give each other. If for some reason my children did happen to peek at their gifts and I found out, I'd take them back. That may seem harsh, but I bet it would never happen again. I also like the idea of filling the packages with coal.

I would take the gifts and put them somewhere else and not have them out Christmas morning. I would put out the other gifts you don't think she looked at. Whether or not I eventually gave her the peeked at gifts would depend on a lot of things. My mom always said if we peeked, we wouldn't receive them. She would donate them, and I never crossed her about it because I knew she would.

If she's otherwise been a good kid, I might leave the gifts to the very end and make her wonder what happened. Then say, "I know you peeked and that was really disappointing. You ruined your surprise and you took a little bit of the joy of giving you the gifts."

My SD has shaken and inspected gifts under the tree but we said if they ever opened anything, they wouldn't get it. Either SD was very sneaky or she never did more than shake and poke.

True story...when my sister was ten she unwrapped her gifts and re-wrapped them after finding out what she was getting. My mother found out, I don't recall how, and put my sister in charge of wrapping henceforth, she'd done such a good job! She knew my sister had long since stopped believing in Santa, and put her skills to use. My sister felt she was being practical, had just wanted to know what she was getting, and is still chief package wrapper...I often toss her gifts to wrap :)

I would talk to your daughter and tell her she ruined your Christmas joy, that you are so disappointed. Tell her that Christmas is not just about her, and ask if she would prefer her gifts be unwrapped from now on, why should you waste time doing it? I'm guessing she'll say "no."

The trying to cover it up would have me upset...it upset me when I found out my sister did it. I would probably unwrap those 2 gifts and leave them under the tree that way until Christmas, and let her explain why when someone asks why.

it seems you came to the conclusion I was going to advise to you, so that is good! My kids are 10 and 13 and the younger one has done this a few times. I just tell her that it's her surprise she is ruining. This year they both have really not looked at all and are much more excited for xmas morning. I have presents under the tree for them to shake and that is exciting them more, lol. They know the whole woman in the red suit gig, lol.

Well at this point she ruined it for herself. I guess, I would just tell her I was disappointed that she will not be surprised Christmas morning..

Then do nothing different. She will see, it is just not as fun to know.

Just put it on her..

In the future if you really want her to be surprised.. hide the gifts. I never even had them in our house. I asked our neighbors who lived across the street or my husbands grandparents if we could hide them at their homes.

His grandparents loved watching me wrap them.. We talked about what they used to get as gifts.. what they gave their own children.. how they hid presents.. Gosh I miss them.

awww! So sorry for you both! Kids don't think sometimes do they! I would take them, re-wrap them in big or odd shaped boxes, like a diaper box or something like that that she can't sneak a peek at and then maybe even put newspaper all around the gift inside the cardboard box so she can't get after it even if she tries!! Then tell her that you had to talk it over with the elves who made her new stuff!!! You could her not to worry you got her the best stuff ever, who needs to something that won't be a surprise!!! Then when she does open them and it is the stuff she wants, she will be happy and you still get to see the look of joy. If it was me, I would keep it all light hearted bc it is a wondrous time of year, I wouldn't punish over something like this but I would tell her she better not peek at these or you will have to send them back to the elves workshop too, or something like that. I tell my kids that I get all their stuff from the elves, even though they know it's from me and their dad they like the thought that we got it from the elve's workshop. So maybe something like this will work, I think it's what I'd do!

It's soooo tempting. I remember doing a lot of shaking and poking - but not poking holes! (I had to do it on Christmas day because the presents were hidden before then.)

The major problem is the fact that she was being deceptive. I assume you told your daughter to leave the gifts alone. She defied you, and then attempted to cover up her disobedience. If she were my daughter, I would talk to her seriously about that, Christmastime or not. Deceit is not acceptable at any time.

Then, if she dropped her defiance or defensiveness, I would have her do some sort of work for the next few days involving helping others have a good holiday. Hopefully she will learn what she needs to learn. After that, it would be over and done with, not to be spoken of again. I'd let her have the presents. She's already lost the excitement of the gifts, and she'll be aware of that.

And perhaps next year she'll think before she pokes.

Just to help everything be easier, I'd also remove all the presents from sight until Christmas day.

I did that once when I was 14. On Christmas day, I was deflated because the joy of all the interactions and expressions were lost. She'll never do it again. I wouldnt even mention it to her. She'll learn her lesson on her own.

Did you actually 'see' her do it or does she have siblings that could've done it for her? Either way, what I'd do is take the gifts away & not give her any on Christmas morning...if she asks why, just say that Santa found out she peeked & she doesn't get any Christmas gifts this year. She'll get her feelings hurt & probably cry about it but it will teach her a lesson that Santa DOES watch & there really is a 'naughty' list & if she wants gifts the next time then she won't peek. If she's too old for 'Santa' then just take the gifts away & explain that you know she peeked & doesn't get anything this year b/c she was naughty & peeked. Hope this helps! Good luck!

Nothing to do - she has ruined her own surprise. I remember doing that one year. Xmas was nowhere near as fun. I never did it again.