# Prank Wrapping/Trick Wrapping Christmas Gifts



## stb40intx

Morning!

I am thinking it would be fun to prank wrap my kids Christmas gifts this year, and I have used the box in a box in a box idea before. Does anyone have any good ideas or have you done this before? If so, can you share?


Thanks!

Katie


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## Cindy in NY

Last year DH got me a subscription to Ancestry.com which was just a little envelope. He put a 10 pound bag of baking soda in a box with the envelope underneath!


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## Kazahleenah

When my kids were younger, I would hide their "big" present... wrap a big, empty box with a brick in it attached to a "clue" as to where to look for the gift. When they got there, yep! another clue... sometimes they would look for a couple hours for that gift. That was a lot of fun.


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## WildernesFamily

We did the clue thing too, that was fun! And the box within a box. I've "padded" gifts too with bags of chips.. kept them guessing!


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## Kazahleenah

One year, a friend of mine REALLY, REALLY wanted a Wii for her birthday. So, a bunch of us pitched in, and got her one. We wrapped it in a box for an electric skillet. (She does NOT cook) She looked like she was gonna cry. Then, we told her to open that box. When she opened it and saw the Wii box, she was screaming and jumping all around... until I said that she needed to open THAT box, as we had just used that box from when I had recently bought my Wii to wrap her gift in. Again, her eyes watered all up. And, again, when she opened THAT box and actually saw the Wii, she was all happy again. Heh, heh, heh... mean, I know....


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## kimmom2five

I can tell you one thing not to do. One year my grandmother, not thinking about it, wrapped a pair of pajamas for my cousin in a box from a Star Wars Cloud City Pod Car. My cousin thought that was what he got and was very upset that it was pajamas inside the box.


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## foxtrapper

I wrapped gifts one year with a special steel tape that took metal cutters to get through.

That didn't go over very well.


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## Kazahleenah

WildernesFamily said:


> We did the clue thing too, that was fun! And the box within a box. I've "padded" gifts too with bags of chips.. kept them guessing!


I've added a mayo jar with beads or pebbles in it so when the gift was shook, the kids would be dumbfounded as to what it was that would sound like that. he he That's one surefire way to get them to open the clothes packages first!!


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## sisterpine

I think that is kind of cruel. I admit I thought about it in the past esp when I knew the kid was sneaking and looking at presents just like I did as a child but could not bring myself to be mean over a Christmas gift. After that I just swapped gifts with my sister and we would straighten out the gifts at a Christmas eve dinner at one place or another. That way the kids had no desire to peek and the tree still had that lovely commercial christmas look!


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## stb40intx

My kids are 20, 19 and 17, so they are not so young that it would be cruel or mean, just fun  We are giving them clothes and money, so I was thinking that we could do the dollar bill origami with their money, that would be neat.


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## PATRICE IN IL

How about packaging some of the clothes in a tube container, something like a tootsie roll bank stuffed with a shirt? Another idea would be a large cookie tin for something a bit larger like pants or a pack of socks.

You could always wash and dry the inside of a bag from chips and stick some of the clothing inside it then reseal the bag with a vaccum sealer like the food saver, just don't suck the air out of it.

For the money stick it in a ziplock baggie and tuck it into a box of their favorite cereal or a package of chocolate covered cherries and reseal it, then wrap the package and let them shake away to try and figure out what it is.


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## PATRICE IN IL

Another idea for the money would be to tuck it into some new socks, then roll the socks into balls and tuck them into the toe of their Christmas stocking if you still do stockings for them.


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## foxtrapper

I think the box in a box in a box thing tends to be cruel to kids, especially younger ones. And doubly especially when they are thinking it's a giant train set or something, and instead it's a pair of socks.

BUT, I do think the treasure map thing could be a whole lot of fun. A rolled up treasure map sitting in a stocking. That just might happen this year at our house.


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## Sonshine

Kazahleenah said:


> When my kids were younger, I would hide their "big" present... wrap a big, empty box with a brick in it attached to a "clue" as to where to look for the gift. When they got there, yep! another clue... sometimes they would look for a couple hours for that gift. That was a lot of fun.


I've done this before too. It makes a wonderful game before getting the gift.


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## BarbadosSheep

We have done the treasure hunting thing before. It was a lot of fun! I also have done the box-in-a-box with my older kids. they loved it! My SIL hates green-beans so one year I put 4 cans of green beans in the box. Gift card was under them. Another year he wouldn't tell me what he wanted and I warned him if he didn't tell me, he'd get something he might not like, such as a pomegranate. And I gave him a pomegranate with a gift card under it. He still laughs about that.


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## Terri in WV

I've used tubes for presents and also done the box in a box thing. 

For money one year I bought puzzle cubes to stick it in and they had to work the puzzle to get the money out. 

I've used food boxes. One year I gave a friend a shirt in a cereal box and she put it in her pantry, thinking I gave her cereal.

I've been known to put dry beans, marbles or rocks in packages, especially my MIL. She always "thinks" she knows what she's getting, but I usually fool her.

All the little bits of leftover paper gets wrapped around the small gifts. There could be 5+ layers by the time I'm finished.


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## Southpaw

When the kids were younger they would shake all the gifts and guess many of them. DH did this too and it was so irritating. So, one year I wrapped everything as usual but I marked them "incorrectly" so the kids were shaking and inspecting and guessing but what they didn't know is, they weren't their gifts. On Christmas morning, I told them any packag marked with Sarah's name is actually for Christopher, any package marked for Christopher actually goes to Paul, etc. You should have seen their faces. Priceless.


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## Ohio dreamer

Clear packing tape. Cover the ENTIRE gift, leave not paper exposed....oh and wrap it really tight! Then once opened it's only a chap stick, socks or underwear.

Clue gifts are my favorite...and as they get older the clues can become more cryptic!!


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## CrossCreek Mom

We use any available good sized box. When gr-nephew was small, his gift one year was in a pop-tart box. He unwrapped it, tried to smile bravely & looked at my sis & said "Nana, I got pop-tarts". Had to convince him to open it, but he was a bit happier when he did. 

This years plan for some folks on our list is "a deck of cards". Will package a deck of playing cards with a good snack or other inexpensive gift. But...some of the playing cards will be replaced with a couple of gift cards. I'll have the spare playing cards in a little zip bag to give to them after gift time. Hoping it works out like I think it will.


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## tallpines

I've wrapped up an old broken camera for my teenager ----
with a $50.oo bill hidden in the film cavity.

When the next teenager opened up an old camera, she went directly for the film cavity and then WHINED LOUDLY when it contained only $30.oo!

I let that go on for a few minutes before I suggested "maybe" that camera has another cavity.....
Sure enough!
She found a $20.oo inside the battery compartment!



I've also wrapped up 50 Susan B. Anthony coins.



I never would put names on the gifts but rather would just put a number on each one.
Everyone could guess to their hearts content but they never would know which of the many, many gifts were theirs, until I checked my hidden list to reveal who the recipient of that particular numbered gift was.


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## Ravenlost

I'm making my nieces and nephew "grandpa pillows" this year using the bibs from my Daddy's old overalls. There's going to be a twenty dollar bill in each bib pocket. Daddy always called the bib pocket his "******* briefcase" so I know the kids will get a kick out of finding money in there.

When my sister and I asked my mom what she wanted for Christmas she said "Nothing" so we are wrapping an empty box and giving it to her.

My husband once gave his sister a fire extinguisher...with a gold watch hanging around the neck of it. Took her FOREVER to find the watch! LOL...

My mom always gives us money for Christmas and she hides it every year. One year she put it in gum wrappers and hung the gum on the Christmas tree. One year she gave each of us an ornament with our names on it...the money was inside each ornament. She gets very creative hiding our money and fools us every year.


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## SunsetSonata

Things I've done:

1) The box in the box thing. One year I wrapped up the entire family's gifts and wrapped up those inside a humongous box.

2) Wrapped things in deceiving boxes, which is pretty much how I wrap things all the time. Also the plastic tubs that kitty litter comes in is pretty convenient. A couple years ago someone joked "one of these Christmases the cereal box will actually have cereal in it." So last year I took a cereal box, opened it at the bottom, stuck the gift in there among the cereal, and hot glued it back together. I was told I had upped the ante because it really appeared factory sealed.

3) Given a bulk bag of walnuts with a nut cracker. I had neatly halved them, folded up dollar bills (they have to be tiny!) and superglued them back together. Some were actually untouched walnuts and no one suspected a thing.

4) Weighted a large box only to have a gift certificate taped to the underside of the cover. Had to help the recipient discover it.

5) Put the gift in a long box, propped it up inside an open box, put an old nightgown on it, stapled the arms open onto the sides of the open box, and wrapped the whole thing so that the obvious shape of the gift was completely concealed and had everyone scratching their heads.

6) I'm pretty sure I switched tags on a couple of gifts one year. Not all of them though.

7) For the recipient who always complains she doesn't need anything, a really annoying prank gift! Of course she also got a nice gift to open later. Now she knows the consequences of being difficult! Funnily enough, she still keeps that talking car dealer bobblehead on the mantel for some strange reason.

8) In addition to nice gifts, I once got rid of some of my brother's old stuff like an old costume by wrapping them up for Christmas.

9) There have been a couple of gifts that didn't make sense until you opened up the 2nd part. 

I am paying attention to this thread as I have a reputation to uphold! I love the gift card among a pack of cards idea, thanks for that CrossCreek! I like the Number idea as well from Tallpines.


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## WildernesFamily

I like the numbered gifts too! My kids have serious discussions about gifts under the tree. They haven't ever been upset at prank wrapping, because the gifts wrapped up that way were always nice gifts that they wanted, so what was inside was never a disappointment. And they still talk about the treasure hunt Christmas 

One time for my hubby's birthday we got him a new tackle box and lures, etc. I wrapped up all of the smaller items, lures, hooks, etc. and then put them in the tackle box and wrapped that. He loved sitting there opening up each gift


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## rivenoak

stb40intx said:


> My kids are 20, 19 and 17, so they are not so young that it would be cruel or mean, just fun  We are giving them clothes and money, so I was thinking that we could do the dollar bill origami with their money, that would be neat.


One year for my birthday, my mom got all new $1 bills to equal my age. She then taped them end to end & had one end sticking out the slot of a box. I kept pulling and pulling money. It was fun!


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## rivenoak

tallpines said:


> I never would put names on the gifts but rather would just put a number on each one.
> Everyone could guess to their hearts content but they never would know which of the many, many gifts were theirs, until I checked my hidden list to reveal who the recipient of that particular numbered gift was.




It's just the 3 of us, but I don't put names on, either. Sometimes the gift wrap might give some away, if it's kiddie themed, but not always!


My dad always wrapped our stocking presents in the funny papers. Boyfriends got a little something wrapped in the Wall Street Journal.

My sisters & I always unwrapped our stocking presents at the same time. We'd all grab the same-shaped item and go to it. It was fun. Regular presents got opened in a round-robin order.


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## Alice In TX/MO

I must agree with the poster above that mentioned the issue that not everyone enjoys those types of jokes. If your family has a tradition of it, that's fine, as it's part of your social norm. If not, or if you have a new family member who may not know of the tradition, proceed cautiously.


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## mare

Kazahleenah said:


> When my kids were younger, I would hide their "big" present... wrap a big, empty box with a brick in it attached to a "clue" as to where to look for the gift. When they got there, yep! another clue... sometimes they would look for a couple hours for that gift. That was a lot of fun.


i have done that before too--it actually is alot of fun and seeing as it takes awhile the fun of getting and giving lasts so much longer. all the clues were wrapped in boxes too. and they were all over even outside.


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## Goatsandsheep

When my kids started guess presents and getting it right. We when to reindeer names. Mom and Dad would draw out the reindeer name for each kid and they didn't get to know it tell Christmas morning. They still want this and the Christmas pj at the ages of 23, 21, and 19. I forgot the pj's a couple of years ago thought they were to old for it. It's still know is the almost ruined Christmas. lol


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## littlebitfarm

When my niece was newborn I pranked my brother and SIL. I carefully wrapped up a stuffed animal and then poked lots of holes in the box. Knowing that I am an animal lover, they were concerned about what they were getting.:happy:

Note: I didn't do this to a child that wanted a puppy or a kitten.

Kathie


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## fellini123

Once I wrapped up batteries and put a card in with them that said "Present not Included." 

Everyone got a good laugh!!

Alice in Virginia


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## Nellie

Oh, you all are so funny! 

When I was 13 or 14, I had a birthday party. I had about 6 or 7 friends over, and I started opening presents. The first one was an alarm clock. "Oh, thank you!" I said, "mine broke recently and I need a new one."

The next present .... was also an alarm clock. "Oh, how funny! Now I have two in case one doesn't go off!" Everyone laughed, what a coincidence that two people gave me alarm clocks!

I opened the next present. It was..... an alarm clock. All my friends and my mom were having giggling fits. Wait a minute.....

All the rest of the presents were alarm clocks! We all busted up as I unwrapped each one and then they gave me the real presents.


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## HOTW

My parents have doen the prank thing in the past this year we are going to do it to our narcissistic DD because she has been a bit of a trial about an issue..we have a HUGE box that we will be putting it in amonst many other thigns...and I am also giving her some gag gifts because her roomate eats all her food so i am going to give her some canned goods...wrapped up nice and neat.

I also have told her DS to regift her something since she gave her a winter coat that was bought for her by a FBF, and she tol dher DS that was her christmas gift since she was "poor" this year(she has more money in the bank than I do!!) so I figure her DS can do the same for her!


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## Ohio dreamer

Out family did White Elephants one year. My soon-to-be-Uncle received a box of "beautifully hung up used PJ's" from my dad. It was a box with 2 hangers....my dad sleeps in the buff. Everyone brought a gift and set it on the table.....then we drew names to take a gift off the table - Uncle David wasn't actually targeted, lol.


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## charmd2

For giving cash a roll of aluminum foil unrolled neatly and one dollar bills laid flat. Reroll the foil up smoothly. The first christmas after I moved out my grandfather gave me a box that contained plastic wrap, zip lock bags, trash bags, and the aluminum foil. I thanked him profusely for things I actually needed without any idea there was money involved. I didn't catch it for a few months. He laughed hysterically when I called to thank him.


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## Farmerwilly2

Some folks think it's cute. Never did work for me. Kind of like cutting wedding cake and smearing all over one another--some think it's cute.


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## watcher

Tape. LOTS OF TAPE.

Big box filled with either styrofoam peanuts, tiny little styrofoam balls or shredded newspaper with a little box inside. To add to it have a note in the box sending them to look for their present.


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## emdeengee

My Dad used to wrap some boxes with stones or pieces of wood in them but also with a treasure map showing the location of more clues to the gifts. He mostly did this for our birthdays because the weather was good and he could hide things outside but he did do it at Christmas as well. My Mom was not all that thrilled with getting the kids even more excited but we had a great time.


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## Saffron

foxtrapper said:


> I wrapped gifts one year with a special steel tape that took metal cutters to get through.
> 
> That didn't go over very well.



Love it - must find some of that tape!


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## Saffron

SunsetSonata said:


> Things I've done:
> 
> 3) Given a bulk bag of walnuts with a nut cracker. I had neatly halved them, folded up dollar bills (they have to be tiny!) and superglued them back together. Some were actually untouched walnuts and no one suspected a thing.



Awesome!

I would love to do this with my mom, but she would be likely to throw them in the freezer for a year or so. lol


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## Saffron

I have a family member that won't wait until Christmas to open the gifts we mail. So one year I decided to see what would happen - and packed up the gifts in a mailing box and used two entire rolls of packing tape, some drywall tape, and that fiber-y tape to wrap up the entire box. Then labeled it and mailed it.

It took her a while to open it, even with scissors and a knife and she called laughing about it. We told her that at least she had to work for it this time.


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## giraffe_baby

Im loving these ideas!!!

Ive done box in box in box... Ive done the change names, and wrapping paper different for each but not labled.... also this year i just put DOTS w/ a perm marker on the paper.. 12 for 12 yr old and 14 for 14 yo! 

Im gonna do the treasure hunt thing.. sounds fun!! ALSO LOVE the "present not included" cuz they always need batteries anyway!! lol


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## Chixarecute

When we were dating, DH wrapped up my present (slacks, blouse) in a box large enough to also hold the blade of a snow shovel. The handle protruded from the edge of the box...I believe he spiral wrapped the handle as well.


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