Keep the Element of Surprise With These Gift-Giving Tips

Natalie AlbersStaff Writer

Ahhhhhhh. There’s nothing like that sigh of relief when you’ve found the perfect holiday gift. (Nailed it!) But if your next thought is, “How the heck am I going to keep this a surprise???” I’ve got some handy tips for you.

With three curious kids, I have to stay ahead of their prying eyes. Here are my favorite tricks for being sneaky, all for the sake of those huge holiday smiles.

Go incognito

• When ordering online, use an email address that isn’t shared with anyone you’re buying for and be sure this email account isn’t synced across shared devices! As a bonus, keeping all your shopping emails in this one place will make it easy to track your order confirmations and other updates.
• Turn off the notifications on your devices that alert you to shipment status.

Keep the doorstep clear

• Instead of racing home to intercept gifts from your doorstep before someone sees them, ship items to a friend’s or neighbor’s house for safekeeping until you’re ready to bring them home. (Traveling to Grandma’s? Ship gifts to her house instead of giving up valuable space in your suitcase and lugging them through the airport!) Bonus: All Best Buy online purchases qualify for free shipping through Dec. 24.
• Want to see it for yourself? Choose store pickup. Best Buy customers love this option because it’s fast, easy and convenient. Stop by a store, head to the customer service counter and grab your order when the coast is clear! Surprise intact.

Avoid the spoilers

• Your devices remember where you’ve been online, and will often remind you via ads that appear on websites. Looking at a gaming console for your hubby (I mean, your kids)? That hot gift just might pop up in an ad on the sidebar of your favorite news site. Prevent this by clearing your browser cache, including cookies, so those presents don’t virtually follow you around online. It’s super easy by doing this.
• Have in-store purchase receipts emailed to you whenever possible (using that non-shared email address). No need to manage evidence-ridden paper!

There. Did that help? Or were you expecting a list of good places to stash stuff? Here’s my final tip: Look under the kitchen sink, in the back of the cabinet. Nobody goes there. It’s so good, you might find yourself finding the gift you hid – three years later. Now there’s a good hiding spot.

And if you need a little inspiration, check out BestBuy.com’s Holiday Gifting Made Easy and Top Tech sections.