Natalie Albers
Ahhhhhhh. Thereâs nothing like that sigh of relief when youâve found the perfect holiday gift. (Nailed it!) But if your next thought is, âHow the heck am I going to keep this a surprise???â Iâve 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 isnât shared with anyone youâre buying for and be sure this email account isnât 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 friendâs or neighborâs house for safekeeping until youâre ready to bring them home. (Traveling to Grandmaâs? 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 itâs 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 youâve 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 donât virtually follow you around online. Itâs 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!
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There. Did that help? Or were you expecting a list of good places to stash stuff? Hereâs my final tip: Look under the kitchen sink, in the back of the cabinet. Nobody goes there. Itâs so good, you might find yourself finding the gift you hid â three years later. Now thereâs a good hiding spot.
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And if you need a little inspiration, check out BestBuy.comâs Holiday Gifting Made Easy and Top Tech sections.