How to Do Christmas Morning Cleanup

After the gift wrap has been ripped open, the boxes tossed aside, and the kids have run off to play with their new toys, there you are, left with a giant mess to clean up on Christmas morning. Boo.
How to avoid the Christmas chaos, manage the mess, and motivate the children to put their new gifts away? Plan ahead with these easy steps.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Big black trash bags
• Big white trash bags
• bold black marker
• Hershey kisses
• One short, funny note for each child

1. BAGS FOR PRESENTS
   
   Get white trash bags, and write each person's name on one. Hand these out at the beginning of the Christmas gift unwrapping session. These will be to put gifts in, so they can be taken to bedrooms later.

2. BE READY FOR TRASH
   
   Have a few big, black, plastic trash bags ready. Put them at the site gifts will be unwrapped. Roll down the sides to make the bags shallow and easy to start filling with the torn wrappings. As soon as presents are opened, people will fill the bags with discarded wrappings.

3. SAVE THE BOWS
   
   Be sure to save any Christmas bows and boxes that are in good shape for next year.

4. THE LAST PRESENT
   
   After all of the Christmas gifts have been opened, tell the children that you have one last tiny present, but they need to put all of their toys in the white bag and take it to their bedroom first in order to get it. Tell them they have 3 minutes to go put the presents in their room, and then they need to come back right away.(While they do this, take the black trash bags full of wrappings and smashed boxes out to the trash can.)

5. A FUN LITTLE THING
   
   When each of them comes back, give them a Hershey kiss or two attached to a note with some Christmas jokes on it, and tell them thanks for being so responsible.
   
   Scroll down for tips and warnings about Christmas morning cleanup with kids.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't make the kids think the last Christmas present is going to be a big deal. Say that it's just a fun, silly little thing.
• Don't throw Christmas morning wrapping paper in the fireplace. It's not safe to burn it in the fire.

Resources

• More Articles by This Author
• How to Give Alternative Christmas Gifts
• How to Give Meaningful Gifts
• How to Make Hot Mexican Eggnog

[MariM]

on 1/24/2009 I will try this next year. 5* recommend

[Thims]

on 1/3/2009 My mother use to always say 'save the bows,' but I never saw any of them ever used again on a single other Christmas present! I think this is just pretty bow trickery devised by mothers to make clean up easier.

[2besure]

on 12/29/2008 This is a neat idea to get the help you need!

[sneedc]

on 12/27/2008 Cute ideas for making clean up almost "fun"? DARE I SAY!? However, I think I'll just wait 'til next Nov. to start the clean up! lol

[ermabombeck]

on 12/20/2008 Great ideas. With all the opened packages and wrapping, the place looks like a bomb hit it. I love the bag idea with names.