The most extreme hiding places for Christmas presents, from the freezer to a hole in the garden

15 December 2019, 14:12 | Updated: 15 December 2019, 14:44

Do you hide your presents in creative places?
Do you hide your presents in creative places? Picture: Stock image

Some people go to huge efforts to keep their gifts a huge surprise for the big day... while others cleverly stash them away in plain sight.

Have you gone to extreme lengths to hide kids Christmas presents? Well you're not alone with new research revealing that 91% of British parents have hidden Christmas presents from their children and 59% hiding presents from their partners.

What’s more, whilst the most popular hiding spots are underneath the bed, in the wardrobe and in the garage, more surprising and outlandish hiding places emerged such as the freezer, a hole in the garden and even a rented storage unit.

More and more people are hiding presents rather than putting them under the tree
More and more people are hiding presents rather than putting them under the tree. Picture: Getty

One in three have had presents found by the recipient and two fifths who have gone on the hunt for their presents have been successful at seeking them out. If you're trying to hunt down your presents pre-Xmas, these are the top five places:

1. Under the bed

2. In a wardrobe

3. In the garage

4. In the attic/basement

5. In an airing cupboard

When asked if the presents they had hidden had been found, almost one in three (29%) admitted that they had. Of those, 62% revealed that the presents had been opened before Christmas Day. It was also found that 18% of respondents had themselves searched for presents that had been hidden from them, with 40% of these respondents being successful in their hunt.

What’s more, a further 13% of respondents revealed that they had wrapped decoy presents to throw the recipient off the scent.

Meanwhile five of the more obscure hiding spots were as follows:·

1. In the freezer

2. In a waterproof bag placed in a hole in the garden

3. Under the floorboards

4. Rented a storage unit especially for Christmas presents

5. In a lampshade

Commenting on the results of the study, Richard Petrie, marketing director at Thomas Sanderson said: “Christmas is a great time of year for all, and is also a period of great mystery and intrigue, particularly for children.

"It’s only natural to be curious about what other people might get you for Christmas and this explains why parents go to such lengths to hide what they have bought.”

The study was undertaken by the team at premier windows furnishing company Thomas Sanderson in which 2,648 UK-residents over the age of 18 were polled. All respondents stated that they either owned or rented their own home, were in a relationship of at least five years and had at least one child aged 6-14 years old.