SantasHideout.com: A Fun way to Keep Gift Giving Magical

Crikey! Have you looked at the calendar lately? Yes, it is already Thanksgiving week and Christmas is a mere 33 days away. Have you started your shopping yet? No, me either so at least you are not alone.

I remember the good old days of scouring the toy catalogs, clipping out the photos of the gifts I absolutely had to have, pasting them to a piece of paper with descriptions and mailing the list off to Santa. Man how things have changed!

As children (or maybe it is me!) get older it seems their Christmas lists get longer and either I am no longer Hip and with it or things on wish lists are getting more confusing. Last year my teenage nephew gave me a list and the only thing I even recognized on the list was a video game and the only reason I knew what that was is because it was also on my husband's wish list. Every thing else on the list was gibberish to me and I was at a loss while shopping at the store.

Enter Santa's Hideout! Santa's Hideout is a safe, fun and free way to make holiday gifting magical for the while family! Plus it makes planning easier for mom (and aunt). Santa's Hideout lets kids securely make their lists for Santa, parents, friends and family. You can shop and share from them easily and parents can track purchases alleviating the need for post Christmas duplicate gift returns (man those lines are something!). There is even a section where the big guy himself can send words of encouragement to your child.

Santa's Hideout takes the guess work out of holiday shopping! Once the child creates their list, it can easily be sent to family members (complete with photos!). Special items can be designated and held for North Pole delivery only.

How It Works

Using Santa's Hideout is simple, you register in 2 easy steps where you will create your lists and give Santa some ground rules. The parent creates a free account at Santa’s Hideout for each child and sets the limit of how many items the child can select and the budget.

The parents can help children add items to their list or older kids can add items on their own easily by searching and then drag & Dropping them into their list.

As a parent, you have complete control over the list so if you don’t like something your child has selected, you can just delete it.

After the list is complete, parents can share individual items or the entire list with family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or Tumblr.

Email alerts are sent to the parent when any updates are made to the list so you are always know who is purchasing what gift.

Gift list purchases can be made online through Amazon via the Santa’s Hideout website. If you purchases are made offline, you can still record that the item was purchased. Parents can also create a group list if it’s a purchase for all the children like grandma buying the kids an Wii or other family gift.

I invite you to check out Santa’s Hideout and see how easy and fun it is to use.

Check out this video to learn more and see Santa’s Hideout in action!

Over Thirty Mommy's Thoughts

What a great idea! While all of my family is local to me, my husband's family is spread out over many states. It is hard enough explaining gift items to local family members let alone those that live hundreds or even 1000+ miles away. If you ask Wiggle Bean what she wants for Christmas she will tell you "A jeep one" 100% of the time. Now being super mom, I know exactly what "a jeep one" is but when she tells anyone else all I see are blank/confused stare on their faces until I explain that what she means is a Power Wheels Barbie Jeep, then I get the "oh, I get it now" look.

Since it is online, it includes photos of each item (for those of us that just cant figure out what the heck a Freerider Skatecycle or Air Swimmer is), it makes shopping easier. I can take Santa’s Hideout lists on the go since it is optimized for mobile use. I can easily take lists on my phone and wander around the store pretending I am not lost. I can also click an item on the list and it will take me to an online retailer for purchase (making shopping for my husband's family very easy since I would have had to ship the gifts anyway).

Wiggle Bean has already (with my help) created her list and I will soon be sending the link to SantasHideout.com to all of my siblings so that they can have their kids make lists too because let me tell you, shopping for 13 nieces and nephews is hard enough with out mom's secret weapon, SantasHideout.com!

Connect with Santa’s Hideout on Facebook, Google+, Tumblr and Twitter.

*This post is brought to you by Santa’s Hideout, a product of Conde Nast. Opinions expressed are 100% my own.*