Mom treats herself to a gift-wrapping weekend ahead of Christmas and she may just be a genius

The Christmas trees are up, the lights are on and the jingle bells are ready to sing along because ‘tis the time of the year when all the gifts are to be packed, socks are to be hung and gingerbread houses are to be crafted. Everywhere in the world, parents are preparing to make this Christmas the most memorable one, just like all the previous ones. In an attempt to make things easier on herself as a mother and have fun while at it, McKelligan–who goes by @mckelligan on TikTok–went viral for her genius idea of wrapping gifts in peace by herself in a hotel room rather than at home where she'd have to constantly worry about someone catching her and ruining the surprises.

McKelligan posted her fun-filled weekend on TikTok and captioned it, “Second annual wrapping weekend! I booked a hotel for two nights, wrapped all gifts, ordered takeout, watched tons of TV and no one asked me for anything.” The video shows the mother carrying a huge trolley of gifts into her hotel room, changing into a festive sweatshirt that reads, “Santa Baby” and finally jumping down on the bed to take in the moment of utter silence and solitude. She then pans the camera to show the gift-wrapping supplies, ready in a corner with the television playing a movie and the mom smiling wide in her Santa hat and a cup of Starbucks. Everything about the place yelled Christmas time.

The video then shows the mom getting down to the business of wrapping gifts one by one. The fast-forwarded scene shows how diligently and passionately she’s putting in the effort to wrap the Christmas presents for her near and dear ones. Finally, when all the presents are wrapped and neatly laid on the bed, the mom puts her feet up as a mark of much-earned relaxation. After she’s done with the gift-wrapping part of the weekend, she goes ahead and pampers herself with some sports on the TV, a pint in her hand and a big bag of chips to give the day a perfect end.

She also gives a flashback of the previous year’s gift-wrapping weekend, for which she had booked a hotel room and wrapped up all small and big gifts over that weekend as well. It is a brilliant idea for parents who wish to keep the gift-wrapping sessions a secret from their children and other family members. It does become difficult to keep the Christmas presents a secret from everyone in the house and also find the time to wrap them all in festive-themed paper decorated with ribbons and more such accessories.

McKelligan's video went viral, gaining nearly 3 million views with over 238k likes. The comment section seemed to be amused by the mom’s “annual-wrapping-weekend” idea and had additional ideas for relatable ‘wrapping-weekend’. @julialynnsteelman said, “Okay, but hear me out! An Airbnb so all the moms can wrap and sip together.” To this, McKelligan replied, “I think you’re onto something!!” @bluelinewife commented, “This is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen!! You’re a genius.” The video has definitely resonated with a bunch of other moms out there who find this quite insightful on how to blend the chore of gift-wrapping with giving your own self a staycation.