When it comes to gifts, as adults we know bigger isn't always better. But for kids, seeing those huge packages under the Christmas tree is the source of much glee. And for whatever reason, it seems there are a lot of big gifts for kids out there. The problem, however, comes when you go to wrap them, and find out that you’re going to have to spend more on wrapping paper to disguise them than you did on the gifts.

Fortunately, however, wrapping paper isn’t the only way to conceal the surprise. With a little creativity, you can wrap gifts up to look festive without breaking the bank ... or breaking your back from the crazy maneuvers you’d need to wrap them traditionally. Here are five fantastic alternative ways to wrap big gifts.

I do most of my holiday shopping online, but even with the relative ease of Amazon's free shipping (Prime membership FTW!), there are two major pain-in-the-butt things about gift-buying this time of year. 1) The fact that if you have little kids who believe in Santa, you totally don't get the credit for the fact that YOU were the one who went to the ends of the earth to buy that impossible-to-find toy they wanted, and 2) stocking stuffers. Oh my god, after all the shopping and buying and wrapping, you still have to do stocking stuffers?

If you don't plan ahead, the act of buying stocking contents can all too easily turn into the hellish, expensive nightmare that is the Overcompensating Party Favor Bag. Let us avoid the Stocking Stuffer Trap this year, fellow moms! Here are 10 awesome, home-run ideas for your kids' stockings (and best of all, each one costs under $10):

Every year, I find myself banging my head against the wall when it comes to the grandparents and holiday gift shopping for my kids. Without fail, they end up buying all of them tons of crappy toys which usually my kids didn't ask for. And of course, they are battery operated and don't seem to have an "off" button.

As grateful as I am that they want to spend money on my kids, I feel terrible that these toys usually end up getting donated or tossed in the trash. Plus, we like to play "Santa" for our own kids, which means they end up with way too many gifts. Talk about spoiled!

So, this year, I've employed a few strategies that I think might have actually worked. And if you've got grandparents like my kids do, I bet they'll work for you too!

'Tis the season to be checking those lists and checking them twice. If you have a toddler on one of them, the choices can be overwhelming, and it seems like they want everything and nothing all at the same time.

But kids this age are also some of the most enthusiastic recipients of gifts. They see magic and possibility in the bows and the boxes, and you don't want to disappoint. You don't have to spend a fortune to wow them though. There are plenty of amazing, affordable gifts out there that will thrill toddlers. Here are 10 unique ones I've found.

The older my kid gets, the more time I find myself spending trying to convince her things from my childhood were so much cooler than anything she has on her list for Santa. Now before you roll your eyes at the desperate old lady, let me tell you, it's been working! I pull out something I loved as a kid, and what do ya know, she tends to fall in love too. It's got me thinking. What if this Christmas we all mixed it up a little? Sure, get them some things from the hot holiday toy list. But what if we all went back to the basics and purchased some of the old standbys as holiday gifts? We loved them so much, why wouldn't our kids love them too? Bonus here is a lot of these old favorites are pretty easy on the wallet! Need some ideas? Here's a whole list that is guaranteed to work:

Let's just cut right to the chase here. Going to the mall during the holiday season is a nightmare. You gotta get a sitter for the kids, you gotta fight for a parking space, you gotta kick people in the shins just to get some breathing room ... you gotta stand in line after line after line, then you gotta weep silently in your car as you sit in mall traffic, just trying to leave the damn place in one piece. It's a disaster, and precisely why you should shop online for kids' toys.

Here are the 5 best sites for just that.

A few years ago there was a viral video going 'round the web called "Present Face," a hilarious how-to on making the best face when you get a crappy holiday gift. But let's face it, y'all. We don't need comedy duo Garfunkel & Oates to show us how to react when we're ripping off the wrapping paper. Every year our kids have the most over-the-top, insane reactions to the stuff Santa has dropped off.

Sometimes they're sweet. Sometimes they're just darn bratty. But they're pretty much always hilarious. Think your kid has the best present face ever? We've got some competition for them!

The holidays are a time for family, delicious food, an abundance of Mariah Carey Christmas music, and obviously -- giving. There's nothing better than knowing that you're giving someone you love something they really want. With that said, though, all those holiday gifts for your favorite kiddos tend to add up pretty quickly. What's a budget savvy giver to do? Make some of the gifts herself, of course.

Yeah you may think that homemade gifts are lame, but trust me -- there's a whole world of fun, festive options out there that will be JUST as exciting as that new video game. Tastier too, I swear. Check out our list of 5 easy homemade stocking stuffers: