Assemble or not? Bike for xmas

[leighi123]

Ds wants a bike for christmas, its the one thing he is asking santa for so I got him a Skuut bike

It comes in a little box and does have pics on the side.

So should I wrap the box and put it under the tree, or assemble it with a bow on top or something?

If I leave it in the box, I'll have to put it together on christmas with all the other chaos going on.

If I put it together, I have to figure out how to hide it, and I'm pretty sure that will be all he cares about once he sees it, and I'll have to go outside right away so he can ride it.

[butterfly_mommy]

I remember getting a bike for Christmas one year and it was assembled and sitting there with a bow on, so exciting to get on it right away

Santa always brings his gift assembled (that's what elves do )

DS is getting a wood barn from plan toys from Santa and I plan on assembling in on Christmas eve after he goes to bed and then it will be in front of the tree with a bow on it when he wakes up

[LynnS6]

Assemble. What's cooler than going out first thing in the morning so your boy can ride his gift? Think of the memories that will make for both of you.

You can always assemble it the night before..

[freestyler]

Assemble it, of course! That way Christmas can be stress-free instead of miserable, and you can go have fun. Plus, sometimes something might be missing from the box or you might need to adjust something or get outside help (like if a piece needs to be refitted or something.) Do it a few days in advance and hide it at a friend's. The last thing you want is to be trying to struggle with directions and find out you have a piece missing....ooops, sorry little guy, I guess you'll have to wait.....not a good scenario.

[Peony]

Assemble it! We've done bikes for X-Mas before and they certainly don't want to wait for you to put it together.

[rcr]

we assemble everything, and take most things out of the packaging (if we can wrap it that way). We like DS to be able to play with things immediately and not have to wait.

[Jessy1019]

Definitely assemble . . . but maybe hide it so that he finds it midway through opening presents, or at the very end?

My kids are both getting bikes for xmas this year (from my mom), and since they are also getting these cool handmade tent things, we're going to put the bikes in the tents in another room, and take the kids in there after all the presents have been opened.

[limabean]

Assemble it, definitely. We got our kids a play kitchen and we're going to assemble it for sure -- the last thing they need to do on Christmas morning is spend an hour waiting to play with their cool new toy!

ETA: We actually get everything ready for play before wrapping it, even small presents. With the ridiculous amount of packaging there is these days and all those little metal twist ties that take forever to get off, we like to just dispose of all of it, install batteries in things that need them, etc., and then wrap it so that everything is ready to be played with right after being opened. It cuts down on Christmas morning trash too! I guess as the kids get older and might want to exchange some toys we won't be able to do that, but for now when they're little and will love whatever they're given, it's nice to be able to just do away with all the extra packaging/time.

[tarasattva]

As kids when we had a big/assembled gift like that our parents would put an envelope under/in the tree. In the envelope would be a clue and instructions to find the next envelope. When we were little it might me one envelope with one picture clue, I remember as a pre-teen being sent on a grand adventure of many clues that took me all over the house (attic, basement and finally garage) to find my beautifully assembled bike with a great big bow on top.

Not only was this terribly exciting (if you got an envelope you KNEW there would be something great at the end of the search), but it forms a wonderful memory that brings smiles to me even now. (This is especially sweet to me as I could tell from the clues that my Dad had put together the search and since my Dad sometimes had trouble relating to us kids it was especially sweet knowing he put all that time into doing something kind for me.)

[Cascadian]

We always assemble everything. Sometimes we even take toys out of packages and lay them on the table or floor, and make an Xmas 'scene'. It's so much fun This year DDs are getting a radio flyer scooter and roller skates, and a large tent shaped like a cafe - we're assembling and laying it all out.

[Drummer's Wife]

absolutely assemble.

I have 3 things (so far) that need to be put together before christmas morning -- and they will likely take several hours each. Not looking forward to it, but it will be worth it to see my children's faces light up when they come downstairs, and save time on Christmas day - which I want to be relaxing.

[Alyantavid]

Assemble. The actual thing is so much more exciting than a picture on a box.

[lotusdebi]

Definitely assemble. My older son is getting a new bike for Xmas, and we had the store assemble it. It's sitting at a friend's house until Xmas week.

[Shannie77]

I would assemble and then find a place to hide it. I say this because when I was 10 my sister and I had asked for a Nintendo for about 3 years and we were so sure that was the year we were going to get one. We opened all our presents... do Nintendo. Then my Dad said "hey what is that under that chair"... and there was a present just the size of a Nintendo. It was my most memorable present!

Could you hide it in a closet or behind some furniture?

[jeanine123]

I would assemble it beforehand, as close to Christmas day as possible so you don't have to hide it as long. I would also keep it in it's hiding spot until after the other presents are unwrapped and then bring it out, that way you aren't being badgered as soon as you get to the tree to go outside. For me this would be far nicer than trying to put it together with a very, very excited helper supervising my every move while antsing about getting on it for a ride.

[MtBikeLover]

Assemble it! When my kids have had big things for Christmas, they open all the other stuff first and then we head downstairs to make sure Santa didn't leave anything else by the fireplace. That is where they would find the big gift.

[Porcelain Interior]

We always assemble on x-mas eve. There was the one year I went all out and got a Playmobil Victorian Doll house with the extra story on top.

HOURS it took hours. And it wasn't something children would enjoy doing, it was definitely a parent job.

It's not fun to watch a (potentially peeved and cussing) parent as they try and figure out how to put something together from instructions that aren't the greatest lol.

[eepster]

I'm the other.

I lean towards saying "assemble it" b/c most kids would want it assembled. My DS, however, is a bit different and just adores getting to assemble things himself. It's actually kind of hard to convince him to just play with his toys sometimes, instead of taking them apart and re-assembling them.

[eepster]

Originally Posted by Porcelain Interior

We always assemble on x-mas eve. There was the one year I went all out and got a Playmobil Victorian Doll house with the extra story on top.

HOURS it took hours. And it wasn't something children would enjoy doing, it was definitely a parent job.

It's not fun to watch a (potentially peeved and cussing) parent as they try and figure out how to put something together from instructions that aren't the greatest lol.

My sister used to make extra money at christmas time assembling those for people who bought them from the toyshop she worked at. The shop also stored the item till christmas eve.

[orangefoot]

Originally Posted by Porcelain Interior

We always assemble on x-mas eve.

It's not fun to watch a (potentially peeved and cussing) parent as they try and figure out how to put something together from instructions that aren't the greatest lol.

This is us too! What good is a toy if you can't play with it straight away?

The Christmas before last I was sewing up sacks from old sheets to put the presents in as I always wrap on Christmas eve and hadn't realised we had no paper until it was too late.