As parents, one of the main joys of the Christmas holiday is watching the delight on our children’s faces as they open the presents we’ve so painstakingly bought and wrapped for them. But some children simply can’t wait until Christmas morning to see what Santa brought.
One North Carolina toddler couldn’t wait for the surprise, and very early on Christmas morning, he went on a present-opening rampage.
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The little boy didn't unwrap just his own gifts; he got everyone's.
Writer Scott Reintgen shared a photo of the aftermath on X, formerly Twitter. In it, we see a perfectly decorated Christmas tree with absolute chaos underneath. The floor is a sea of crumpled-up wrapping paper and gift bags.
The damage was clear. But Scott offered a bit of an explanation. “Yall. My three year old came down at 3am and unwrapped EVERYONE’S presents,” he wrote.
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The boy said he opened the gifts because he didn't want anyone to be confused.
Later, as further explanation, Scott shared that his son claimed he opened all of the presents so no one was confused about who got what. The dad also shared that he and his partner are not mad. “He’s a good kid,” he wrote. “And it’s a story we’ll tell for the rest of our lives.”
Scott and his wife were chill about it, but they did talk to the 3-year-old.
Although Scott wasn’t upset, he shared that there was a conversation about the behavior of his toddler. “We talked through how he feels when he opens a present, and how we want other people to have that same choice and feeling,” he wrote.
“He agreed he would want other people to experience that and was only trying to help. Mostly we laughed and had fun with it.”
Scott's wife was able to rewrap most of the gifts before their older son had his Christmas surprises ruined.
Scott said his wife was able to get most of the gifts rewrapped to “stop the villain origin story” of their oldest son, who’s 6. Scott noted, “We on the other hand are sipping coffee and plotting to tell this story at his wedding."
Ultimately, people commended Scott for his laid-back approach to the whole thing, remarking on how angry their parents would have been if they were in the same situation.
Scott responded, “We were definitely upset for about five minutes there, but I am a pretty firm believer in having to laugh at the unexpected and just roll with it. He’s just a little kid. If the worst thing that happens on Christmas is we have a few presents opened early?! That’s not half bad.”
