Baby's First!

A fun video from the B&D C family! So much fun to have video of a baby's first Christmas trap!  Let us know what you think!

Christmas Trap? or Mouse Trap?

One of my favorite trap memories occurred shortly after Jared joined our family. We kept on talking up how easy it was going to be to get through my parents traps and that we would have them out of bed bright and early Christmas morning. My mom apparently got intimidated and came up with a dangerous idea.

Hurt like the Dickens

Christmas morning came and all of us advanced through two of the three doorways that led to the living room where the presents awaited us. We crept through the kitchen that led to the entryway of the living room but in the dark I could vaguely see that there were several spots scattered all over the tile floor. On closer examination my suspicion was validated, mouse traps. I never thought that my mom would risk snapping our toes off on Christmas day. Can you imagine how crazy my mom would sound at the emergency room? "Ya my husband and I set up mouse traps around our house to make sure that our kids didn't start Christmas to early and now our child is missing his big toe." Upon this discovery, I turned around and quietly whispered to my siblings, "Hey, watch out for the mouse...SNAP!"

I didn't even get my sentence off before the fury was unleashed. Apparently, not only were the traps on the floor but they were also sitting on the counter tops of tables and chairs, especially the one that I had just rested my hand on. Hurt like the dickens. My mom's rationale for using the traps was that rat traps were the dangerous ones, not mouse traps and one good snap of a mouse traps would probably be enough to wake her up. She woke up alright but it was the high pitched girlish screeching of my voice that did it. Turns out my mom cheated and fell asleep in the living room wrapping presents anyways so we didn't have to go back to bed.

-From the D&K H. Family! (Not the older D&K, but the younger D&K)

The Door: Dun, dun duuuuunnnnn.

Here is a little post from a "Trapee!":

Usually when people asked about the Traps my family has done, they expect to hear about flashy stories, with trap doors and large items that might fall from the ceiling  (not unlike an Indiana Jones movie). What they fail to realize is that more often than not, the most difficult part about a trap is the most simple part.

I think all my cousins would agree with me that the hardest part of the trap is opening the bedroom door! As a Kid we tried everything, from mirrors and secret cameras just to be able to see what was on the other side of the door. Once, my parents tied our door to another door, so that if we opened it, it would slam the other door shut knocking over a very precariously stacked pile of metal tools and cookie sheets. Sometime my dad would tie elastic to the door, so that when we started to open it, we would feel the pressure and stop. We would then spend the next 45 minutes trying to figure out what contraption existed on the other side.

My favorite trick my dad every played on the door was to disconnect the door handle backset so that we would twist and twist the door handle and it would never open the door. It took us 2 hours to get past this extraordinarily simple trap. The next year, we were so frustrated with the door handle that we took off every door handle in the entire house and hid them, a week before Christmas. Yes... that's right you could not lock the bathroom doors, but it was so worth it.  

Tip #2 - Want them dead? Use black thread!

Tip #2- From the B&D Family!
Black thread makes a wonderful booby trap. Usually in our traps, the only lights on are the Christmas tree lights.  Because the house is so dim, it is almost impossible to see the black thread. We will tie them to light switches and noise makers (forks balanced over cookie sheets, jingle bells, and  tools) so that the lightest bump will set them off! This is a classic move for a Christmas trap, that are kids still belly ache about to this day!  

My very first Trap

I am in oldest in my family, so I remember the very first trap that my family did. I was 4 so my parents made it very easy for me. Using ~10 paper bags from the grocery store, they stood them up and stacked them in the doorway several layers tall!

I remember taking one look at the trap and breaking down into tears! Apparently, to a 4-year-old, a wall of paper bags can be somewhat intimidating. Especially on Christmas morning! After a little while, my dad took down the top bag and poked his over the top and asked me "What's wrong Kara?" I have no idea what I responded, but I remember laughing as I ran through the bags knocking them down in one fell swoop!

I don't think that I have slept one wink on a Christmas Eve since then.

Tip #1 JiggleBells + Balloon = impossible

Here it is! The very first tip from the Z&K Bloomer Family!

Try putting multiple jiggle bells inside of a balloon! Jingle bells are easily silenced by cotton balls or tight grips by little hands. But who can silence a couple of jingle bells bouncing merrily around inside of a balloon?

We also used tape with our balloons. The balloon will pop if you even think about ripping the tape off! This is a more advanced trick, for your older kids, but it will make your Christmas trap a real doozy!

The Palmer Christmas Trap

This blog is a new idea of mine! I realize that this will be a very seasonal blog, but I believe now is the perfect time to start it! I also think that it can become a VERY entertaining blog once we have more and more of the Palmer cousins contributing!

This is for all my fellow trappers out there! Both the trappers and the trapees! Share your trap designs and your fun stories! I want to hear your ideas for the future and mistakes you made in the past! I want to hear your creative ways through the trap!  Most of all.... I want PHOTOS!

Shoot me an email at MyChristmasTrap@gmail.com with your most recent traps! Send me pictures and I will post them up here for you! What did your trap look like for Christmas 2011? Did your kids make it through? How long did it take you to set it up? How long did it take your kids to tear it down?

Also, for those of you who are much better bloggers than me, have some patience! I have a lot of ideas about how to make this a an awesome blog! You will start to see updates very soon.
K