7 Must-Have Items to Survive Christmas Morning

Nothing destroys the magic of Christmas morning more than children's toy packaging. After all the presents have been opened, naturally, the kids want to start playing with their new toys. If you haven't come face to face with the pure evil that is toy packaging, let me fill you in.

Toys are no longer totally enclosed in their boxes. Instead, the boxes are open units, somewhat like a display case where the toy can be out in the open to entice and ensnare little kids with whatever flashing lights and moving parts it might have. Kids can push buttons and handle their toys before they even start begging for them.

Toys are secured to their boxes with numerous plastic coated wire ties. These ties are placed around the toy in amazing ways that must require tiny little workers to actually crawl up inside the toy and lace the wires through various parts. Wires are then threaded through the bottom of the packaging and twisted up, then taped down, so there is no way the toy will shift one millimeter, ever.

If the toy packaging doesn't get you down, then you have to worry about having enough batteries, or accidentally throwing out instructions or small parts with the heaps of wrapping paper that will surely accumulate. Christmas morning is full of potential obstacles that could bring everyone down from their Christmas morning high.

Memories of Christmas mornings filled more with thoughts of curse words than visions of sugar plums prompted this list. You don't have to struggle to free toys or meet other last minute emergencies unprepared. With the following items by your side as your kids open presents, you will be certain to have a stress free and very merry Christmas morning.

1. Wire Cutter: Your wire cutters will be well used Christmas morning if you have lots of toy packaging to break into. Quickly clip through those annoying wires to free your children's gifts so they can start playing. You will want to keep the wire cutters up off the floor until you are ready to use them so they won't get lost under all the wrapping paper.

2. Box Cutter: Did Aunt Flossie use a roll of duct tape to secure her package? Do you have boxes to break down for the recycling bin? A box cutter will come in handy Christmas morning for these kinds of situations. Just make sure and keep your box cutter up high and off the floor. You don't want to have to fish for it under piles of wrapping paper, or worse, accidentally step on it! Also, keep your box cutter closed when not in use.

3. Batteries: Stock up on your D's, C's and double A's. Maybe you are well organized and know exactly how many of each size battery you will need for Christmas morning. However, it never hurts to be prepared with a few extra. Think of the gifts grandparents, aunts and uncles or cousins might be giving to your children that could possibly require batteries. Having extra batteries on hand will ensure that everything is ready to play with on Christmas morning.

4. Large Plastic Bag: A large plastic garbage bag is very helpful for cleaning up paper and non recyclable boxes. Better yet, clean up as you go to avoid loosing small parts in the mess of paper and boxes.

5. Paper and pen: If you have a lot of gifts under your tree, keep a piece of paper and pen close by to keep track of who bought what. There have been many occasions where I'm certain I will remember all the gifts and who they came from. Even when there are just a few to remember, the chaos of Christmas morning can sometimes affect my memory. If you want to take things one step further, jot down a few of your thoughts about the gift to assist you later when you write your thank you card.

6. File Folder: Use a file folder to stash instructions and warranty cards that may come with your gifts. Everything will be in one place for you to fill out or re-file later.

7. Gallon Sized Zip Top Bag: Many toys come with inconveniently small parts and accessories. What often happens in the rush to open presents is that small toys and parts are tossed aside and sometimes lost. If you have a zip top bag by your side, it's easy to quickly stash small items away until all the wrapping paper settles. You can simply match up the small items with their big counterparts later in the day.

With these 7 items close by on Christmas morning, you can avoid the potential stress from insanely secure packaging, unopenable boxes, not enough batteries and lost parts and directions.