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Sneaky kids (and adults) who like to peak at presents hidden in closets might have a harder time finding them this year.

Self storage companies have become a popular place for sneaky Santas who want to make sure that their gifts stay hidden, and two local companies have been renting smaller units as “Christmas closets” at a lower price.

DAVID ALBERS

The San Carlos Self Storage is offering a special area for customers to wrap gifts as a result of the increase in the storage of Christmas gifts

Next to neatly organized plastic storage bins in Heather Payton’s storage unit at San Carlos Self Storage is a pile of wrapped and unwrapped Christmas gifts for her family.

“It’s like Santa’s workshop around here,” said Gloria Irwin, who manages San Carlos Self Storage with her husband Ken. “We’re like Santa and Mrs. Claus.”

The storage facility has a wrapping room that their 360 tenants, including free holiday paper, tape and gift tags. They’ve also been working with local non-profits and churches who needed storage, wrapping help and toy donations.

Last week, the Knights of Columbus stored over 5,200 toys in a donated space at the facility, and on Tuesday staff and volunteers wrapped 131 gifts for a local church.

Payton, 22, moved to San Carlos in October. She was living with her cousin and her cousin’s children when she started buying presents, so to keep the kids from snooping she put them in the storage unit.

“I got good at unwrapping gifts and wrapping them back up when I was little,” Payton said, laughing. “They’re kids, they snoop.”

Payton has been back and forth to San Carlos Self Storage about once a week for the last month, bringing gifts to store and taking them out to ship off to family in other parts of the country. Last week she shipped a package to Michigan for her nieces and nephews.

San Carlos Self Storage rented about 15 Christmas closets, Irwin said.

Olde Naples Self Storage, which is managed by the same company, sold about 10, according to Linda Targett, co-manager.

“We have about 600 tenants and I know that there are a lot of people who store things in here for the holidays,” Targett said.

Tenants also ship presents to the facility to keep them secret from kids and spouses, she said.

For more on this story read Katy Bishop's story in Friday's Daily News.