It took roughly 10 minutes for Scott and Katie Reintgen's precocious 3-year-old to undo hours of hard work, sneaking downstairs and unwrapping every single present under the Christmas tree at 3 a.m.

The North Carolina-based couple told USA TODAY they were jolted awake a short time later on Christmas morning by their toddler loudly asking for pair of scissors so he could cut open his brand-new Spider-Man web shooters.

They were met with a shocking scene when they went downstairs: wrapping paper strewn across the floor with presents out in plain sight. It was still hours before their other two children would wake up, expecting to see what Santa brought them.

"We simultaneously could not believe that something like that could happen, but also could totally believe that our middle child would be the one to do it," said Scott Reintgen, a New York Times bestselling fiction and fantasy author.

He posted a photo of the debacle on X and within a few hours, it racked up millions of views and parents from all over shared their own child-related Christmas mishaps.

The culprit in the Reintgen household told his parents he unwrapped everything because he "wanted it to be less confusing for everybody," his father said, adding that the boy is a "total wild card.

"I think he was about his business, and went from present to present executing the task of seeing what was inside," Scott Reintgen said.

He often wakes up throughout the night and seeks out his parents, needing to be tucked back into bed to go back to sleep. Scott Reintgen said he was surprised by how brave the toddler had been to head downstairs, with no one but the family dog as a witness, and go to town on the gifts.

"It was like the Grinch," said Katie Reintgen, laughing about the ordeal. She said they had been trying to create the magic of Christmas for their children and then realized after the 3 a.m. adventure, "Oh my gosh, this is part of the magic."

It was mom to the rescue. After they got the child back into bed, Katie Reintgen rushed to get everything rewrapped as best she could with the bits of torn paper she collected off the floor.

"Some of the gifts were half-wrapped, and the backs of them were to the wall," she said.

The oldest was none the wiser when it was time to open his gifts, even when his younger brother kept interjecting "I told you you were gonna get that one" and "open this one." The baby girl only cared about the candy cane Santa brought her.

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Scott Reintgen said the couple had a talk with the 3-year-old about the feeling everyone gets to have on Christmas morning and how everyone should have the joy of opening their own presents.

Aside from lost sleep and the chaos of it all, the Reintgens said the family was still able to enjoy the holiday ,and they have enjoyed seeing the reaction on social media. Next year, Katie Reintgen said, the presents will be kept out of reach the night before Christmas.

"We still had a lot of fun. It's not like it ruined the day – it didn't even come close," Scott Reintgen said. "It was just a funny thing that we now get to tell for a long time."

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