But this little girl has certainly put her cunning skills to good use in an attempt to uncover this year's birthday present list.
Lily – who wins first prize for initiative – has written a clever letter to her mother, secretly disguised as her dad Don, in a bid to find out what presents she should expect for her birthday.
The wily youngster passed a handwritten note to her mum, who is addressed here as 'wife', being extremely thorough and even crossing out her spelling mistakes. It reads:
'Dear wife.
'What did you get Lily for a surprise again.
'I forgot. Please reply here …'
And then finally in a sincere effort to really pull the wool over her mother's eyes, she signs the letter off, 'Love Don.' Genius!
[instagram ]http://instagram.com/p/BFfFxjVLMrf/" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);" >