Difficulty: Beginner
Wrapping gifts, you either love it or you hate it. Those of you that hate it are the reason gift bags were invented. Any size or shape of gift can be disguised with a gift bag. With minimal effort you can gussy up your gift.
I personally love to wrap gifts, especially during the holidays. I gather my supplies and pile up the gifts, then turn on the Christmas music and get to work. In my dream house I would have a small room or closet dedicated to gift wrapping, but for now my bedroom will have to do.
For those of you that don’t like to wrap or aren’t that good at it I have some tips to help you. You’ll have beautiful wrapping without some complicated process to make it happen.
Tips
Keep neutral wrapping paper on hand at all times.
I always have brown craft paper for gift wrapping. It works for any holiday or occasion and is neither masculine nor feminine. Brown craft paper by itself is fairly boring, but that’s why I love it. It’s a blank slate for embellishments. You can dress it up or down depending on the occasion or recipient. You don’t have to have brown craft paper if it’s not your style. Try a solid color or stripes in neutral tones. If you have a neutral paper on hand you can mix it in with one or two printed papers without creating sensory overload.
Apply adhesive bows at the last minute.
Those bows with the sticky backing make embellishing gifts a breeze, but if you like to wrap and stack your gifts until they go under the tree you can’t add the bow. It will get crushed or flattened by other packages. Luckily those bows are super quick to apply, so you could arrange all of your gifts under the tree and then add the bows. If your taking gifts to someone add the bows before you get out of the car. No crushed bows on your gifts.
Use wire edged ribbon to create a magazine worthy bow.
I have been using wire edged ribbon for years. Before that I used curling ribbon and I could kick myself for not switching to the wire edged ribbon sooner. Curling ribbon takes more time and it always gets crushed when you stack the gifts. Wire edged ribbon is quick to apply and it holds its shape. If you can tie your shoes you can make a beautiful bow with wire edged ribbon.
Simply cut a length of ribbon wrap it around your package. and tie it in a bow.
Pull tight and tie into a bow.
Then just play with it until it looks pretty and not like a toddler tied it.
A bonus with wire edged ribbon is that it can be reused since it is fabric. We usually recycle our ribbon for a few years before we buy new, making this trim very cost effective.
Save boxes and packaging to wrap oddly shaped gifts.
As the holidays approach we start saving boxes and packaging just in case we need it for wrapping. This time of year most people have a shipping box or two or ten from their online shopping so save them for your wrapping. Think outside the box literally when it comes to packaging. Try an empty oatmeal canister, Pringles can, cookie tin or even a berry basket. Not every package needs to be a square or rectangle.
When in doubt use a gift bag.
Sometimes a gift is too big or weirdly shaped that the best and quickest solution is to put it in a pretty gift bag topped off with some tissue paper. There’s no sense trying to wrap a shapeless and unruly bean bag chair with wrapping paper. Just put it in a jumbo gift bag and call it a day. Luckily you can buy gift bags in all kinds of sizes, so every gift can be wrapped beautifully.
Wrap tightly and neatly.
Every gift can have clean lines and a tidy shape. Don’t use too much wrapping paper or tape on your gift. Cut the paper so that it will neatly cover all the sides of your gift without too much extra. Extra paper means extra bulk, which means messy wrapping. Too much tape makes a gift look messy. Three or four strategically placed pieces of tape are all that’s necessary. Pull the paper tight as you work creating a smooth finish and fold all raw edges under to create a clean edge all around.
A neatly wrapped gift with the perfect embellishment will entice anyone to open it. More importantly it shows your friends and loved one’s how much you care.
Isn’t this paper so weird?! I love it!
Happy Wrapping!