Monday, December 20, 2010

Wrap It Up

Have you wrapped gifts yet?  I usually do it Christmas Eve after the kids are asleep, so they wake up to a bounty of gifts under the tree.  However, I was just thinking today how my mom used to do it over several days leading up to Christmas, so the pile grew gradually.  I think that method heightened the anticipation for me, and it might be fun to do that for my kids.  I’m just worried that they might peek.  I did.  At least once.

I am not a particularly talented or creative gift wrapper.  I try to make it pretty, but it’s just not really my forte.  So I’ve searched for some inspiration, and thought I’d share with you some of the cuter ideas I found.

This one from Country Living has to be one of my favorites.  It’s a thrift store shirt wrapped around the box and embellished with a thrift store brooch!  They don’t explain how to make it look that neat and tidy, though…I have a feeling the back of the box doesn’t look quite as nice.  You could adapt this idea by using a square of fabric, and a brooch would make a pretty bit of bling on any gift.

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Love this musically themed package! Country Living suggests enlarging sheet music of Jingle Bells and printing it on thick paper.  I have also seen piano music books at thrift stores; a page could wrap a small gift.

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One more from Country Living:  using peppermints instead of styrofoam peanuts is tasty and pretty!

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You know Martha can wrap!  These beautiful packages are wrapped in potato chip bags!  Carefully cut them open, wash with soap and water, dry, and wrap.  Pretty and eco-friendly!

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I really like the look of kraft paper as wrapping paper.  It’s simple, but you can embellish it as much as you like with your choice of bows and toppers.

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Family Fun suggests making “gift baxes” out of cereal boxes.

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Also from Family Fun, some kid-friendly ideas for making gift bags out of lunch bags.  It would be fun for your child to present his teacher’s gift in a bag he decorated himself.

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Do you get creative with your gift wrapping, or are you more of a slap-it-together type?  Hand-made bows, curling ribbon, or the ubiquitous stick-on bows that come in a bag of 50? (Not that there’s anything wrong with the stick-on bows!)

Later this week, I will attempt a tutorial on bow-making.  If you want to try it, you’ll need wire-edged ribbon, and floral wire.

9 comments:

Kelly Lambert said...

I usually go all out with my wrapping, but this year I decided to keep it simple and not tire myself out with just wrapping the presents.

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

Oh, how cute! I love the little reindeer. This is the first year that I've really loved my wrapping paper. I'll have to see if I can fit a post in about it this week. I found some cute papers at HL this year, and they made a difference.

Paula@SweetPea said...

I don't do anything super creative with my wrapping, but I do try to tie on a pretty bow rather than use a pre-made one.

My favorite idea that you posted is the peppermint one. That would be like getting two gifts in one!

Please post your bow tutorial. I have so much trouble with that!

Unknown said...

I like the gradual thing. I waited and wrapped on Christmas Eve. once and thought I would throw up my body hurt so much. I finished at 5am and they got up at 6! Never did that again.
I like the craft paper the best with twine.
Enjoy your holiday!

Angie Holden said...

Love this post Holly!! :)

Melinda said...

Great ideas---the wappping depends on the person-male or female and what the gift is.
Also how tired I might get plays into it too.

Melinda

Janet, said...

Those are some neat ways to wrap. When my kids were little, I would wait until they went to bed on Christmas Eve and wrap the presents. But, that can be very tiresome, especially if you have a lot to wrap. I used to be more creative with my wrapping, but I do things a little more simple now.

April Westerhold said...

Lots of pretty wrapping. I wrap like a 2 year old. I am lucky if the paper meets at the end. I try and try to make it look pretty but I always end up messing it up. LOL

FrouFrouBritches said...

SUPER cute ideas! I'm so in love with the gingham shirt one! So stinkin' cute! Love the music one too. Precious! Precious!