It’s that time of year where Christmas is fast approaching, and your thoughts turn to wrapping the pile of presents that you have lovingly chosen for friends and family. Now it can feel after all the effort choosing, sourcing and purchasing the perfect presents that the last thing you now want to do is wrap them all; after all gift giving should be fun and not taxing.
The good news is that we have put together our top tips to make it is as easy, quick and stress free as possible:
Tip 1: Preparation
Preparation is key to a great start. It might seem like an ideal place to wrap all your gifts sat down on the carpet, but it will actually take longer and it’s always best to work on a hard surface. After you’ve picked your spot make sure it is very clean as you don’t want greasy marks on your paper or ribbon.
Tip 2: Get all your tools together
If your wrapping sessions are normally peppered with you asking yourself:
Where are my scissors?
Where’s my tape?
Then start off with everything together in one place so that there is no stopping and starting.
Tip 3: Pick the right supplies
It is best to have two pairs of scissors as glitter from wrapping paper can dull scissors and you won’t therefore get a clean cut on your ribbon. Wrapping with two types of tape is also best. Double-sided tape will speed up your process and helps for complicated wraps and then for a really professional finish, matt tape is virtually invisible.
Cheap paper is a false economy as if it is too thin it will just rip, and you will end up using twice as much. On the other hand, too thick a paper leads to bulky gifts and it’s harder to get sharp creases. You can stock up in the January sales for the next year and get a better paper at the same price of inferior ones.
Tip 4: Wrap like a pro
Measure your paper and wrap gifts with the gift top down on the paper and with the longest side of the box facing the cut edge of the paper, if possible. Then, before cutting, pull the paper up over the sides of the box to measure: you want just enough paper on either side so they slightly overlap in the middle, meaning each side will be slightly longer than half the width of your box. If it is an odd shape that you have to wrap it might be easier to consider a gift bag and add some ribbon or a fancy bow to add the wow factor or even wrap the bag.
Tip 5: Make it look fancy
Once you’re finished wrapping a gift then you can start adding the embellishments to make it look very special. This could be as simple as a ribbon which is best curled with dull scissors to prevent tearing the ribbon and cutting your finger. You can also opt for a thicker ribbon where you can add angled or forked tails or use wired ribbon to create a bow. Don’t be afraid of using simple paper such as plain brown parcel paper as it can look very festive and rustic and you can spruce it up by adding twine or stamp patterns. Plus, when you have finished for this year make sure everything gets put away neatly for next year, so the job can become even less of a chore.
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