Make It Personal with Photos
Forget the rolls of all-too-familiar Santas, reindeer and snowmen. Your gifts are gestures of warmth and love to your friends and family, so shouldn’t your gift wrap be, too? Create your own wraps and unique gift presentations. Here are a few ideas to get you going.
Arrange a grouping of favorite family photos (the more embarrassing the better) on a sheet of paper and make several color copies (black and white photocopies can make for dramatic effect, too). A haphazard arrangement of photos will produce a more interesting wrap. Use two or three sheets taped together on the plain side for a larger gift.
Whimsical Alternatives to Traditional Wrap
Comics, Christmas retail ads and catalog pages make whimsical wrap — and all the better if a particular comic or ad reflects what’s inside. If you have leftovers from a wallpapering project, use the scraps with holiday trim in complementary colors.
Tie It All Together Creatively
Are socks on someone’s list? Tie up a few pair using new shoelaces as the bow. Giving a gift of travel? Wrap up airline or cruise tickets in an old road map, pages from an old atlas, or travel poster. If new luggage is called for, too, enclose the tickets in one of the luggage pieces.
The Magic of Brown Paper
Brown wrapping paper has many possibilities. With white liquid correction fluid make tiny dots on the paper. If you’re wrapping a box, wrap the bottom in plain brown paper and the lid in the polka dot paper. You can also use rubber stamps (the kind used in scrapbooking) with red or green rubber stamp ink to create a unique wrap.
Waxed Paper Magic
Place dried rose petals or leaves, Christmas cutouts, etc., between two sheets of waxed paper. Iron gently on a low temperature setting until the sheets adhere to each other.
Large Gift Hack
Wrap large gifts in a paper Christmas tablecloth — so much more economical than having to use rolls and rolls of wrapping paper for a single item.
The Ultimate Surprise: Box-in-a-Box
Surprise the recipient of a small gift (jewelry, money, trinkets) by placing the present in a tiny box. Put the tiny box in a slightly larger box, then a larger one, and so on. You can wrap each box individually before placing it in the larger container if you desire. If you’re giving a car, washing machine, or pet that can’t be boxed, put a note in the last graduated box with directions leading to the hidden gift. The ensuing treasure hunt will be almost as fun as the present itself.
