Christmas time is always filled with excitement as you anticipate loads of presents wrapped underneath the tree. It is the time of year where people go all out with the gifts they buy, each wanting to give a much better gift than they have received.
It is also a time of creativity and talent, and to show how much someone means to you by the amount of effort you put into getting them a Christmas gift.
The Importance of Gift Wrapping
Besides getting an expensive gift that you know someone really wants for Christmas, be it the latest technology device, a new toy, or something that is personal and special, what it comes wrapped in completes the gift.
Although people have the notion that the wrapping is just going to be ripped open in any case it does play an important aspect in gift-giving. The effort you put into how you wrap the gift will convey your affection for the receiver even before the person opens to see what the actual gift is.
There are many ways you can do gift wrapping and you don’t have to just be plain. You can get as creative as you want to, use patterns, and patterned wrapping to enhance the presentation of the gift. You can use material such as foil, yarn, newspaper, instead of only buying rolls of wrapping paper to cover the gifts.
The Basics of Wrapping A Christmas Present Like A Professional
Wrapping gifts takes time and patience, especially these odd, shaped items. It is always better to work with a square or rectangular-shaped gift.
Here are some tips to help you wrap gifts like a pro. Remember, the thicker the wrapping paper the better it works, and double-sided tape helps create neat seams.
Cut the wrapping paper
Take your box and put it face down on top of your unrolled wrapping paper which is still attached to the roll. Then with scissors cut the paper along one side, ensuring that it is wide enough to cover both sides of the box.
Fold over the paper
Pull the wrapping paper tautly up and over the far end of the box. Use double-sided tape to keep the pieces in place. Crease the paper along the box’s edge with your thumb and forefinger.
Join the ends
Unroll the wrapping paper and bring it over to the side that is already covered. Cut the paper from the roll which should leave an inch of overhang. You then fold that inch underneath and crease along the fold. Use double-sided tape to stick into place.
Close the open ends
Push the open sides of the paper inward, this should create a 45-degree angle flap. Crease along the flap.
Fold-down the sides
Fold-down the top flap. Press a crease sharply along the top of the box, then crease again where the paper meets the bottom edge of the box. Cut the paper along the bottom crease.
Get rid of the excess paper
Fold any other excess paper on the bottom flap so that it lines up perfectly with the top side of the box. Use double-sided tape on the bottom flap then fold the remainder over the top flap.
Close the other side
Repeat the above three points to close the other side of the box. By running a pinch thumb and forefinger along the edges you can create sharp lines.
Add the Ribbon
Place the wrapped box face down over a length of ribbon. Make sure the ribbon is at least five times the length of the box. Pull the ends of the ribbon up and bring it to the right end over the left. Pull the ribbon width-wise so that they cross.
Thread the Ribbon
Now you turn the box over. You should have two equal ends of the ribbon. Tread each end under the ribbon that is already in place.
Make a double knot
Double knot the ribbon, then turn it into a simple bow. Use your fingers to shape the loops of the bow.
Trim the ends
Pinch the ribbon ends lengthwise and cut a 45-degree angle to create forked ends.
60 Budget-Friendly Ideas For Gift Wrapping
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Recycle when wrapping
You can take old paper shopping bags that you aren’t using and wrap the gift into it. Adding a ribbon or a string can give the wrapping extra sparkle and shows creativity. Newspapers are also a great substitute if you aren’t going to be using paper shopping bags. These give the presents a vintage black and white chic feel attached to them and enhance the element of surprise.
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Tea towel wrap
One can never have enough tea towels, especially around the holidays. When gifting someone a bottled gift such as wine, oil, or champagne you can use a tea towel to wrap the gift in and the tea towel can be used in the kitchen as well.
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Colorful hodgepodge
You can use plain solid color paper to wrap the gift in and then using paints, paintbrushes, or even sponges you can decorate the paper with any shapes and designs you want to make the wrapping unique. Get creative as you possibly can, the more color, the better.
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Baked goods boxes
Reuse cardboard boxes and fill them with parchment paper to insert some freshly baked goods, you can paint the boxes any color of your choice or add cutouts of the baked goods inside to the outside. This homemade style wrapping will look just as good as store-bought and can even become your signature gift wrap.
Other gift boxes could include personal items such as cosmetics and toiletries.
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Holiday lights
Use brown paper bags to use as wrapping material, you can then paint holiday lights on the paper, and you can even wrap some holiday lights around the boxes when it’s resting under the tree and light them up to see the reaction of the receiver.
This will also draw attention to all the other designed gifts that you got wrapped under the tree.
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Paper bows
You can use construction paper and cut out bows in different colors. The construction paper is sturdy enough to fold into these tiny bows and stick them onto your wrapping to spice it up.
Paper bows are cute to stick onto wrapped packages, you can cut them in the sizes you want, combining big and small bows to create new patterns on the gift.
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Add a tag
You can add a gold foil tag to a piece of string or ribbon and wrap it around the wrapping to add a personal message or just put it on the receiver’s name. This makes it look professional.
It’s a soft touch to all the busy wrapping paper you might find in the store. The receiver can also remove this personalized tag and tie it around their keys or other accessories when they have unwrapped their gift.
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Washi tape weave
Weaving is not just for blankets or placemats. You can use the washi tape to create a layered effect by taping the gift horizontally and vertically in an alternating pattern. This will definitely stand out as a unique gift-wrapping idea.
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3D wrapping
Wrapping gifts does not have to be the standard 2D, you can be creative and make your wrapping fun and interactive especially for kids. Glue cars on the outside of the paper after you have drawn on a racetrack. You can also glue on crayons or even Lego pieces that kids get to keep after unwrapping their gifts.
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Origami bows
Being able to fold origami is a skill on its own. Once you’ve mastered the origami swans, fold origami bows and glue them onto wrapping paper.
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Silver detailing
Use plain paper to wrap your gift and then use a silver pen to add in details. You can draw shapes, and snowflakes to brighten the wrap. The silver will glisten when it reflects in the light, making your gift sparkly and too beautiful to unwrap.
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Rustic wrap
Add a rustic flair to your wrapping by using green branches that you can secure with decorative twine. Rustic looks are chic and will suit anybody who has a bohemian lifestyle. Don’t be afraid to wrap gifts according to people’s personalities.
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Use tiny jingle bells
Christmas is all about jingle bells. You can wrap tiny jingle bells around your packages to make them more festive, and these bells can be wrapped around keyrings to be used all the time as a festive ornament.
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Use ribbon and holly
Pack your sweet treats or baked goods in boxes and wrap them with ribbon, you can tie holly around the ribbons to add a more festive feel. Holly completes the packages and will make your wrap look expensive.
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Snow globe holders
Giving people snow globes has always been the number one Christmas gift. You can make your own snow globes out of mason jars. You can insert a nice greetings card or a gift card into the jar and fill it with glitter and water. This way, once they have removed their gift card, they are able to still use the snow globe.
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Polka dot papers
Make your own polka dot papers, use color papers to cut out tiny circles and paste them onto solid color paper or brown paper and make it your own polka dot wrapping papers.
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Make your own fiesta wrap
By using a q-tip you can use paint to sprinkle small dots onto the paper all in different colors.
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Cotton swab snowflakes
Use cotton swabs and arrange them into the shape of a big snowflake. Glue them together and stick them on the top of your wrapped gift.
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Tissue paper fringe
Tape pieces of tissue to your packaging and cut small strips into them to create the look of a fringe.
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Watercolor wonderland
By using watercolors, you can create a tie-dye design on your wrapping paper.
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Go symmetrical
Use tape to create symmetrical lines to create new designs on wrapping paper.
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Yarn poms poms
Take the yarn and make pom poms and glue on top of a neatly wrapped gift.
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Chalkboard effect
You can create a chalkboard effect by layering a white marker on black paper. You can write a nice message on the wrapping for your special loved ones.
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Holly jolly gift wrapping
You can create your own Christmas-themed wrapping by painting on brown paper.
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Glamorous gift wrapping
Wrap your gift in plain solid colors and attach glitter ornaments to the top of the package.
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Photo gift tag
You can print out your fav pictures or use a family picture as a gift tag.
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Kraft paper wrapping
Use plain craft paper to wrap your gift in and then take sheets of patterned paper and then you can add them to the middle of the gift. Add a name tag to make it personal.
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Chalkboard gift tag
Create chalkboard tags and attach them to the bow of the wrapped gift.
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Metallic gift accents
Make use of gold ribbons and metallic gift-wrapping paper to have a sparkling present.
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Treat gift wrapping
Use a cellophane bag and gingham paper/ boxes to package. Can tie with bows and add mistletoe.
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Holly & berry ribbon tags
Use pieces of holly and berry tags to wrap around ribbons and tie packages with them.
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Bow gift garland
You can decorate gift boxes with small bows that you can make from duct tape.
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Simple embellishments
These decorations can be anything from vintage wrapping coasters to lace taping.
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Christmas adhesive labels
You can be as creative as you want with Christmas adhesive labels, use double-sided tape and stickers to create the designs you want.
- Your own DIY calligraphy gift wrapping
By using a sharpie and shipping paper you can design your own calligraphy gift wrap with your own style font. This can be used to wrap those personal gifts.
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Winter garland gift wrap
Take neutral color gift wrapping paper and combine them with a wreath garnish or snow-dusted pine cones to create the winter Christmas feeling.
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Black tree stamped gift wrapping
Use brown paper, cut out tree stamp sharps in a potato, get some black paint and dip and decorate.
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Letter and number gift tags
This can be a cool new trendy way to wrap gifts. Instead of using name tags, you can simply use Initial letters to indicate who the present is for, or you could use numbers to show the order in which the gifts should be opened should there be more than one per person.
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Reindeer paper stamp
Get a reindeer cut out and decorate your plain wrapping with it. It doesn’t have to stop at reindeer stamps, cut out Santa shapes, sleigh shapes, and even snow shapes and add them to create your own Christmas themed paper stamped wrapping.
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Sheet music gift wrap
For those music lovers, you can download the sheet music of their favorite song and wrap their gift in it. You can finish with a nice bow or some colored string.
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Vintage Christmas gift wrap
Get stock tags and vintage plaid ribbon spools to tie around the wrapping paper. Use black and white wrapping as well to create the vintage Christmas gift wrap look.
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White ribbon gift wrap
Using white ribbon as a tie for your gift is a classic, elegant style of wrapping. Especially for those dainty presents like perfume or chocolates. You can also pair this white ribbon with some red or green.
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Red and green patterned ribbons
In line with the Christmas theme, red and green are contrasting colors and work well tied together on any wrapping paper.
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DIY design gift wrap
You can use color pens and write special messages or phrases on wrapping paper and then tie them off with some twine.
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Fabric gift wrap (Furoshiki)
Furoshiki is a reusable gift wrap, this serves as packaging that can be used again. You also do not need to use string or tape as the fabric can just tie around the gift and is quick to use as well.
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DIY mouse ears wrapping
You can create these mouse ears and heads by using potatoes, carrots, and classic acrylic paint colors.
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Modern gift wrap
Use modern styles and designs to wrap your gifts such as using gift bags.
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Printed gift wrap
Look for printed gift-wrapping paper and combine different prints to customize the design of your style.
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Santa’s reindeers’ bells
Wrap copper bells around your gift to represent the reindeer’s bells.
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Potato stamp wrap
Use potatoes to design different shapes and patterns and use paints to stick these designs onto solid color wrapping paper.
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Chevron gift wrap
Use acrylic paint and create chevron designs on brown paper wrapping and let them dry. Simply attach a ribbon at the top to finish the look.
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Use a silver gift bag
This is a more modern approach for those more formal gift wrapping. Gift bags are re-usable and can be handy when packing up all your presents after opening.
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Sticky ticky
Cover the gift with white paper, then cut the washi tape in shapes that you choose and stick them at random to form your own designs and patterns. Crisscross or just plain different colors taped next to each other should do the trick.
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Custom colors
Use spray paint to custom blank rolls of wrapping paper to find your desired color. You can combine colors themen create an ombre effect or use metallic paint for a bright finish.
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Use maps as wrapping paper
Using old maps can be another creative way to wrap your gifts, the maps can be kept and hung up or used again as wrapping paper.
This is great for gifts that are made for traveling.
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Playful prints
Combining prints can seem like taking a risk but is a bold idea, find wrapping paper of various designs and combine them to create a whole new artwork of prints.
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Bundle up
Use squares of different types of fabrics and combine them to wrap gifts, they are also reusable.
Place the gift in the middle of the square and tie both ends of opposite sides together in a knot, you can then tuck in the tails of the knot’s underneath it to give it a neat finished wrapped look.
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Dropcloth DIY
Purchase a fabric drop cloth from a paint store. Cut the cloth to size and stitch the pieces together. You can decorate using paints and stencils.
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Pyramid wrapping
Print out the pyramid template on a piece of cardstock and then cut around the shape.
Punch a few holes and fold along the lines and then tie it at the top.
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Mason jars
You can use mason jars as gift wrap, fill them with items such as cookies, sweets, or even sewing supplies, and shut them with the lid. You can cover the lid with a piece of fabric cut into a circle and tie it with a rubber band or ribbon.
Which Wrapping Style Do You Like Best?
Gift wrapping is more than just hiding the actual gift to ensure that the receiver is surprised when he/she opens it. All these gift-wrapping ideas will help you to show your love and appreciation for those closest to you.
Be sure to try as many of these ideas that you can on various, different gifts and start a new trend of stylish gift-wrapping methods among your family and friends. This can become an annual tradition of who has the best gift wrap at Christmas time and who lacks in putting in any effort.
Don’t hesitate to check Cardnecklaces for amazing gifts of necklaces, chains, earrings, rings, and other personalized Christmas gifts to put into your neat DIY packaging.