You’re rushing to get to the birthday party on time and you’ve got five minutes to wrap your gift and write in the card.
Sound familiar? We often spend so much time focusing on what gift to buy that when we eventually find the right present we breathe a sigh of relief as we deposit the gift and card in the cupboard to be wrapped and written in another day. But we all know the joy of opening a beautifully wrapped gift.
Here are a few reasons why gorgeous gift wrapping rocks:
1. First impressions are everything
2. It shows you care enough to spend more time and attention on the little details (this means extra Brownie Points for you!)
3. You can really personalise a generic gift
4. You can get creative and use a form of wrapping that the recipient can reuse (such as a tea towel) which is also better for the environment
5. It can take the recipient on a ‘journey’, creating suspense, or offering a clue about what the gift is and just make them feel special.
In this post, Julie Starr Hook, owner of Five Starr Organizing shares some great gift wrapping advice…
1. What are the best types of wrapping paper?
Julie: The qualities I look for in wrapping paper start with thickness. If the wrapping paper is to thin, it will split apart on the ends.
If the paper is too heavy, it is difficult to get the paper flat against the item you are wrapping. I don’t like paper with glitter. It looks pretty, but is very messy to work with. The glitter can also attach to the bows and other embellishments.
I like wrapping paper that you can coordinate with other paper and that matches your holiday décor.
The top places I have found to buy this kind of paper are at Cost plus World Market, Costco and The Container Store.
2. What is your wrapping technique? Why is your method the best?
1. Measure and cut the wrap to the item’s size.
2. The first wrap I put on a piece of tape. This way the wrap is secure and the wrap won’t “get away” from me. The second step that I do is to fold the piece of wrap on the end and secure it to the first piece. This way you don’t see an unfinished seam.
3. I do the ends in two different ways. The first method is folding the top piece of paper down and creasing the ends and folding them to the middle and then you have one piece of paper. Fold down the raw edge and secure with tape. The second method is to take both sides of one end and fold them then fold them to make a nice edge. The size of the present dictates which method I use.
These methods are best because the gifts look beautiful and the wrap stays secure.
3. Ribbon or no ribbon?
Julie: It’s nice to have a combination of ribbon and bows. I prefer wire edged ribbon. You can make the ribbon look different each time you use it. My least favourite ribbon is the curling ribbon. It’s time consuming and doesn’t look as nice as the fabric ribbon. I tend to use that ribbon for kids gifts.
4. How does your style of wrapping vary for gifts for men, women and kids?
Julie: My wrapping technique stays the same for men, women and kids. However, the wrapping and embellishments I use vary. I choose my wrap and embellishments on the style of the person versus gender. However, for kids, I like to use bright, fun wrapping and keep my wrap choice more gender specific.
5. What are some cost effective/eco-friendly alternatives for presenting a gift beautifully?
Julie: You can reuse paper and embellishments year after year if it is in good condition.
Buy paper that can be recycled. Avoid foil and wrap with glitter. Some people purchase Christmas boxes that can be reused year after year that don’t even need to be wrapped. Others make fabric sacks with beautiful ribbon that can be used year after year.
These tips were kindly shared with us by Julie Starr Hook. Julie is the owner of Five Starr Organizing and Design and author of a book called, “From Frazzled to Freedom”. As a Professional Organizer, I am hired by my clients to wrap gifts during the holidays. I have wrapped hundreds if not thousands of gifts in the past several years. Learn more about what Julie does here: www.fivestarrorganizing.com and www.fromfrazzledtofreedom.com
