It’s funny how the older you get the more you realize how much joy you get in simple things you truly love doing. It reminds me of this quote from Murder on the Orient Express:
“I am of an age where I know what I like and what I do not like. What I like, I enjoy enormously. What I dislike, I cannot abide.”
There are a few things about the Christmas season that I “enjoy enormously,” making homemade gifts, decorating trees, baking, listening to Christmas music, and wrapping presents! I love creating pretty vignettes and interesting combinations when I’m wrapping for Christmas. There are so many fun ways you can get creative with wrapping. Every year the gifts under the tree are a little different and every year its so pretty I almost don’t want the kids to open them!
This year I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite wrapping tips and ideas with you!
Think outside the box with ribbon.
When I was a kid everyone pretty much used the stick on bows or that plastic curling ribbon and that was it, but there are so many more fun ways to use ribbon, and it’s not necessarily more expensive, but it makes a big beautiful impact. Skip the plastic and try using twine, bakers twine, velvet ribbon, or big wired ribbon. All of these add a lot of beautiful earthy texture to a gift and bonus, you can reuse them year after year! Just set them aside in a box or bag as you are unwrapping the gifts so they are ready to pull out again next year. The best places to find ribbon and twine: check Target’s gift wrap section (it’s a gem), Walmart’s craft section, or any fabric store’s ribbon section. I love Amazon for things like velvet ribbon. Hobby Lobby is also always great for finding great ribbon and twine.
Give craft paper a try.
No matter what wrapping paper prints and colors I buy I always incorporate craft paper into my wrapping scheme. One year I wrapped exclusively with craft paper and it looked so cool under the tree. I love the warmth and earthy feel of craft paper and its just so classic. It feels like Julia Andrews is going to show up and start singing “brown paper packages tied up with string!”
The great thing about craft paper is that it’s really inexpensive! Wrapping alone can get costly this time of year, so grab a few great wrapping papers with prints and use craft paper as the filler, then get creative with what you put on top. If you are artistic, you can even add designs or let your kids create Christmas artwork on the paper before wrapping the gifts with it. A fun activity to do during the break!
Add a sprig of fresh greens or holly berries.
This is one of my favorite tricks I’ve got up my sleeve for wrapping pretty gifts. Add a sprig of fresh greens or some faux holly berries to your gifts. It’s such an easy detail to add, (just slip them under the ribbon or twine!) but it adds so much gorgeous texture to the look. You can go outside and snip sprigs off an evergreen branch, or use clipping from your tree. I like to grab a bunch of eucalyptus from Trader Joe’s and the faux holly berries in Target’s wondershop. And most grocery stores sell bunches of ever green you can grab for a few bucks.
Double wrap your twine/ribbon.
This is just a little tip, bit I think it adds a fun touch to a gift. Sometimes I even triple wrap, when I’m feeling crazy. This is really easy to do whether you’re going straight across or crossing in the center, just make sure you pull enough length out before you cut the twine off!
Mix prints with your wrapping paper!
I love to mix prints and add textures when getting dressed and decorating my house, so of course, that comes into my wrapping too! Try buying wrapping paper with one print and a ribbon with a different print, or buy wrapping papers with different prints that pair beautifully together. I usually have a scheme in mind for my wrapping paper and I love seeing how they all come together under the tree. Use the craft paper to pull them all together!
Make the wrapping experience fun!
Put on a Christmas movie, or some festive music, get in your coziest jammies and have a little wrapping party with yourself. I like to build a big roaring fire in our fire place after the kids have gone to bed and turn on a movie I love while I wrap with delight! Just because it has to be done doesn’t mean it has to feel like a chore. Make the most of it and enjoy the night!
I hope this post gave you some good ideas for Christmas wrapping! If you have any great ideas, please share them in the comments!
JuliE Andrews. And you do have “pretty packages wrapped up with string.”