5 Ways To Wrap Your Christmas Presents*
Aside from eating turkey sandwiches and putting up the decorations, wrapping is probably my favourite Christmas activity. I love wrapping presents at the best of times and this time of year means I have about 20 million individual parcels to festoon with ribbon and bows and tags and I am in my element.
Long gone are the days of simply wrapping your loved ones presents in wrapping paper. Oh noooo now are the days of baubles specifically for gifts, adding sprigs of your own tree to boxes, hand illustrating wrapping paper. Now, wrapping your parcels is a work of art and Pinterest has thousands of inspirational images to turn the simplest of gifts into a masterpiece.
Here's my top 5 Pinterest inspired ways to wrap presents that even the least crafty of us can master....
1. Ribbons ribbons and more ribbons.
How to turn a lowly wrapped box into the most thoughtfully packed present ever - the biggest silkiest ribbon you can find. You can pick up a reel of ribbon or a pack of different coloured ones from all kinds of hobby stores for pittance but they make such a difference to a parcel. To effectively tie a ribbon round a parcel you ideally want it to have a flat surface and be square or rectangular for the best outcome. Lay it on top of the parcel, fold it underneath and twist it so it goes in the opposite direction. Fold it back up to the front of the parcel, tie in a bow and voila! Bonus points if you can use multiple ribbons (thick and thin work really well) or if you get your hands on some festive ribbon like these ones from Talking Tables - £3.99 per pack- which I'll be using for my presents this year.
My Pinterest inspiration:
2. Eau Natural.
The classiest of all the present wrapping situations in my opinion. There's nothing quite like a big pile of presents under the tree all wrapped in brown paper with some red and white twine and a sprig of fake berries or leaves on top. Brown wrapping paper is easily picked up anywhere, from post offices to supermarkets but not content with plain kraft coloured, you can get patterned too. I picked up some brown paper that was patterned with white paint marks from Ikea in the summer and you can get loads that have holly patterns or sausage dogs or snowflakes from the high street. Now the only decision left to make is complementary or contrasting ribbon.....
My Pinterest inspiration:
3. Less hassle boxes.
So maybe you don't have the artistic nature for super crafty wrapping. Maybe you just don't have the time. Whatever the reason, Christmas boxes are your saving grace in 2017. Forget gift bags this year, it's all about popping your present in a giftbox. I am a bit in love with these this year but just know the recipients of my gifts won't appreciate them quite as much and they'll probably just end up in the bin (so maybe everyone needs to give ME my gifts in boxes?). I might not be investing in any this year but it hasn't stopped me looking and TK Maxx. Homesense and Wilko have been my particular favs for affordable wrapping solutions. Tartan has to be my top timeless piece for reuse as well.
My Pinterest inspiration:
4. Personalised tags.
If you're hosting Christmas this year and you really want to impress your guests - why not personalise their presents with handmade gift tags? They're super easy to make with some pieces of strong card and some ribbon or string to tie it to your presents and there's loads of free printables on Pinterest. Handwrite your recipients name, personalise the label with something they love, maybe even make an initial tag. I am obsessed with the alphabet tags on Pinterest and I can just imagine some made with glittery card in gold or silver and brown paper and omg much excitement and much cute.
My Pinterest inspiration:
5. Those awkward shapes.
You know the types of presents - the circular tin of chocolates, the bottles of wine, the doorstop you didn't think about wrapping when you bought it for your Mum. We also know how to wrap them........badly. The classic roll the wine bottle in paper and then kinda squish the top and tie with string? Maybe even squish at both ends to make a kinda shit cracker? No more my friends no more. Pinterest has all those awkward shaped gifts covered with the cutest of solutions, my absolute favourite being the cookies tied with ribbon. Forget bottles in bottle bags, now you have no excuse not to make your presents of wine into a gnome.
My Pinterest inspiration:
So go forth my loves, may your presents this year be Pinterest worthy (or at least make you the talk of the Christmas tree with the family.)
*The ribbons included in this post were sent to me for free as part of a big haul from Talking Tables but all wrapping solutions and opinions are as always my own.
