The Lost Art of Gift Wrapping
A nicely wrapped gift makes your present all that more special . Here are some ways to make the wrapping on the outside as memorable as the present on the inside .
BY JENNIFER ALMAND
As we speed through life these days , running from workouts to business meetings to our kids ’ after-school activities , it ’ s hard to find the time or any enthusiasm for what I feel is truly a lost art — gift giving and gift wrapping . We ’ re so quick to just pick up a present for that upcoming party , shower , or wedding by buying something off that person ’ s Amazon wish list or department store gift registry , just putting in the bare effort to be able to mark the task off our list . Then we throw it in a gift bag , stuff some tissue paper in there , and call it a day .
This growing trend makes me really appreciate one of my best friends , who ’ s absolutely the best gift giver ever . For almost 20 years , she ’ s given me the most thoughtful , beautiful , creative , and unique gifts I ’ ve ever been given . And as if that wasn ’ t enough , they ’ re always magnificently wrapped and elegantly presented , with colorful ribbons , the best bows , creative flourishes , sophisticated papers , handwritten notes , and personal touches . The wrapping is so exquisite , I almost don ’ t want to open the present . One time she even had her Christmas paper customized with pictures of her dogs .
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Receiving a beautifully wrapped gift like this makes you feel like you weren ’ t just an afterthought , or something checked off a to-do list . It makes you feel special , loved , and most of all , worthy . Because of my friend , I ’ ve steadily been upping my own gift-wrapping game and really putting some thought into the look of my presents . I don ’ t know that I ’ ll ever be as good at it as my friend , but with the holidays approaching , I thought I ’ d share some of the tips and tricks I ’ ve learned .
A great place for inspiration is YouTube , which has countless videos you can watch on techniques like bow-making . Watching a tutorial on the internet and then practicing it does wonders . I worked at Hobby Lobby when I was in college , so I ’ ve made thousands of bows in my lifetime . We literally made bows until our hands cramped up !
You ’ ll also find videos there for popular techniques like furoshiki , a traditional Japanese method of wrapping gifts with fabric that ’ s been around for more than a thousand years . You can buy furoshiki cloths on sites like Amazon , but you can also use old T-shirts or sweaters that you have lying around .
The themes and directions you can
go in are endless . Here are some of my favorites .
Naturals
When I go with a natural theme , I usually rely on plain brown packing paper that can be purchased practically anywhere . Sometimes I ’ ll stamp it with custom lettering or animals , monograms , initials , or even freehand some graphics . Stickers are also great for embellishments . I then add either a colorful ribbon or maybe simple twine for a vintage look . When I use twine , I like to add natural touches such as greenery from my yard or maybe some berries or flowers . Or I ’ ll add vintage costume jewelry to dress it up . At Christmastime , it ’ s fun to add miniature ornaments . Another idea is to pick up plain brown gift bags for cheap at the dollar store and then decorate them with the front of old greeting cards , cute buttons , cutouts from magazines , pieces of candy , and all sorts of other trimmings .