Fussy about gift wrapping?

Lillibet_2

OK, I am the first to admit it. I am totally @nal about how a gift is wrapped & presented. Akward shapes are gift boxed or bagged, fragile items are wrapped first in a layer of tissue, then bubble wrap then tissue again or else gift boxed with polystryne chips. Wrapping paper must be centered & folds neat & symetrical, and none of the cheap thin pound shop stuff either!. Ribbons, bows (and I don't mean the tacky pre-made stick on bows either!) & tags must co-ordinate. I like a gift to look too good too open!

I hate pattened paper, especially big patterns! Unless it's a really big gift then you cannot appreciate the pattern, and it just looks messy where the folds overlap at different points of the pattern. Small patterns if you must but I much prefer plain solid colour paper.

In the past I have used brown parcel paper with rustic string & home made tags which I think looks very effective but the price of brown parcel paper is extortinate now , I think stationers must have cottoned on to this trick! I have used big paper Christmas table cloths for big items rather than have a join in the paper! Occasionally I have wrapped a gift inside another gift, such as towels, face flannels, cushion covers, bed linen etc. Bottles of nail varnish & mini hand creams inside garderners gloves which were gathered at the wrists with ribbon was a nice suprise last year!

To minimise the cost I almost always buy rolls, never sheets of paper (also no unsightly creases!) and by buying solid colours I can buy them throughout the year if I see it on sale etc. Ribbions I usually buy cake ribbion from a cake decorating shop, much cheaper & stiff for making bows etc. I buy 10 meters of the wide stuff & split it into 3rds long ways so I actually get 30 meters! Sometimes instead of bows I center or hang a Christmas decoration on teh ribbion , always bought in the January sales! 3 tiny baulbels or a big multi coloured star, they look very effective & have the Wow! factor!

Is anyone else this bad or is it just me?:o


PS: has anyone seen any rolls of glossy or pearlised white or ivory gift wrap this year? I am on the look out!

karren

ikea had rolls of paper to wrap your purchases in so had some of that, then when home the children put thier handprints all over, and garden string and luggage labels, i liked it not sure anyone else did though!

kaja86

Some lovely ideas here Lillibet!!
Don't know whether I have the time.........but I will try to incorporate some of them this year! No more boring wrapping!!!!!!!!

sea-sidelady

I must admit i am the same. I love to recieve a gift when u know a lot of thought has gone into the wrapping.

I think maybe there should be a self help group..!:rotfl:

never_enough

OMG! :eek: I hate wrapping presents, it takes days! :mad: Maybe rather than a help group you should hire yourself out, you'd make a fortune. I have about 50 presents that need doing, how long will it take you??? :rotfl:
On a slightly more sensible note, that brown paper can be bought by the big roll, if you've got the storage. A friend used it to paper her living room & bought it on a roll about 2m long with 25 metres on it. Think it cost about £30 but that was a couple of years ago & she got it from a packing company.

liz545

I'm fussy about gift wrapping too; if a present is well-wrapped and presented nicely it just seems more special. This year I'm thinking about using copies of the FT for wrapping, then maybe a nice contrasting black ribbon and plain white parcel tags with letraset initials of the recipient. Should look cool and unusual, but not too expensive to pull together.

Cat72

Two years ago I got photos of everyone and copied them by scanning them ( or you could photocopy) , a lot of them were baby or childhood photos and laminated them and used them as tags. I just sewed some ribbon through them to attach them. Very simple if you have a cheap laminator ( mine was £15.99 from stationary shop or you could use friends/works.) You also get loads of photos on the one laminator sheet. Everyone LOVED them and I didnt even need to put their names on them, some people still have them and kept them as keepsakes- they raised a laugh and were a good talking point with young and old.
I agree with you about buying the ribbon from ewing shops etc- you can get some really fancy unusal ones too. I always stick to a colour theme, it always makes the presents look more expensive.I like to wrap my presents well and I think people do appreciate it- most of the family always comment that they look forward to getting presents from me as they are so well wrapped and it seems to make it more specail for them.

Contains_Mild_Peril

I'm afraid I'm a cheap'n'cheerful wrapper. I don't see a lot of point in spending a lot on something that's going to be ripped up and binned. I try to get my wrapping more or less symmetrical, but I'm not bothered if it's not perfect.

rose_sparky

I do like nice paper and ribbons but generally buy cheaper stuff for the children.

I also like good quality Christmas cards which I always buy in the sales after Christmas. I can't stand those paper thin cards which won't even stand on the shelf.

juno

I just buy cheap paper, but I wrap really well so it looks excellent. I use ribbons sometimes, but then they can get squashed so it isn't always practical. I experimented with using balloons on the last lot I did!

And I never show my sellotape.

this_is_it

oh dear i'm afraid you all put me to shame hubby likes to add bows , ribbons and is miles better at it then me but just doesnt get the time so its left to me and seeing as its all ripped off in seconds any way then it doesnt really matter for the kids well thats my excuse::o