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13 Things You Didn’t Know About Gift Wrapping
Love it or hate it, those gifts must be wrapped before going under the tree. Here are 13 things you might not know to make your gift wrapping a breeze.
How To Use The Right Amount
To determine how much paper to use, and to minimize waste, use the box as a guide and cut a piece just over double its length and wide enough that there will be enough on each side to cover at least half of the gift’s height.
How to Make Your Own Gift Bag
If you’re wrapping something that doesn’t fit neatly into a box, use a gift bag or make one yourself out of wrapping paper (fold the piece in half, tape the sides closed and slide the item in).
How to Wrap an Oversized Gift
When it comes to bigger items, like hockey sticks, Lia Griffith says not to worry about covering the whole item. Griffith, named Scotch’s Most Gifted Wrapper, says it’s all about the embellishment. “For things like that, they’re obviously too big to cover really well,” she says. “Try a big paper bow. It’s about playfulness.”
How to Wrap an Elegant Gift
Kraft paper has long had fans in the crafting community-Griffith is one, and so is Martha Stewart. For an elegant look, wrap gifts in this thick paper and decorate them to your taste with ribbon or twine. (Bonus? If you buy the unbleached and biodegradable kind, it’s environmentally friendly.)
The Magic of Double-Sided Tape
For cleaner edges, use double-sided tape on the inside of the gift’s seams.
The Beauty Of Buying Ahead
Take advantage of Boxing Day markdowns and buy your wrapping paper a year ahead-some patterns never go out of style.
How to Reduce Waste
One estimate puts the amount of gift-wrap waste during the Christmas season in the United Kingdom at 23 million pounds. If you want to do your part to reduce the waste, use newspaper comics, pages from old picture books, maps or reusable fabric gift bags.
How To Be Unique
For a unique take on gift tags, cut cardboard into shapes, and paint the pieces with chalkboard paint. Use chalk to write your greetings, and simply rub them off and rewrite next year.
The Art of Making Your Own Gift Wrap
Hokey prints not your style? Make your own gift-wrap by decorating plain paper with rubber stamps, sticking with clean lines and shapes. Or try a rolling pin for an ombré effect. Stamping someone’s name in elegant print on his or her gift means one less gift tag, as well.
How to Get It Done For You
If this all feels a little overwhelming, there’s always the mall kiosk, which will wrap your gifts for a fee that often goes to charity. Or seek out a professional wrapper who will add creative flair without you having to lift the scissors. They’ll even do house calls or personal workshops.