Gift Wrapping Tips ⋆ Amellia Mae

Hopefully you have finally finished your Christmas shopping and are at the stage of putting your feet up, warming the mulled wine and getting going with a mountain of gift wrapping.

If not…well… good luck with that. It’s just 3 days until the big day, so what are you doing reading blog posts, go go go!!!

For the more organised amongst us we can now sit back smugly and enjoy wrapping our gifts to the dulcet tones of Frank Sinatra cooing the Christmas song. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and it’s finally here!

Here’s a few tips to ensure your beautiful gifts are so much more then the sum of their parts. Just a little thought put in goes a long long way.

Tip 1

Be organised. Have everything you are going to need ready and in place.

Tip 2

Use a flat surface, ideally a table at waist height or one your can sit at comfortably. If you are kneeling on dead legs or causing yourself back ache, you’ll rush or worse give up

Tip 3

Double sided tape is your new best friend. Trust me, you’ll wonder why you haven’t used this before. It creates a seamless professional looking finish

Tip 4

Choose co-ordinating papers and matching ribbons. Alternatively use an accent colour to create interest. Try and keep a theme throughout to create harmony. It’s like branding for your gifts

Tip 5

Quality over quantity. Choose the best quality wrapping you can afford. Trust me it does make a difference

Tip 6

Use sharp scissors. Life is too short for rubbish blunt ones. Especially when a wrapping marathon is involved

Tip 7

Gifts wrapping services are not cheating! If you can cut a corner and use an in-store service, do so. There’s not a man or woman alive who doesn’t adore the sight of a bright red ribbon inside a black and white emblazoned Chanel cosmetics bag

Tip 8

Use boxes. Where ever possible, box the item. Not only does it create surprise when an item is cleverly disguised, it make the wrapping process easier and much more aesthetically pleasing

Tip 9

Get creative. Where a shape is difficult and an item cannot be boxed think of better options. You can wrap a bottle of wine in a new tea towel, or use a few meters of tulle to wrap a bicycle. The possibilities are endless so think outside of the box. iF that fails theres always Pinterest. Find my inspiration here

Tip 10

Enjoy it! It’s Christmas after all. Sit back, put on a good film or some festive music, sip the mulled wine and embrace all that is cheerful. ‘Tis the season to be jolly after all

Here’s a few tips in action:

Add interest to an otherwise ordinary item by wrapping it and popping it into an organza bag.

Remember a gift is more then the sum of it’s parts!

Remember that boxes are easier to wrap so as often as possible pop your pressie into something with 90 degree angles.

Fold the edges of your paper over to create a neater and more robust finish

See how neat it looks? I told you double sided tape would be your new best friend.

Now continue making neat folds and folding the edges of the paper in on itself where possible.

Time to add your co-ordinated or accent embellishments

Ribbon always helps to bring up a gifts “game”. This tissue paper is even more rightful with the addition of a satin bow. You can find ribbon reasonably inexpensively at haberdashery stores, craft stores and other places.