All wrapped up

To most people wrapping gifts is a chore but it is one of my favourite things about Christmas. I even offer to wrap my family’s (mostly my Dad’s) gifts as well. These are just a few ideas which I like to spruce up your Christmas gifts this year.

1. PATTERNED AND PLAIN PAPERS

I love the array of wrapping papers that are available at Christmas. You cannot help but pick one of the many designs. First things first – choose a patterned paper. This will then dictate your colour scheme. What I like to do is to pick one colour out of the design in the patterned paper and then find a matching plain paper in that colour so above I have used rudolph wrapping paper matched with silver paper and tissue. This creates some variety and allows you to use different but coordinated ribbons to decorate the gifts. And the best thing about plain paper is that it can be used later in the year for any occasion.

So pick 2 or 3 papers within your colour scheme.

2. RIBBONS AND BOWS

This is my favourite part! Ribbons are so versatile and can add so much to something so little. Again choose colours that match your theme. I like to choose different sizes and textures but you can easily use just one type if you prefer. The good thing about choosing a plain wrapping paper is that you can opt for a more decorative ribbon. One of my absolute favourite ribbons is rattan. It is so cheap, comes in a huge range of colours and has a great impact. I use it as ribbon, to make bows and also use leftover pieces and tie them together to create a wild explosion to place on top of gifts. This can be seen on top of the gold gift in the picture above and was a great way to hide the tape. To add even more variety, place ribbon and tie bows off-centre.

So choose different textures and sizes of ribbon in coordinating colours and place ribbons and bows in different places on the gifts.

3. FESTIVE EMBELLISHMENTS 

These are another great way to add some festivity to gifts. I have used bunches of berries, holly branches and pearls to decorate gifts. These are all readily available in shops and can be used for table arrangements as well. The green leaves in particular add a nice blast of colour. Christmas plaques spelling out festive words are also a good way to add some festive cheer.

So add suitably festive embellishments for extra colour and Christmas cheer.

4. GIFT TAGS

Another nice way to decorate gifts is through the use of gift tags. You can get beautiful designs and they are a nice way of continuing a theme. A few years ago, I made my grandparents a hamper with homemade food gifts, cakes, biscuits and chutney. Tags were a great way of marking what each item was. Last year I managed to find some personalised gift tags which were printed the the initials of each person receiving the gifts. There are endless possibilities in the gift tag world. I also used festive pegs (see above) to attach the gift tags to the gifts which was ideal because it meant I didn’t have to worry about unsightly strips of tape on the front of the gifts.

So add gift tags for an attractive yet practical touch.

5. PRE-WRAPPED GIFTS

A lot of stores now either wrap or provide festive bags for gifts. These are often just as nice as the wrapping you would do yourself and best of all save you lots of time.

So think about the colour of pre-wrapped gifts and work them into your theme.

6. BAG IT UP

Finally, don’t forget about gift bags and material sacks. They are fabulous, come in amazing designs, are quick and easy. My Mum is a huge fan of the gift bag. The bases of our Christmas trees at home were always full of beautiful gift bags. They are ideal for awkward shaped gifts. Simply apply the same tips as with the paper – pick out a colour in the gift bag design and then match that with the tissue paper. If you want a little extra flare, tie some ribbon around the bag or a bow at the handles. While on the subject, tissue paper is also a nice way to wrap gifts, gives some dramatic height and looks great adorned with a little ribbon. Just be careful not to rip it.

So pick coloured tissue paper, ribbon and bows to match the design of the gift bag.

Happy wrapping or if you don’t fancy doing it yourself, send your gifts round to me!