Tag Archives: gift wrap

How to Keep Holiday Gift Wrapping Manageable {& Pretty}

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Julie

If there is one thing that bites me in the back side every single year during the holidays it is wrapping gifts.

Mr. Longhorn isn’t so talented at wrapping presents (or maybe it’s just an evil trick to get me to do it?) so it tends to be left up to me.

Here’s how it usually goes: We shop right up until a few days before Christmas getting one or two presents wrapped here and there but the majority are stashed away hidden until Christmas Eve. Then I go on a wrapping frenzy. I sit on the floor in my bedroom with the doors closed and hunch over what seems like a million boxes and bags until I’m all done. The wrapping gets less and less pretty as I go on. I skimp on making pretty bows and slap on whatever we have or leave it plain and boring. Bleh. It’s pitiful!

I have vowed that this is not going to happen to me this year! In fact, I have started wrapping as I go and I’ve decided to be smarter about the whole process. Today, I’m going to share my plan with you and we can unite together in the mantra, “I will be organized! I will wrap as I go! I will not stress myself out in a last-minute wrapping frenzy!”

To help inspire you (and, let’s be honest, me too) I have asked a few of my talented and creative blog friends to join me so we can bring you holiday gift wrapping ideas to get you ready to tackle that gift wrapping beast!

I cannot wait to see what they’re sharing because I know their ideas will be beautiful, inspiring and so very helpful! Maybe you’re not a last-minute frenzied wrapper but you want your gifts to say, “wow!” Then you’ll love this blog tour.

You can follow the links to each of their posts down below, but first I’m sharing my tips for keeping gift wrapping manageable during the busy holiday season.

When I first set out to do this little gift wrapping blog tour, my goal was to come up with beautiful ideas. But, the more I thought about it, I realized that showing you the most beautiful gift in the world is not really what I’m about. I’m about simple, practical ideas to make life a little easier. So, that’s what I’m focusing on. And, to be perfectly honest, I am kind of a “lazy” gift wrapper. Even when I have loads of time to wrap a single present, I don’t like to fuss. But, that doesn’t mean I don’t want a pretty and appealing looking gift. I want it to be attractive but I also want it to be simple and easy. That’s just the way I roll.

So with that in mind here is how I’m keeping holiday gift wrapping manageable and pretty this season.

1. I created a mobile gift wrapping “station”

Because I don’t have a room where I can create a dedicated wrapping station, I made a mobile one instead. In the past I had all my wrapping supplies in a big, cumbersome plastic bin that stayed in my bedroom and was always in the way. This year, I put my supplies in a cute basket in my kitchen.

It’s in plain sight and is handy to my kitchen table, my living room coffee table, or can be easily transported anywhere I can spread out and wrap gifts.

I love that this basket has handles. It’s easy to grab and the fact that it’s in plain sight reminds me to wrap those gifts!

Here is what I keep in the basket:

ribbon, twine and/or string

scissors

gift wrap tape

pens/markers

gift tags

tissue paper

wrapping paper

gift bags of various sizes

gift card boxes/tins

Christmas cards

The red box with a lid includes all the little things that could easily fall to the bottom of the basket:

2. I bought wrapping supplies that mix and match

Of course it’s fun to have all your presents coordinating and looking all cute and decorator-like under your tree, but the real reason I like to coordinate my supplies is because when you run out of red ribbon, for example, any of your paper will coordinate with the ribbon you have on hand. No need to run to the store at the last minute or sacrifice a pretty wrapping job! Which reminds me, I think it’s a good idea to buy 2 or more types of ribbon and at least 3 varieties of wrapping paper.

3. I bought more than I think will need

Stocking up on wrapping supplies is so important. It’s no fun to run out of paper mid-wrap or discover that you don’t have any tape left to finish the job. Make sure you have plenty on hand! Also, those extras don’t have to be stored in your mobile wrapping station. Put them in a closet or somewhere else so your wrapping station doesn’t get overwhelmed or too cluttered. You won’t feel like wrapping if you have a jumbled mess!

4. I bought cute ribbons, string and twine that look great tied simply so I don’t have to fuss with making ornate bows.

Some great resources for embellishments are Target, Marshalls, Home Goods, TJ Maxx, The Container Store and, yes, even the Dollar store or the hardware store! Simple jute twine is pretty cute on a package!

5. I’m using gift bags and pre-made boxes to help simplify my wrapping. I found this one at Marshalls!

6. I’m saving the boxes some of my purchases were shipped in

This is so important, because even if the item you bought comes in it’s own box, the shipping box might work well for wrapping something else. It’s great having a stash of boxes on hand!

7. I bought re-usable wrappers like this large red bag in the picture below for big items like stuffed animals or ski boots.

You can find cool re-usable tins for gift cards too. I love re-usable wrapping because it saves time and money since they can be used from year to year and they require almost no effort to use.

8. I’m using cuttings from my yard to jazz up packages and make them a little more special.

This can be done at the last minute so it still looks fresh when it’s gift-giving time. But, if your gifts are already wrapped it’s a stress-free way to make the gift look extra festive!