Decorating for the holidays is one of my favorite things to do. I secretly would like to keep our holiday décor up all year round, but so far I haven’t sold Mike on this idea yet. In this holiday edition blog post, learn how to select the right gift wrapping paper and how to keep it organized. Learn from my gift wrapping tips and ideas, including how to tie the perfect “Tiffany Bow” on your gift. Make sure you keep reading until the end, where I share my gift wrapping paper shopping checklist!
How to Select the Right Gift Wrapping Paper
I find so much joy in wrapping gifts because I feel like it is part of the entire gift giving experience. Knowing that I hand selected wrapping paper that gives a clue about what’s wrapped inside or even selecting paper that coordinates with my entire holiday theme hopefully also brings a lot of joy to the gift recipient.
When you set out to find the perfect wrapping paper, my suggestion is to select paper in odd numbers – groups of three or five. This is a good general decorating guideline that also applies to selecting coordinating holiday gift wrapping paper.
Start by selecting your primary pattern such as patterns with Holly, Flowers, Santa Claus, Snowmen, etc. Next, select a complementary pattern such as a polka dot, plaid or stripe. Finally, select a solid or neutral color that blends well with the first two selections. If you decide to bump up to five wrapping papers I would stick with one primary pattern, two complementary patterns and two solid or neutral colors.
The next part is fun! Once you have finalized your wrapping paper selections, it’s time to add texture and details with ribbons, embellishments, and gift tags.
When looking for gift wrapping ribbons I often check in the fabric section of crafting stores such as Hobby Lobby or Michael’s. You can find ribbons with different textures, tassels, and even yarn to completely transform your wrapped gift into a work of art.
Add finishing touches to your gift with embellishments such as small Christmas ornaments. If you look in the miniature tree section, the Christmas ornaments often come in packs of three or six and they make the perfect addition to any gift. Minatare garlands with bells, sprays of holy or even fresh clippings from your Christmas tree are all great ways to add a personalized touch to your gifts. My personal favorite is attaching a small dog toy to the outside of gifts for our pets, like this #spoiled dog bone featured in the photos above.
How to Stay Organized While Wrapping Gifts
Small baskets make the perfect storage for the ribbons, embellishments, scissors, and tape. Keeping your holiday ribbons together will help you to stay organized. I feel like I’m constantly running around the house looking for a pair of scissors or tape… having a dedicated space will cut down on the amount of time you spend looking for these items.
Next, if you don’t already have a dedicated space for storing your gift wrapping supplies when you’re not using them then find a spot in a closet or an extra drawer so you can keep your house clutter free during the holidays.
Gift Wrapping Checklist
6 gift wrapping items that make wrapping gifts easier!
- Regular Tape and Double Sided Tape. You can never have too much tape.
- A good pair of Scissors. Avoid using the kitchen scissors or the pair you use from the junk drawer. Sharp and clean scissors will help you to cut smooth and straight lines on your wrapping paper.
- Gift Tags are a must and helpful to have ready to go after you wrap your first gift. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wrapped a bunch of gifts and then forgot what was inside and who they were for. If you want to wait to add tags at the end, then I suggest having sticky notes ready to go to gently place on the outside of the box to write names on until you can add the tags. Or I’ve seen beautiful names written in white chalk markers directly onto the gifts.
- Assorted sizes of Gift Bags (grab a few oversized bags for last minute or large items you don’t want to wrap
- Tissue Paper in a variety of holiday colors. I use tissue paper to wrap sweaters or to help fill out the gift boxes before wrapping. I think it’s always nice to have holiday colors on the inside of the box as another surprise for the gift recipient.
- Various sizes of Gift Boxes. The standard shirt boxes, lingerie boxes and then a small square box are the sizes I recommend. Having a few extra jewelry boxes are always nice incase you need to wrap a last minute gift card. Tuesday Morning or the Dollar Store are good locations to find boxes at a discount.
If you follow these gift wrapping tips you should be ready for “pro level” gift wrapping right? Check out two more stories I wrote about gift wrapping that are sure to impress your friends and family this holiday season!
