I never buy gift bags… I rather enjoy wrapping gifts.
My father taught me some of the finer points when I was young – about how to start by folding the cut edge over first, to make a neater edge before taping… about keeping lines straight, and making your patterns line up correctly, whenever possible… that kind of stuff.
I’ve learned how to pleat tissue paper fan-style on the outside of a box as a pretty detail – especially good when using more than one colour of tissue. I use satin ribbon, and gros grain, twine and raffia. I tuck in feathers sometimes. I had a online gift business once upon a time, plus I’ve been watching Martha Stewart very closely for the last twenty years or so…I can wrap like a muther, yo.
What I can’t stand is leaving it all to the eleventh hour, as I’ve been doing for the last several years, where I must traipse downstairs to the chilly basement after some kind of Christmas Eve soiree (either at our house, or someone else’s) whereby I am half way into a bottle of champagne, and am now faced with a small mountain of items that require paper, tape, and tags of some kind. I abandon nearly ALL the pretty extras, and just go for bust.
That’s pretty much when I want to shoot myself each year. (Though, it’s clear I’ve not yet done this.)
The problem is finding the right time to get it done. Or at least some of it. I really don’t know what happens, but the days are full, and I can’t do it while the kids are awake and at home, and the evenings get eaten up by holiday parties, cooking, cleaning, and fatigue! The next thing I know, it’s Christmas Eve. Again. Grrrrrr…
But! Tomorrow is Thursday, which means I will still have two free evenings before the big Eve, and I am DETERMINED to be all done before the 24th this year, so help me.
So, I ask you… when do wrap the stuff? Is is the moment you get it home, or into the wee hours of Christmas morn, like me like I used to do?
I am so not a Martha. And I had a job in high school to be a “wrapper” at a major department store over the holiday season. So, I’m one efficient mutha wrapper now thanks to that experience. I actually enjoy this late at night when everyone else has gone to bed. I make a coffee and turn on xmas music to get in the mood…no, not that kind of mood! smirk.
I’m going to try and do it tonight I think…laundry, wrapping and wine.
my parents used to stay up every Christmas eve till an ungodly hour…no presents are going under tho until the actual night! that kid would get into everything…
I’m hoping to git’erdun today too, Julie. I’ll be thinking of you at 1 AM… *clinks your glass*
You are MADE of SMART, Anny!! That’s really the best idea – no waste. But, what do you do with all the little items? Or with the HUGE ones? Not that we have many of those huge ones… I’ve seen the pics of your play scarves/gift wrap – truly excellent!
I love the kraft paper look too… used to put fresh cedar bits in the twine… oh, the days of yore. Isn’t it nicer when people DON’T look at you as if you’re crazy, and just accept a beautifully wrapped present? Ack. I usually reserve that kind of action for birthday parties now anyway. Poo.
You kill me, Alayne. xox
i used to wrap as i go and now i’m one of those mad, get it done wrappers that do it at 2 in the morning on xmas eve. maybe i’ll git’erdun tomorrow!
I used to love making pretty packages. It’s the making of the pretty that I enjoyed, but it always bothered me the way other people accept pretty packages — like you’re some kind of crazy over the top person for taking the time … y’know? And somehow, I’d always end up slightly embarrassed by this, like showing up WAY overdressed to a party.
So I started toning it down a notch to simple kraft paper packages with simply tied pretty ribbons which seemed like a good compromise. Then came the kids!
A few years ago, in a full swing eco kick, I decided to go full-on furoshiki. We have a basket full of colourful silk playscaves (waldorf style) and I decided to see how they could be re-purposed as temporary gift wrap and we’ve never gone back! First of all, I wrap all my gifts on Christmas Eve after our return from mass and feasting at Stephen’s parents — we put the kids in their beds and try to find all the presents we’ve stashed in closets, the garage, basement, under blankets… Then, 2 people, 10 minutes, a dozen scarves and DONE! Plus they look fabulous. Double-plus, the kids enjoy opening them as much as paper. Triple plus, when all’s said and done they go back down to the playroom — no trash! LOVE.
In November of course silly!!!! Doesn’t everyone?
You conveniently left out the fact that while our father was showing us how to perfect gift wrapping, he was also having us wrap our OWN gifts that he had inexplicably pre-wrapped in newspaper. Whaaaat?
Crazy times!
PS: You really DO wrap like a mutha. That’s some serious kung fu.