Gift-giving is a symbolic ritual, meant to express appreciation for others. Photo / Getty Images
Hacks include sweet and simple tricks for when you’re short on time and elaborate methods for when you really want to wow the recipient.
When you’re in the throes of the holiday rush, buying gifts can feel like a practical task - so much so that you forget that gift-giving is ultimately a symbolic ritual, meant to express appreciation for others. And wrapping them? Well, that often feels like just another chore. But even a smidge of extra effort can make the gift - and the recipient - feel extra special.
“Gift wrapping is the gesture before the gesture,” says Mia Canada, a gift-wrapping expert in Atlanta. “It’s a considerate ritual that dates back centuries.”
People have been placing gifts in cloth for thousands of years, but wrapping paper itself wasn’t in widespread use in the United States until 1917. As the story goes, a pair of Kansas City brothers ran out of tissue paper - the most common form of wrapping at the time - and as an alternative, they started selling fancy French paper meant for lining envelopes. The product took off, and their business, which later became Hallmark Cards Inc, set in motion a trend that prevails a century later.
Below are six ideas for upping your wrapping game, including sweet and simple tricks for when you’re short on time, and elaborate methods for when you really want to wow the recipient.
Whether you’re using a bag or gift wrap, tying on a small embellishment with ribbon or string is an easy way to give it a personal touch.
“It could be as simple as an ornament from your tree, or a sprig from your wreath, or go out in the garden and pick a stick of rosemary, which adds a scent as well,” says Alton DuLaney, a gift-wrapping expert and TV personality who appears on US show The Ultimate Gift Wrapping Challenge.
Or you could go a step further and attach a small, unwrapped gift to the wrapped one - a practice DuLaney calls “putting the present in presentation”. He adds: “It gives a hint of what the gift is, but it also adds a decorative element.”
For instance, if you’re giving a cookbook, you could wrap the book, tie on a bow and tuck a kitchen gadget such as a spatula or mixing spoon under the ribbon. Or add some paintbrushes to a wrapped sketchbook.
While some purists frown on gift bags, they can be a great option for presenting an awkwardly shaped object, or for those with limited time. If you decide to go this route, there are simple ways to spruce up a bag, such as tying a bow or a few craft ribbons on the handle (for curling ribbon, use the edge of scissors to create curls).
Or try more than one colour or pattern of tissue paper. Another fun option is a durable bag that can be reused. Seattle company Tokki sells decorative gift bags that are made from recycled water bottles and come with a QR code that you can scan to create a customised digital card with personal photos, videos or GIFs. The recipient can scan the code to view your card, and if they want to regift the bag, they can scan it again to create their own card (Kiwis can purchase these from Amazon.com and have them delivered to NZ from the US). There are many holiday-specific prints, or choose an everyday pattern such as stripes or flowers that the recipient can repurpose as a lunch bag or small tote year-round. Etsy is also full of fabric totes in various shapes and patterns (both holiday-specific and not), including made-to-order bags that use festive, high-quality materials.
Yes, a bottle of wine is an easy, classic offering to hosts. But it can feel a bit generic. One of DuLaney’s favourite strategies is to roll up a bottle in a couple of layers of tissue paper and tie it at the neck with a large fabric bow. A common mistake is to use too much tissue, he notes - one or two sheets is usually enough. Also, mind how much tissue you leave at the base - you need just enough to tape it down. If you’re giving a cold bottle of bubbly or white wine, lay a sheet of cellophane between the bottle and the tissue to keep the moisture on the bottle from touching the paper. DuLaney says he doesn’t use tape on the sides, to keep the package looking neat and pretty; the bow at the top is enough to hold it all together. You can also embellish the gift with a high-quality corkscrew tied at the neck.
Furoshiki are traditional Japanese fabrics that have been used for centuries to wrap and carry items. Today, many see them as an environmentally friendly alternative to paper.
“Furoshiki is all about sustainability,” says Keiko Kira, founder and designer at Kansas City-based Keiko Furoshiki.
There are dozens of methods for folding furoshiki, with varying levels of difficulty. Kira and her team have created a number of YouTube tutorials that break down the process. She estimates that a beginner might take about five minutes to wrap an item. An expert could do it in under two minutes. One of the simplest methods is otsukai tsutsumi, which involves laying the fabric down so the corner faces you, and placing a box in the centre. The sides of the box should align with the corners of the fabric. Then, fold up the corners one at a time, tying the last two into a knot. For minimal effort, you can get surprisingly elegant results. If you’re up for a bit more of a challenge, you can fold the cloth into a small bag or wrap an oddly shaped object, such as two tall cans of a craft beverage.
Fabric size matters, too: some experts advise using a fabric that’s about three times as long from corner to corner as the longest edge of the object, but there are also workarounds if your item is technically too large. One of the benefits of furoshiki is that people can use the fabric for other purposes: as a scarf or a decorative table linen, for example. Keiko Furoshiki’s gift wraps are made from recycled polyester fabric, but traditionally they might be made of linen, cotton or silk.
When your gift is an oddly shaped item, you can always save any cardboard postage boxes you receive in the coming weeks to use when wrapping. Or you can see it as an opportunity to do something unexpected. For instance, DuLaney suggests putting a tiny item in a huge box to “throw them off the scent”. Or, for a quirkier approach, carefully wrap each part of the object so that it looks exactly like what it is. For instance, if you bought someone a lamp, wrap the base, the neck and the shade. It may take away the element of surprise, but who wouldn’t be delighted to see an object presented in such an unusual and fun way?
If time and cost aren’t an issue, you can get out your craft supplies to elevate your game even more. To make your gift look as festive as a holiday cocktail dress, Canada suggests wrapping the base of gift boxes in ribbon for an added dash of texture, colour and polish. Place double-sided tape along the sides of the box at the base, then wrap a flat fabric ribbon around the base of the box. Use a thinner ribbon or decorative cord or rope to outline the ribbon (for the latter, use a hot glue gun to secure it to the box). And if you have multiple gifts of varying sizes, wrapping them in different, complementary colours or patterns and stacking them with a ribbon and embellishment on top can make for a truly luxurious effect.
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