Tuesday, December 17, 2013

On the 9th Day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to me, money/time saving gift wrapping tips!!

Can you believe that Christmas is next week? I absolutely cannot. By now, most people have decked their halls and trimmed their trees, and now the mad dash is on to find all those last minute gifts. I decided to be good this year and start shopping early. I bought the big presents on my list at the beginning of November, thinking that I'd spend my money earlier and just get it over with so I wouldn't be so strapped for cash come December 25th. Too bad this logic failed miserably. Shopping during the holidays is fun, so instead of getting all my shopping done early and then saving my money, I got all my shopping done early and then added more items to my list and bought those too! Gift giving is too much fun. Ah, well... YOLO.

So what to do with all these beautiful gifts? Wrap them of course! I love to wrap presents, so I'm going to share a few tips and tricks to help make gift wrapping fun, beautiful and affordable!

Tip #1: Make it Fun!
Many people think of wrapping as a chore, but turn on some Christmas tunes (my favorite holiday station on Pandora is "A Christmas to Remember") and open a bottle of wine or make some hot apple cider and you've got yourself a fun little DIY project rather than a daunting task.

Tip #2: Boxes
Wrapping can be frustrating when you are trying to figure out how to wrap strange shapes, so make sure you put your gifts in boxes. I save all my boxes throughout the year so I don't have to fork over any extra money for them, but you can always buy some at the dollar store if you need more. Not only will wrapping be easier when you have symmetrical shapes to work with, but the outcome will be much more beautiful under your tree.

Tip #3: Paper with a Grid
You'll find it easier to measure if you pick a paper with a grid on the back side, and you'll end up wasting less paper too!


Tip #4: Pick a Theme
Pick a theme for your wrapping paper and stick with it! You can use newspaper or kraft paper for a more unique look...





or you can go with something traditional, like snowmen. Either way, make sure you have a cohesive theme throughout. If you've got 5 different kinds of wrapping paper, the patterns and colors will likely compete with each other and you will not end up with a cohesive look. This year I've chosen to go with a traditional plaid paper in shiny reds and greens.


Tip #5: Bows
No present is complete without a bow. If you have the time and talent to hand make beautiful bows for every single one of your presents, then more power to ya! I, however, do not. I like to buy the pre-made bows and stick one on top of each of our presents. This is inexpensive, easy and still very pretty. Again, I chose shiny bows in traditional reds, whites and silvers so that my color scheme looks pretty and cohesive.



I hope you've found these wrapping tips helpful and I hope you enjoy wrapping presents this year! Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas! 
Jesse 

2 comments:

  1. Fantastic tips! Come wrap mine!! We have a whopping 3 presents wrapped at this time...oops! Guess we need to get busy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Luisa! I hope you have fun finishing up your wrapping!! :)

      Delete

I'd love to hear from you!