Top Christmas wrapping tips.

I’ll start with buy the best sellotape you can. The R&D costs make premium tape worthwhile and speed the wrapping process.

What have you got? Other than “start early”?

Get some little Christmas decorated bags, pop presents in, forget completely about wrapping paper, sticky tape and all that jazz.  Pour glass of single malt. 🙂

I’ll start with buy the best sellotape you can.

Marginal gains.

Be methodical. Only buy things in boxes.

Tin foil. Or newspaper. Preferably the guardian for the brexity, racist relatives.

Think further through the process. Recycling come the event is simplified with Kraft paper and tape.

The paper is also tougher and less see through so one wrap around does the job. Neither does the tape wriggle around like a snake until it’s stuck around your fingers and to itself.

Apparently an ironing board is a great aid to wrapping presents.

If wrapping your wife’s birthday present at the same time (NYE birthday), don’t use Christmas wrapping paper.  I did once, early in our relationship, would not recommend!

Try to get some flow with the words,don’t wear too much bling and remember your breathing.

Don’t use plastic tape or non recyclable paper (lots of it sadly). Plenty of good recyclable paper now in more than just plain brown and paper based tapes.

We are slowly moving over to fabric wrappings. Endlessly reusable. Tied up with itself, ribbon or string.

We are slowly moving over to fabric wrappings

Perfect for tricky to wrap tutankahmuns.

That sounds even better Matt. We have a few of those from Amazon gift wrapping but not enough. Something to look up. Sounds quicker as well.

@sirromj – excellent shout, but one better have it all posted in boxes and then no need to wrap it

Brown paper packages tied up with string…. or nice coloured wool.

The best wrapping. Simple, recyclable. None of that horrible glossy printed stuff.

Pro tip:

When doing the first part of the wrap, don’t lie the paper end over end (so the rear of one edge over the front face of the other). Instead, bring both back faces together ‘in the air’ above the gift, fold them both over together and then bring the folded edge down to create a seam.

This looks tidier, hides any wonky scissorwork, allows you to tension the fold so it’s snug, and makes it impossible for small fingers to peek through gaps.

Brown paper packages tied up with string…

These are a few of my favourite things 😉

Also,

Have at least three shortish pieces of tape hanging off the edge of the table so you’re not wrestling with the roll when you already need three hands.

Put item in middle of wrapping paper, cut approximately to size, use tape.

When did this place turn into Good Housekeeping-trackworld?

Get a tape dispenser. They aren’t just for offices. You can easily grab a piece of tape with one hand.

Get a tape dispenser.

This. One of the heavy ones so you can use it with one hand as your other two hands will be otherwise engaged.

We are slowly moving over to fabric wrappings.

What a great way to use old underwear – I’ll rummage through me drawers this evening! 🙂

And 3rd the tape dispenser!

Scotch pop tape/dispenser

The dispenser has a band so it sits on your wrist and dispenses precut strips of tape.

Invaluable

Two people are easier than one.

As others we’ve gone green. Buying recycled/recyclable paper, paper style ribbon to tie. I’ve also been wrapping the gifts in just tissue, popping into one of those bags (can be re used time and time again) and tying the bag handles at the top with the same thin paper ribbon.

Danger wrapping.

Wrap all gifts but don’t label them as you go along. Label once all done.

Led to my pre-teen daughter being somewhat nonplussed by receiving a large man’s jumper some years ago. 🙂

+another for a good, heavy tape dispenser. The one handed grab for a strip of tape whilst the other hand is desperately trying to stop some awkward shape from unwrapping itself again is a life saver.

My wife has inherited her mother’s habit of writing the initials in sharpie in a discreet corner as they’re wrapped and then spends ages trying to find the initials again later on and working out who everyone is. Especially when she only uses a single initial. Top tip – don’t do that.

Buy no presents thus avoiding the need to wrap anything.

Amateurs

Cut 20 to 30 peices of sellotape into 10cm long sections.

Stick them individually along the edge of the coffee table.

Then you have a wrapping control center next to the coffee table. Stack presents and paper within reach and set up a production line.

Get some ribbons for anyone you care about and make the ends all twizzly by running over a sharp edge at 90 degrees

Your welcome

Get someone else to do it (in my case, my wife). I only ever wrap her presents and my brother’s presents. She does every other one. I *HATE* wrapping.

It’s weird though – when I was younger I loved wrapping and people always commented on how good it was (fancy ribbons and all that). Back then I even hand-made all my Christmas Cards too.

Snoop dog has some excellent wrapping tips if you need inspiration

Brown paper packages tied up with string…
These are a few of my favourite things

When the dog bites, when your knees sting

Don’t leave it until the last minute and run out of wrapping paper.  A well folded tesco carrier bag just don’t seem to cut it, apparently…

Gonna try and be a bit more zen w my wrapping this year… just got to get some presents.

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I only have to wrap my wife’s presents and i’ll pay the kids to do that, best £10 spent this Christmas. I have to assist with wrapping the kids, but I’m so bad at it that in recent years I’ve been relegated to writing labels and making drinks while my cracks on in an efficient frenzy of paper and tape.

BazzFull Member
I have to assist with wrapping the kids,

That’s going to take a lot of paper and odd shapes are hard to wrap :O)

Danger wrapping.

This reminds me of Secret Santa this year, I got one of two people with the same name, binned the piece of paper with the name on, then promptly forgot which one of them it was for.

Your welcome

…is not very welcoming… I’ll get my/your/our coat/s.

Don’t wrap and use reusable gift bags instead.

Be terrible and super slow, so your wife takes over seems to work for me every year….