Bungalow 312 Guide to Wrapping Christmas Presents

Need to do a marathon wrapping session? Never fear, more tips are here!

Tip #1
Do not buy Christmas wrapping paper! Quality paper is expensive and the only thing you can use it for is Christmas. (Yes, my dear brother, ONLY for Christmas, not for Mom's birthday, even though her birthday is the day after Christmas. That's so not cool.) So, what should you buy?

• Cute stick-on gift tags. Walmart sold some this year under the brand Holiday Expressions. I got 56 for $2.00. Yes, I hate Walmart, too, but sometimes giving in to corporate evil is worth your sanity.
  
• Curling ribbon in various colors to match the gift tags.
• White tissue paper. Get a big package so you have leftovers for all your gift wrapping needs in 2011.
  
• If you are giving gift cards, small bags or gift card holders. See if you can find some in the same brand line as your tags. I got an assortment of 10 small bags for $5.00.
  
• If you have clothing to wrap and need to buy boxes, see if you can find them in the same brand line as your tags. I bought some, again from Walmart, $3.00 for a package that contained two sweater boxes, five shirt boxes, and three boxes large enough for accessories such as a scarf or several pairs of socks.
  
• Your key purchase is SOLID COLOR WRAPPING PAPER in various colors to match the gift tags. This will cost a bit more than buying a pack of cheap Christmas wrapping paper, but it's worth it in the end. I purchased five different colors (red, white, bright green, pink, and blue) from Target for $3.00 per roll. I will never use all of it, and now I have wrapping paper for almost any occasion in the coming year. All I'll need to do is pink up a funky bow and/or gift tag when I buy the greeting card, and I'm set.

Tip #2
Be kind to yourself. Turn on the Christmas tree. Light a pine-scented candle. Drink some egg nog. Put on some Christmas music.

Tip #3
Gather all your wrapping items (the above, plus tape, scissors, and black pen) before you begin. Set them on a bench or chair next to your work surface.

Tip #4
If you have a cat, give him/her a treat and some toys and lock him/her in another room. It seems mean, but it will be meaner if the cat eats curling ribbon and has to be taken to an emergency vet clinic. This will, of course, also wreck your wrapping schedule, not to mention your household budget.

Tip #5
If you haven't done so already, sort your gifts by recipient. Bring the gifts for one recipient only to the work table. I cannot stress this enough. Choose a color scheme for this person from your supplies. Henry Ford was a pretty smart dude, so you are going to follow in his footsteps and do this assembly line style. Division of labor is your friend here. Even though you don't have anyone to help you, you are going to pretend that you do. Use the following system.

• Wrap all the gifts for that person.
• Now add the curling ribbon to all the gifts.
• Now fill out the gift tags and stick them on.
• Put them all under the Christmas tree.
• Return your supplies to the bench or chair.

Stretch and drink some egg nog. Get the gifts for person #2 on your list and repeat the above steps using a different color scheme. Isn't this clever? Each person will feel as if you tailored their gift wrap specifically to them!

Tip #6
Do not wrap the presents in the decorative boxes. The box IS the gift wrap! (I actually used to do this. Then I met people who didn't and wondered what the hell I had been thinking all this time.)

Tip #7
Keep a healthy perspective about how your packages look. After all, the wrap won't be on them very long before it gets ripped off. It doesn't have to be perfect!