Swide Magazine by Dolce&Gabbana

For most of us, this holiday season will mean lots of gift giving and receiving. While wrapping gifts may not be everyone’s forte, giving a lovely gift is all in the presentation.

No matter how little or large your gift giving budget may be, a gift wrapped in the most beautiful of ways makes a huge difference. Even some of the most inexpensive gifts can look the most special when wrapped gorgeously.

To get your gifts looking tip-top for their recipients, try wrapping with materials other than your traditional wrapping paper. For smaller gifts, place them in a small box and then use fun scrapbooking or art papers (holiday or non-holiday) to wrap the box up. The thick scrapbooking/art papers will create a nice crisp fold along the edges of the box and the variety of designs available will keep you wanting to explore different papers all year long.

Have some old maps lying around?

Put them to use and wrap up treasures for the explorer in your life. If you are out of paper but have a plain box, you can use this opportunity to get creative. Embellish plain boxes with glittered alphabet stickers with words like, “Holiday,” “Cheer,” “Love,” “Be Merry.” Put these simple words and phrases in the bottom corner of your box for a simple and clean look.
Ribbons, bows and accessories are the “extra special” to your already “special” gift. I love using ribbons that are not necessarily found in the “gift wrap” aisle at the store. I find that wired ribbons from décor and craft stores work best for bow making and they come in the prettiest and fanciest of colors and patterns. To personalize your gift even more, attach an ornament with the recipients initial or a wine charm or bell to the bow. If you are not the best at bow making, try wrapping the ribbon around the box and on the bottom side of the package, add a small dab of hot glue to secure the ribbon. This sleek, no-bow look is modern and elegant. Be sure to lay the ribbon at either 1/3 or 2/3 of your boxes. If you have different size ribbons, try to repeat this process but be sure to lay the ribbons close together (about ¼”- ½”). The variety of sizes, textures and colors will be beautiful. For a vintage, hand crafted look, use yarns or string together a bit of popcorn instead of tying a bow.
For bottles and other odd shaped gifts, you can get cellophane or large tissue sheets (or both) and wrap the gift by pulling all the edges up and securing with ribbon (do not forget to fan out the tissue). Stockings - large and small - make for great gift wrap. It is always fun to receive a gift inside a gift. Jewelry boxes are also great. Just place your item inside the box; put a bow on top and your gift wrapping is complete.

Gift tags are a great alternative to cards. Sometimes it is hard to fill out a greeting card and can sometimes feel wasteful - gift tags are small and direct. There are some wonderful gift tags available now for purchase. If you are giving a gardener a gift, you might want to use burlap or an earthy material to wrap the gift.  Tie it up with jute or twine.

There are lovely gift tags that are garden theme with prints of birds, butterflies and flowers. This would also be a good time to add that “extra special” to the gift by adding a butterfly ornament, or a paper flower, to the bow.  Whenever you are choosing the materials for wrapping, you should consider who the gift is going to, what their interests are, and what the gift is. These considerations are a part of the personalization that will create a gift that shows how much care and thought you have for the recipient.

 
If you do not have the time or the creative bug inside you, do not fret! Many stores have beautiful gift wrapping services available (some are even complimentary). The most important thing to remember is no matter how big or small your gift may be, the presentation can make all the difference. The extra steps to gift wrapping will make the recipient feel like you really went above and beyond for them, making them feel “extra special.”

By Christa Rose Falk, love-inspire-create.blogspot.com
Image Sources: Anthropologie

TAGS: christa rose christa rose flak love inspire create blog blogger home decoration xmas2010 xmas christmas 2010 lights ribbons ornaments restoration holiday be merry bows special gift gift wrap gift wrapping to personalize your gift hand crafted stockings gift tags greeting card store gift wrapping services anthropologie