Before you wrap, make sure to clear an area and get all your supplies ready and within reach.
You’ll need tape, scissors, gift tags, bows, ribbons, boxes, tissue paper, and your actual wrapping material be it traditional paper, or something recycled. (See below for green wrapping ideas that reuse common household materials.)
The “Hints From Heloise” columnist suggests setting aside one chunk of time for the task so you don’t have to clutter up a room all season. She also recommends using an ironing board as your work surface, but any flat table will do.
Box it up
The pros at Von Maur at The Greene in Beavercreek said the best way to conquer oddly shaped gifts is to put everything in a box. If you absolutely don’t have a box that will fit a particular gift, then wrap it in bubble wrap to give it a more uniform shape.
Pick a box that’s not too big, so your gift will not shift too much inside and possibly break.
“The inside (of the box) with the tissue, should be just as finished as the outside,” said Katie Pelkey, human resources manager at Von Maur.
Their wrappers use two pieces of tissue paper per box and cinch them in the middle to fit the length of the box, exactly.
They also recommend folding the edges of the tissue paper under for clean lines and securing the paper in the middle with a sticker or seal.
Clean edges
Pelkey said the expert wrappers at Von Maur always measure their package so they don’t use excess wrapping paper.
Once you have your rectangular piece of paper, fold the two longest sides in so they meet in the middle of the bottom on the package.
Hide the fact that you didn’t cut quite straight by folding over all the cut edges.
“You always want the seam to be in the middle,” explained Darlene Proctor, a part-time sales associate and wrapper at Von Maur since it opened in 2008. That way you can hide the seam with a ribbon later on.
Next push in the sides of the excess paper at one end of the box to form a triangle on top and bottom.
When folding the ends, cut off the corner edges and fold over. “Otherwise it kind of makes it bulky,” Pelkey said.
Von Maur wrappers use just three pieces of tape, one in the middle for the main seam, and one on each end, perpendicular to the end seams, again so that a ribbon can hide it.
Proctor makes sure to crease all the edges of the package after wrapping to make the package look extra sharp.
Embellishments
Proctor tapes one end of a ribbon in the very middle of the top of a package, then wraps the ribbon just once, overlapping slightly, but taping in the middle. Then she hides all the tape with a Von Maur seal.
You could use a second ribbon width-wise around the box for extra decoration.
You can use a bow, ornament, or gift tag sticker to hide the tape and add flair to the middle of your package.
Go green
There are many materials you can use instead of brand new wrapping paper to save money and be kind to the environment.
GreenJoyment.com recommends using paper bags from the grocery store, turned inside out with the bottom cut out. The plain brown surface makes the perfect canvas for children to decorate their own wrapping paper. When given to a grandparent, the homemade artwork is like another gift.
Wrap a gift in a material that suits its character. For example, a DVD wrapped in a movie poster, a travel book wrapped in a map, or makeup wrapped in pages from a fashion magazine.
Consider using twine, hair ribbons, cloth ribbons, yarn or rope-type “ribbon,” which can be used for crafts long after the presents are opened.
Discovery Channel’s Planetgreen.com suggests using a related bucket-like item to hold gifts. For the chef, a cooking pot. A watering can for the gardener. A hat box for the fashionista.
Proctor recommends holding onto packing materials, such as packing peanuts, bubble wrap and large plastic bags from dry cleaners, etc., throughout the year. Keep all these materials in a large yard bag in the garage or basement, and come the holidays, you’ll have all the packing material you need to ship your gifts.
Von Maur associates do their best to cut only as much paper as they need, but they keep scraps for use on smaller gifts.
Leftover paper can also be shredded and used as packaging mulch.
Don’t wrap the big stuff
If you’ve got a large gift to give, the shear size may give away the surprise before it’s opened. There are only so many things shaped like a hockey stick or a bicycle.
Instead of using a massive amount of paper and effort to wrap those gigantic presents, GoodHousekeeping.com says just wrap a small picture of the gift then leave clues throughout the house to where the real thing is hidden, whether it’s the garage, basement or backyard.
Restock
Save money by stocking up on wrapping materials in the days after Christmas, when everything goes on sale. It will also save you the hassle of having to remember what you need a whole 12 months down the road.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2124 or kwedell@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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