HG Openhouse Blog

I have always loved wrapping gifts. Maybe it comes from my dad, who has a knack for making gift boxes from scratch, or maybe it’s from years working my Christmas vacation as holiday help at local department stores. Wherever the propensity comes from, I really dig it. Choosing to give one or two more meaningful gifts, rather than a bunch of generic ones, keeps my packing work manageable, and gives me the opportunity to make the gift wrapping an extension of the gift itself. But I am not advocating going crazy, buying fancy papers, ribbons and bows. There are some really beautiful wrapping materials that won’t break the bank, and will make your gift beautiful and personal.

Here are some of my favorite ideas:

- Wrap your gifts in simple brown craft paper, or inexpensive rolls of drawing paper – you can even use brown paper bags. Contrast with colorful, fancy ribbon to give the gift a vintage, old world look. Or go natural by using raffia, and attaching small dried flowers, a shaft of wheat, a seedpod, shells, pinecones, or even acorns to the gift.

- Consider using wire, rolls of stamps, string, sashes, old ties, belts, laces, lariats, telephone wire, and the tape from old cassette tapes to tie packages. Quirky, but lots of fun.

- Make gift tags out of cheap lockets. This is a great tip for the tween/teen-aged girl in your life.

- Use the Sunday comics to wrap your gifts. Everyone still gets a kick out of this one. Watch out though – they often come on Saturday now.

- It’s hard not to waste paper over the holidays. I know my family goes through a bazillion rolls every year. Try wrapping your gifts in fabric in the same way you would wrap with paper. Use pins instead of tape to secure your folds.

- Get the kids involved in wrapping! Have your kids draw on scrap paper to make their own wrapping paper. Friends and family will love seeing your kids’ masterpieces

- Make gift tags out of the large Christmas lights. Just write directly on the glass with permanent marker, and use wire, or a hook to attach to the gift. Use the colorful, but burned out ones, instead of tossing them in the trash.

-Give your guests a take away gift that will fit right in with their kitchens. Simply slip some delicious tasties and a small bag of coffee into a pair of colorful oven mitts. Or use the mitts instead of stockings to give the chef in your life a few kitchen essentials.

- Toss large gifts inside a pillowcase. Tie the open end with ribbon, rope or fabric. You don’t even need tape!

- Adorn your gifts with little packs of seeds. Giving someone you love something new to grow in the New Year is a green and a symbolic gift.

- Go monochromatic, but choose a fun color that really pops. Use over-sized artificial flowers (you can get these at most 99 cents stores) to top off your gift. Pick flowers that match the wrapping paper you are using to make a huge, colorful statement.

How are you all of you going to tackle your wrapping this year? Any tips and tricks? If so, please share them with us! Let’s make this holiday season one to remember!