How to wrap tricky pressies
Most people fall in to one of two categories, either all wrapped up and ready to go or, that's a Christmas eve job. We are of course talking about wrapping Christmas presents. Great if it's a simple shape but what about something tricky like a mug? Well, have a read on as we share some of our top tips...including how to wrap a mug. Thank us later!
Tip 1: Be prepared, make sure you’re well equipped
- Before you start make sure you’ve got the following
- Scissors
- Wrap
- Ribbon
- Tags
- Measure out your wrapping paper before you start. This not only saves wastage but also ensures you have enough paper
- Once your gift is in place on the paper, fold over the edges of the paper for a neater look and to hide any sloppy cutting. Turn the gift upside down so the taping is on the bottom. Bringing the paper around the gift, overlap the edges by about 2cm and tape down.
- Next, fold in the ends of the paper with the gift placed on its side. Fold the shortest side to the middle of the gift creating a crisp point – use your nails or fingers to make this super sharp. Do this on the other edge and tape down.
- The final touch is adding a bow or ribbon. This not only makes it look pretty, but it can also hide any tape that can be seen. Hand tie the bow as if you’re tying laces, snip the ends so they are even, then fold them in half and cut diagonally to create a sharp ‘V’ shape in the ribbon
Tip 2: Don’t use tape. This is a great way to create the perfect looking present without using tape.
Firstly, measure your gift and add an extra 2 inches to each side. Lay the wrap diagonally (so it looks a bit like a diamond), with the present in the middle. Make sure the wrap covers the gift entirely.
With the 'diamond' corner of the wrapping paper over the top of the gift, pick up the right-hand side of the paper and carefully fold it over the top. Repeat with the left side.
Hold the wrap in place with one hand and create a crease in the paper at the top of the present. Fold over.
Pop the folded paper into the bottom slot where you first wrapped. Secure with your favourite festive ribbon!
Tip 3: Use double sided wrapping paper.
Double sided wrap is the gift that keeps giving. Quite literally. When the prints on either side are different there’s the lovely element of surprise when the gift starts to be unwrapped and the recipient sees another beautiful design. Using unexpected colours and prints really adds to the surprise and delight factor of double-sided wrap.
Tip 4: Don’t waste any wrap.
Shockingly, the amount of waste generated at Christmas is over 15 times more than any other celebration here in the UK. To help minimise this, here's a quick suggestion to give your gift wrap a new lease of life as small conscious decisions really can make a big positive difference.
Make a star decoration.
1.Cut the gift wrapping paper into a perfect square (any size, but make sure it's not too small as it will be harder to fold!)
- With the wrong side up, fold the paper diagonally to both points, and in half both ways.
- Pick up the paper at the diagonal folds and fold them both in on themselves. Allow the top diagonal corner to fold down on top, creating a perfect square.
- Fold the edges of the square into the middle point, so your paper looks like a kite. Turn your square around and repeat this step on the other side.
- You should have a triangle shape at the top, fold it down to create a crease.
- Open up one side fully but stopping at the crease in the bottom of the triangle. This will create a long kite shape.
- Fold the piece out lengthways. Repeat this step on the other side.
- Open up the whole piece of paper, and there will be a paper square shape in the middle. Carefully fold along each side of the 'square', and at the same time fold each of the other folds inwards. Once you've done this on each side, your piece will look like a triangle.
- Fold each of the triangles upwards so they stick out at the top.
- At the bottom of these new smaller triangles you've created, fold each side in half. Do this on each side.
- Now, open gently, turn your paper around and you'll have your star!
Tip 5: If in doubt, use a gift bag or box
- Gift bags and boxes are great solutions for odd shaped gifts as they come in all sizes
- Line the bag or box with tissue paper or shredded coloured paper before you pop the present in
- Add the gift then add more tissue paper or filling to hide it well
- Don’t forget to seal it too so wandering eyes can’t peak in
Tip 6: How to wrap a mug
To make life a little easier, we’ve come up with this way of making those more unusual shapes look rather gorgeous underneath the tree.
