A favorite ritual for the holidays is Christmas gift wrapping. Although some people would prefer to have their gifts wrapped at the department store (with the idea that the wrapper is going to be torn anyway), others use gift wrapping as a way to show off their creative talents.
Most people buy colorful or tinsel gift wrappers which are folded around the gift in attractive ways and tied with colored strings or ribbons. Some would fold the wrapper into shapes that would cleverly disguise the gift. A bottle of expensive wine, for example, can be disguised as a vase of flowers. To do this, tie sprigs of red poinsettias around the neck of the wine bottle before wrapping the bottle itself with wrapper. If the gift is for a child, you can even play a little prank on them to make opening presents fun. For example, kids who are expecting a video game console are sure to check out gifts under the tree with the same size. You can prolong the “agony” by putting the gift in a large box filled with packing material so that they’ll have to dig into the box for it or you can disguise the gift as something else, such as putting the game console in the box for a kitchen appliance.
For those who are on a tight budget, instead of buying Christmas wrappers, you could use materials found in the home. Old baskets could be repainted and used to hold gifts. Gifts can also be wrapped using hand-woven fabrics. You could make your own wrapper using colorfully painted manila paper.
Christmas gift wrapping need not be an expensive endeavor. Just look around your house for materials that you could use to wrap gifts and let your creativity run free.