Christmas is fast approaching and you haven’t wrapped the giant pile of presents sitting around for your friends and family yet? Let us try and help you get it done quickly and painlessly.
So you’ve gotten all your gifts sorted. The watch from WatchShopping that your boyfriend really wanted, that new necklace your mom hinted at, a new orchid for your friend to kill, the list goes on. But there’s a slight problem, you have no idea how to wrap it… But never fear, that’s why we’re here!
1. To efficiently wrap gifts, get off of the carpet and onto a hard surface.
It may be easier to plop in front of the TV on a carpet, but it will take you twice as long to wrap and everything will look worse.
2. Use double-stick tape to speed up your process.
Double-stick tape will honestly speed up most things.
3. No tape? Follow this video tutorial to wrap a gift without any tape (just one tiny sticker, or some really tight ribbon work).
Like gift-wrapping origami.
4. Or you could use fabric (aka an old shirt).
Clean out your closet while wrapping gifts. So much multitasking!
6. You can also repurpose old, itchy sweaters.
Ill-fitting sweaters be gone!
7. Wrap a small gift in a yarn ball.
It’s a gift and a frustrating game all in one!
8. If your gift is an odd shape, decorate a paper bag as giftwrap.
It looks purposeful, not like you sacrificed a day of carrying your lunch to work. Buy a lunch box, geez.
9. Use newspaper as wrapping paper.
It costs you little to nothing if you already have a paper lying around, and it looks craftier than you will probably mean for it to!
10. Reuse paper bags from the grocery store.
Most grocery store paper bags will have some sort of holiday design during this season, which will look way better than wrapping your gifts in aluminum foil.
11. Or just use plain brown paper bags or parcel paper.
The plain brown looks rustic and festive in it’s own way, and there are plenty of things you can add to make it look fancier, like letter stamps for the recipient’s first name, or doodles.
12. Use a DIY stamp roller to create easy wrapping designs.
This quick DIY may not be for the lazy, but once you’ve made it, you can use it over and over again!
13. Print out word searches or puzzles on computer paper and wrap gifts up in those.
Tie/tape down a marker to the gift and you’ve given both a game and a gift!
14. Turn boring, plain paper into cute animal gifts.
Uh, chyea, this owl requires you to actually leave part of the gift UNWRAPPED. Mega score.
15. Or make pretty cut-outs to deter the eye from the plain paper.
Simple, but appealing to the eye. Download the printable template here.
16. “Make your own wrapping” by drawing ribbons and a bow on a plain gift box.
~Artsy~ but quick.
17. No boxes? Make them!
Follow these steps to transform your cereal boxes into gift boxes.
18. Don’t have gift tags? Use a playing card.
Everyone has cards somewhere in their house, and the DIY factor will look intentional, rather than lazy.
19. Or Instagram photos.
Use the A Beautiful Mess app to add the “to” and “from” to an instagram photo and transform it into a print-ready gift tag, or just print your photos and write directly on them with permanent marker..
21. Or if you have enough paper, designate a color/pattern for each person so that gift tags aren’t necessary.
Just make sure to jot down who gets what to avoid any on-the-day mix-ups.
22. Tie ribbon around plain, unwrapped boxes for a simple look that still feels elegant.
Bonus points for a huge bow.
23. And make a bow that will totally steal all of the recipient’s attention.
Check out this step-by-step tutorial from Paper Source on how to tie a perfect bow.
24. No ribbon? Use paper tape to create the illusion of well tied ribbon.
Side tip: another option for gift tags is just drawing them on!
27. Store your paper rolls in a garment bag and hang it in the closet for easy access.
Once you’ve made a mess trying to DIY your way out of this wrapping chaos, make getting out wrapping supplies the next time you’re in a bind seem less daunting. This method solves any potential small space issues with wrapping essentials, as well as any organization woes.