Receiving a beautifully wrapped Christmas gift makes the present inside even better than just the contents alone. Pretty packages become part of the gift and say the giver put special thought and effort into the gift wrapping. Which tells the recipient she or he is thought of with love. The kind of love that says, "You are special." Special as a friend, or as a family member, or as the love of your life.
And, when you have several friends you want to receive a little something at Christmas time, gift wrapping needs to be easy. These ideas are good for putting together gifts for 14 blogging friends, or for 12 book club members, or for 7 birthday group lifetime friends, or as party favors for 6 dinner guests.
Creative Christmas Gift Wrap Ideas
for the friends in your life.
I D E A #1
Starting with the simplest and fastest gift wrap idea, a clear bag with a bit of greenery. List of supplies...
- clear plastic food-safe bags
- festive gift tags
- fresh evergreen sprigs
- cookies or candy
- ribbon or cord to tie gift tag to the bag
Who doesn't love cookies? Short on time for baking cookies? Use a cookie package mix instead of making cookies from scratch. Betty Crocker makes several varieties of cookie mixes, and the Snickerdoodles are scrum-dil-ee-ump-tious! Not enough time for baking using a mix? Either buy cookies from a bakery or from your grocery store's in-house bakery.
Both the small clear plastic bags and the Merry Christmas gift tags came from Hobby Lobby. Keep two or three different sizes of plastic bags on hand to use all during the year. There were 48 plastic bags in this package of 4"x9" bags for $1.99.
The Merry Christmas tags came as a set of 10 tags with little ribbons attached. The red and white pretty script tags are a classic design which allows left-over tags to be used next year. Stock up for years to come while supplies last during Hobby Lobby's half-price sale.
Remember to sign your name to the back of the gift tag. People like to know who gave them a gift.
Snip small sprigs of evergreen from the lower Christmas tree limbs that have to be trimmed. If you have artificial Christmas trees, visit the local hardware stores that often give away tree trimmings for free.
Keep your cut evergreens in a bucket of water outside until you are ready to use them. They will stay fresh for a long period of time. Attach the small evergreen sprigs to your packages one or two days before giving the gifts.
Strip needles from the bottom couple of inches of the green sprigs so it is easier to attach the sprigs to the packages. Just slide the stripped stem through the ribbon used to tie the gift tags to the bag.
I D E A #2
Use a larger clear plastic bag to hold a beautiful white dessert plate embellished with a holiday word or phrase.
List of supplies in addition to the holiday-themed dessert plates...
- gold braid
- ribbon in gold and white pattern
- unusual gift tags
- deluxe Hershey hazelnut kisses
- clear plastic bags
Buy unusual gift tags when they go on sale. The Container Store always has creative beautiful gift wrapping supplies each Christmas. Caspari brand-name cards and papers are among my favorite wrapping materials, and the Container Store always has a nice selection.
This dapper bird sporting an unusual topknot crown/hat is a Hester & Cook design found at the Container Store. Consider special cards are part of the gift you are giving.
Holiday white dessert plates with cheerful holiday words, half-price at Michael's the second week of December, are gifts wrapped in the clear plastic bags. Their holiday greetings visible through the plastic also become part of the gift wrapping.
M e r r y - J o l l y - N o e l
Buy a couple extra plates to create gifts for unexpected guests at your holiday gift-giving events. If you don't give them away, you can enjoy them as gifts to yourself. After all the shopping, cooking, and gift wrapping, you deserve a little gift.
Add a couple of deluxe Hershey hazelnut kisses to the plate before wrapping. The matte gold foil complements the gold lettering in the plates, the gold braid used to attach the card, the gold/white ribbon, and the subtle gold tones in the bird card.
Everything about the packaging and plate goes with the colors in the unusual bird card, the center of attention in this present. Select ribbons, cords, and candy wrapping in colors that go with the colors in the special holiday gift tag.
Most of the time the cord that comes with a gift tag is rather mundane, without any sparkle. Throw away cords with nothing special to add to the gift. Replace those lackluster cords with narrow ribbon or nicer cording like the gold braid.
I D E A #3
When the present itself needs to be concealed until the present is opened, nothing beats a dressed up brown craft bag. Anything can be hidden in the bag and tissue paper.
List of supplies...
- brown craft bags with handles
- small sparkly snowflake, bell, or star ornaments
- gift tags
- ribbon
- tissue paper
- fresh greenery
A small glittery snowflake, gold foil Merry Christmas gift tag, and gold metallic/white ribbon dress up the sturdy brown craft bag.
The craft bags, the gold spotted tissue paper, and the gold foil Merry Christmas gift tags all came from Hobby Lobby. The bags came in sets of 5, and the gift tags came as sets of 10-12. Once again, the Merry Christmas script gift tags are a classic allowing left-overs to be used next Christmas.
Small snowflake, star, or bell ornaments make nice keepsake ornaments to decorate Christmas trees after the gift is opened. Notice the same gold braid as before was used to attach the bell to the package.
Small fresh sprigs of cedar cut from the yard have gold tips that go with the other touches of gold.
When selecting gift wrap, choose designs that repeat shapes for an elegant, cohesive look. The gold spots in the tissue paper reflect the shape of the round gold metallic gift tags. Diagonal gold stripes would have reflected the diagonal gold threads in the ribbon.
Group multiple presents in the same gift wrap as displays until time to give them away. The craft bags add Christmas cheer to the breakfast table. Ideas #1 and #2 could be displayed in baskets, trays, or clear glass serving bowls on counters, benches, or side tables.
Why not enjoy the creatively wrapped Christmas gifts until time to give them away?
j o y e u x n o ë l
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