Ribbons and Gift Wrapping 101

The holiday season is over, but that doesn’t mean you can already rest from gift giving this year. There’s still going to be plenty of opportunities for you to practice your wrapping skills with special occasions like a post Valentine’s Day gift. There’s also definitely a lot of weddings and birthdays waiting for you, not to mention Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. That said, here are necessary things to remember for making your gift wrapping tasks this year a cinch every time.

Be Inspired

Wrapping gifts can indeed be a chore, especially when there’s a lot of items to take care of. Instead of thinking of it that way, try to find some creativity in the task and allow it to inspire you. One way you can do this is by putting yourself in your recipient’s shoes and asking what you want they want to feel as soon as they see your gift. Whatever style of gift wrapping or materials you use, consider the wrapping to be the mood setter, giving the person a hint of what’s going to be inside.

Start Wrapping Early

A lot of us wrap our gifts during crunch time. There’s really no problem with that if you can pull it off and if your recipient doesn’t really care much whether you’ve given thought to your present or not. However, it makes sense to wrap your gifts as soon as you buy them. It allows you to add a more personal touch to the gift and eliminates the stress of being pressed for time. You can add the tags and ribbons later, but make sure you label each present if you’re wrapping more than one gift, so you won’t forget who’s it for.

Organise Wrapping Supplies

Having a system to keep your gift wrapping supplies organised will help prevent your wrapping zone at home go unruly. Instead of storing materials in separate locations, keep all of them in one dedicated place. Magazine racks are a great way to keep your gift bags organised. Upcycled Cardboard tubes can also be used to prevent wrappers from unrolling. Hangers, tension rods, plastic hooks, over-the-door shoe storage – all these can also be utilised to keep your gift wrapping supplies arranged systematically and easily accessible.

Don’t Hesitate To Recycle or Reuse

Most gift wrapping materials are actually reusable, if not recyclable. Wrapping paper, for instance, can be recycled, unless its metallic or has glitters on it. Bows, on the other hand, can be reused. Even if they lose their stickiness, they can still be as useful; just add a bit of tape. You can also run most wrapping paper and ribbon through a shredder and use them for lining bags or boxes.

Think Outside The Bow

The best about gift wrapping is that you can be as creative as you want when wrapping presents. You can never go wrong with a puffy bow, but if it feels elusive, keep in mind that you can find adornments everywhere, even outdoors. Evergreen clippings, pine cones – these things remind us that nature can also provide us with the perfect gift wrapping accessories. Tissue paper, paper straw, and yarn can even be recycled and used as trimmings, frills, and other creative finishing touches.