Am I doing it wrong?

This is how to do it!

gift wrapping

I'm good at wallpapering, dreadful wrapping presents! The tissue paper and attractive bag works for me, too. I watched Alex Polizzi and was inspired.... for about half an hour

If I could paste the present to cover it, no problem, other wise it looks like a rats nest.

Never thought of trying that pompa.....

I hate wrapping, it takes ages and am useless at it. I posted on here last year that I was wrapping and there was sellotape stuck to me, the table, the carpet. I was wrapping and unwrapping as they looked a mess. I kept tearing the paper and having to start again. My DD has presented us with our presents this year already. They are beautifully neat, with pretty bows and trailing ribbons. She doesn't get that from me then

Can't even pass it off as 'rustic' either ....

I work on the principle that the wrapping isn't important....

Just struggled with icing the Christmas cake as well - same principle as wrapping - looks a bit of a mess but I hope the inside is good and worth having.

What a lovely analogy, rosequartz!

I too have no talent for wrapping parcels, and admire people who can be bothered to add ribbon and all sorts of decorative bits and pieces. I did put some of that shiny ribbon stuff that you stretch and it goes into curls on one of my parcels this year and it looked quite good. I put it under the tree and DH put half a dozen presents on top of it so the 'lovely bow' is now as flat as a pancake!

By sheer chance, everything I have bought this year is either in a in a box or is square or rectangular in shape. Wrapping made easy.... but it still took ages...relaxing with a now

I assumed that someone called Crafting would wrap any shape perfectly.

And made all the presents too!

Wow Rose I am impressed! My friend makes presents and wraps them beautifully too. Lakeland do little round sticky discs which are great for wrapping small presents neatly. I loved the way Alex Polizzi was shown to wrap bottles. I might try next year!

You may have a pile of beautiful parcels under the tree (or not...) then on Christmas morning what do you have? A floor covered with paper that looks as if it's been attacked by a pack of hyenas! But we don't think about that while we're struggling with glitzy paper and shiny ribbons!

I wrapped mine last night. By mine I mean extended family, the doggies, the budgies and my very lovely moody son. Mine, however, are in very decorative Amazon grey plastic bags with parcel tape round them, very attractive! I ordered most of them myself so can't open them and the ones my son ordered he says are already wrapped, in grey plastic! I might find some pretty paper and wrap the parcels as they are in that, just to make me feel a bit better on the day. Men eh?

Greyduster me neither . DD does fancy paper with matching gift cards tied with colour co-ordinated rafias. They look very good.

I suggested she stick to making pressies look pretty, and I will stick to organising and cooking food.

I do try to find boxes to wrap things. My coup this year was buying a plastic bob the builder type helmet for GS and then later going into the post office and found an assistant tidying up some boxes which were just the right size to pack the helmet neatly.

I have resorted to using all sorts of pieces of cardboard to wrap some very awkwardly shaped presents.

I have a very large extended family so gift wrapping literally takes me days. I really don't bother with bows and furbelows as I have no artistic talent whatsoever, but one of my daughters makes unwrapping gifts from her almost a crime as they are always sooo beautifully trimmed.
We are spending Christmas at our youngest daughter's house this year. What is perplexing me is how we are going to fit three adults, two bicycles, three windsurfers (plus sails and wetsuits etc.), three suitcases, five big sacks of gifts and a couple of bags of food into and onto our car!!

I've given up on gift tags - I wrap the individual's presents and put them in one big gift bag per person. Saves a lot of time.

Does it matter what they look like? When they are all under the tree in different wrapping paper they all look wonderful anyway. I buy cheap wrapping paper and huge rolls of thin ribbon and wrap everything in those. The ribbon ends are easily curled and make it look as if some effort has been made. When travelling with the presents I leave the ribbon uncurled and do it when I arrive.

The best time for me has been during the afternoon play on radio 4.