Wrapping presents!

I have very happy memories of wrapping the Santa presents with my mum when my children were small. Mum and I didn’t always get on but it was the one time that we always did. All Santa presents would be stored in my parents house and a week or two before the big day I would spend an evening or two with mum wrapping each of the children’s presents in different paper. This way there was no evidence of the Santa paper in our house. We would have lots of tea and mince pies and chat about everything and anything. I think she enjoyed the wrapping as much as the kids enjoyed the unwrapping! Not the same now that they are all adults and both my parents have passed on but I look forward new traditions in the future.

I try to wrap as I buy. I buy new paper or reuse old paper and bags. I quite enjoy the process.
MissAdventure, I think someone on this site gave the tip last year of using an ironing board to wrap presents as you can adjust it to suit your height. I followed that advice this year and it worked for me, and my back.

I buy wrapping paper, wired ribbon and tags from Costco and use my ironing board to wrap pressies on. Did all of them last weekend and then popped them into recycled gift bags ready to distribute before we go on holiday this year.

I absolutely LOVE wrapping presents. When I was working colleagues would bring me their gifts to wrap (especially the awkward shapes) and I gradually got it down to a fine art, even securely wrapping things without sellotape or string, a sort of parcel origami!

This year I'm wrapping everyone's presents in brown wrapping paper simply because I've got an awful lot of it. I'll use a variety of washi tapes, string, bakers twine, lace ribbons, satin ribbons (I have over 400 reels), beads, charms and natural ivy and other greenery from the garden. I also make my own gift tags, usually from last years cards. In past years I have used newspapers, handmade paper, left over fabrics and even suede to wrap pressies. I like the sound of the drawstring bags, but I'd probably make my own.

Now, back to my wrapping.... where did I put those scissors
Happy wrapping everyone!

In the past have used gift bags for within the family so knew I could get them back, and for friends that I knew would reuse them. Sometimes supermarket printed bags for some people if it was a ig thing, so they could be used for other things afterward, don't have to be christmas ones, I've used little doggy pattern ones for example, but Christmas ones can be used for storing decorations
I have used the Japanese furoshiki idea, and was so delighted when the Japanese lady I gave one of the presents to, gave m the cloth back straight away, not cos I liked it but because it felt authentic
It's a great technique, you can wrap all sorts of shapes and sizes with different sizes of cloth

Definitely go for brown paper packages tied up with string!

DH did our wrapping today, I do the cards.
I don't like wrapping.

Well I’ve put it off for as long as I can, I set a reminder with Alexa for me to go out to my garden room and wrap at least some of the presents so off I go…???‍♀️

❤️ this thread Maw (can’t you tell I can’t stop posting hehe!).
A nice change to have such an interesting topic. Thank you.

Oh bridie54 you brought back memories there mentioning padded cards! Don’t really see them any more. They were of their time weren’t they? Like those huge one layer boxes of chocolates with kittens/puppies on the front and a shiny satin bow over the corner? Sweet reminiscing.

This is brilliant! I haven't seen them and I did my wrapping last week but will use the post Christmas lull to start making an assortment of bags ready for next year! (And I will make some extras for my daughters too as I know they will appreciate them).
Didn't use metalllic paper but now feeling guilty for not being greener!
(I always cut up the previous years cards to make gift tags and I make my own Christmas cards instead of buying them and give a donation to a charity (Alzheimer's this year!)
Just love these ideas from fellow Gransnetters! Thank you all!

Your gifts sound beautifully presented knspol. Is it okay with you if I drop my presents off tomorrow for you to wrap?
Thank you.
?

I wish I was getting a present from you Maw! Brown paper with a tartan bow sounds classy - it would look lovel under my tree right now.
??

Tomorrow a tin of M&S shortbread plus a card will be going into our GP surgery. It won’t be wrapped ha!

But I want to call in with L’il Miss who is quite apprehensive about ‘seeing the doctor’. (? Why but there you go, what does goes through little minds?). Anyway I think it will do her good to call in with a present and say ‘thank you for looking after us all this year and helping us to keep well’.

Different styles of wrapping as the fancy takes me.
Last year it was Japanese Furoshiki cloth wraps for most presents, one year newspaper and string, another year the brown paper and ribbon idea. Really enjoy wrapping presents and decorating the parcels, used to use lots of shiny paper but not anymore due to recycling problems.

MissAdventure

It's one of my most hated parts about Christmas, so I use any old paper, shove sellotape here there and everywhere, and complain a lot.
I really like the idea of the bags, though.

Someone mentioned some made out of sari material, but I don't think my boys would like that so much.

Wrapping presents really gives me a back ache!

I did some today. In the past I have done various handcrafted ones with craft paper, string and sealing wax: but tbh I am pretty bad at wrapping.

I did buy gift wrap being careful to choose a recyclable one. Just as well as the bags I have hoarded since last year are the wrong size. Anyway the gifts have that ribbon stuff from my craft stash. It's not at all christmassy but I have a big roll so will be using it for several more years! I even managed some very amateur curls. I am hoping that the recipients will be laughing so much at the naff ribbon and bad curls that they won't notice the paper isn't exactly folded neatly and crisply round the gifts!!

We have been re-using gift bags for many years, for both Christmas and Birthdays. I tell friends their gift bag is a recycled one and they have now started doing the same. I like the idea of using fabric ones though so will be getting busy sewing for next year.

I struggle with wrapping, too, these days - but our family all live in different Counties, and we are in the far north of Scotland - so everything has to go in the post. It gets wrapped at least twice. I try to save Cardboard Boxes for this use, but it's very hard to be eco-friendly with everything!

Have come late to this thread but MayBeMaw what a fantastic find! Fabric bags! Never heard of them before, and too late for this Christmas, but I may well get the sewing machine out and get ready for next year. Such a good idea, especially for those (me) challenged with arthritic fingers. Thank you

Having a publisher DH I know that brown paper is not much, if any, better than wrapping paper. Still, it looks good.

I found the game changer with wrapping presents was buying a heavy Sellotape dispenser which enabled me to wrap every present easily as it came into the house.

Like others, I have also resorted to tissue paper and present bags (mostly recycled).

I like to avoid waste and expense when wrapping presents - but I also like them to look nice.

I use the Amazon bags we are given and tissue paper. We have a lot of birthdays around Christmas and I confess DH gets his birthday present in the same large bag I have used for the last five years. He never notices.

Rh58

The Japanese wrap their gifts in fabric which is then returned to the gift giver. Seems like a great idea!

My DD always did this when she lived here, perhaps she picked up that tip from her Japanese friends.
I turned the fabric into Christmas napkins!

Nannan2 the great thing these days is how cheaply you can buy nice Christmassy pillowcases. When I started making mine I used to stencil motifs and things on - which I like doing, but not everyone does ? I love YouTubing for things like that.

I don’t mind wrapping but I tend to do it all at once to get it over and done with, it plays havoc with my back. I have an old sellotape dispenser which helps, although the sand has started leaking out of that. Good idea about the ironing board and the cloth bags. I tend to buy wrapping paper in the sales, usually the thicker paper because that awful thin stuff is a nightmare, it rips and corners end up poking through. I love to see a nicely wrapped gift though and try to make them looks as good as possible. ?

After reading this thread I remembered that tucked away I have several of the cloth drawstring bags that new handbags come in.
After a while the novelty of keeping them pristine in the bags wears off.
I have been upstairs and retrieved them and they are ideal.
Some of them do have the brand name on butI don’t think that really matters.
It is now just a case of sorting the few presents out and packing them in the bags.
There are not many but still more than I like to wrap.

You took the words out of my mouth Kc55. I bought lovely Christmassy supermarket shoppers and labelled them then just popped some wrapped surprise presents in each one with some foodie goodies unwrapped. Easy to see at a glance whose bag it is.
But am definitely going to see the drawstring fabric bags for next year.
My Mum got a big padded Christmas card years ago from my sister and insisted she gave it back to be returned each year. Happy memories.