Christmas Countdown | Part 12: Gift Wrapping Guide

I have a love/hate relationship with wrapping presents. On the one hand, I love going all out and adding all kinds of pretty extras. On the other hand, I get really frustrated when things don't look perfect, like when wrapping tricky shapes. In order to get in the zone, I stick on my Christmas playlist and make sure there's enough room around me to spread everything out.

This year I consciously bought things that were square shaped. Just to make my life a little easier. If it's not square, don't buy it! Just kidding but if it is an odd shaped present, you can always "pop it in a Christmas box" (name that quote) or any box for that matter. Or you can attempt to wrap it the way it is. 

I wanted to blog about what I used to wrap my presents this year. Over the years I've tried wrapping paper from all over the place; Ikea (bad quality), Hema (not enough), Cactus (not aesthetically pleasing),... This year I bought everything from Primark. And when I say everything, I mean everything apart from ribbon. I can't even remember where the ribbon is from, I've had it for ages. But the rest is all Primark which means it was all really cheap (1,50€ per wrapping paper roll). 

I picked out three different patterns, all of which equally adorable. My favourite is the Merry Christmas one, I love all of the colours. It's festive and funky. The other two are really cute too. I also bought a roll of 50 sticky labels, which have come in really handy. I usually write straight onto the paper which is hard to see, so these were perfect. To finish it all off, I got some cute little festive stick on tags. No real purpose but they make it look like you have put in even more effort. 

I always wrap my presents the same way and I'm sure everyone knows how to do it but if you don't, here's a quick guide. 

Measure out the paper and make sure the short sides come up half way. Make sure everything is pulled tight for a really nice end result. It's easier to explain and makes more sense if I give each side a name. The two long sides will be A & B and the two short sides will be C & D . Stick A halfway across the present with clear tape, then fold over B. If it's too long or if your cutting skills are like mine (abysmal), the fold B in on itself to create a straight line, then stick it down onto A. Now for the C & D. Fold in the left and right sides of C so that the top and bottom look like triangles. Then fold down the top and fold up the bottom and stick in place. Repeat on D and now it's time to decorate however you want.

I always thought people used one single piece of ribbon and went over the whole present with it but if you do that you have to twist the ribbon underneath, so I chose the cheats way and cut two pieces of ribbon. I put one piece around length ways (C to D) and stuck in place with tape, then I used another piece to go around the middle (A to B) and taped that too. 

If all else fails, do what my brother did and get someone else to do it for you. (He asked me. He didn't have any boxes. It didn't go too well.)