Here’s a helpful, stress-free guide to creating perfect, artfully wrapped Christmas gifts, no matter your style.
A pile of beautiful looking presents under the Christmas tree is one of the pleasures of the festive season. In fact, the act of wrapping gifts can bring as much joy as purchasing them. Interestingly, a US survey found one in four Americans enjoyed wrapping presents as much as they liked buying them, with 70 per cent of people liking the overall gift wrapping process. However, forgetting supplies, such as paper, tags or tape, is the reason 41 per cent of Brits hate on Christmas gift wrapping, according to a UK survey.
But it doesn’t have to be stressful! The key to any Christmas task, whether it’s gift buying, gift wrapping, or planning and cooking the meal, is to be organised. Buying everything early, and preferably in bulk so you don’t run out, can be a lifesaver. Enter Costco—your one-stop shop for festive wrapping paper, ribbon and more.
“Our Kirkland Signature gift wrap is made in the UK from the highest quality paper, and it’s nice and thick so it won’t rip while you wrap,” says Mitchell Innes, Costco toys and seasonal buyer. “Our Kirkland Signature 36m counter roll also comes in reversible prints, so you can get creative and colour coordinate gifts under the tree,” he adds.
You can also have fun creating a theme for your wrapping. When it comes to paper, ribbons and adornments, the only limit is your imagination—use anything from stamps and stickers to glitter, paint, and items from nature. For any extras like glitter or confetti, a trip to the craft shop or dollar store should help, too. So, whether you like a traditional, crafty or classy look, try the following ideas for some handy inspiration!
Go glam
After a little Christmas bling? Go for silver and gold for the wrapping paper and ribbon, or if you’re feeling extravagant, both. If you want to kick it up a notch, you could decorate by sticking metallic or glittery glass ornaments on top. However, if that’s a bit much for you, some of Costco’s wrapping paper includes elegant metallic colours for just a touch of shine.
What you need
Paper: choose a roll with metallic designs (such as stripes or santas) or solid coloured paper in gold or silver.
Ribbon: gold or silver.
Extras: sparkly glass ornaments.
Keep it classic
If you love feeling festive, go for classic colours and designs. “Costco’s range is great for those who like traditional styles,” says Mitchell. “Our traditional prints include a mix of reds, greens and tartans.” To make your printed wraps go further, wrap a gift in tissue paper then cut a strip of traditional paper to go around the whole gift and secure with sticky tape. Tie as normal with ribbon of your choice.
“One of our most popular items is our wire-edged ribbon, which allows you to create beautiful bows easily, and is great value in 45m rolls,” says Mitchell. Use classic style adornments, such as small baubles or mini Christmas themed cookie cutters, to finish.
What you need
Paper: wrapping and tissue paper in traditional Christmas prints and colours.
Ribbon: choose a contrasting colour to your wrapping and tissue paper.
Extras: baubles, candy canes, faux Christmas holly.
Get crafty
Want to add a personal touch to your beautifully wrapped gifts? Try cutting out fun details from wrapping paper, sticking them onto plainer paper and adding glittery red, green or gold festive ribbon. In keeping with the crafty theme, greenery, such as leaves or sprigs of rosemary, or festive Christmas ornaments look great when added to gifts. Then, use mini wooden pegs to attach gift tags to the ribbon.
Kids itching to help? Get them to add colour by drawing on pictures with gel ink pens, or making origami stars with wrapping paper offcuts.
What you need
Paper: plain and patterned wrapping paper and tissue paper.
Ribbon: festive ribbon of your choice.
Extras: scissors, gel ink pens, crafty masking tapes, Christmas decorations, rosemary sprigs, pine cones, stamps of letters or Christmas shapes, such as snowflakes and pine trees.
Wrapping hacks
Use these nifty tips and tricks for picture perfect presents.
Side rules
For easy to wrap presents, such as books and items packaged in boxes, line up your paper so it comes halfway up the side of the two short ends. If you’re wrapping triangular shaped presents, make sure the paper comes up to the top of the triangle ends so when you finish wrapping, the whole triangle is covered.
Stick it
Make sure you’re using the right tape for your needs—there are lots of different types! Pros use double-sided tape so it doesn’t show on the paper. You could go invisible with magic tape, which can be written on in pen or pencil, or use gift wrap tape, which has a satin finish. If you want to pull out all the stops, get creative with a decorative tape or crafty masking tape.
In the bag or boxed
For awkward shaped presents that are tricky to wrap, hide them in scrunched-up tissue paper inside a gift bag or put the gift into recycled cardboard boxes or gift boxes in shapes that you can then easily wrap.
Wrap as you go
Instead of wrapping all presents at once, each time you come home with a gift, wrap it straight away. You can add finishing touches later, if you like—just stick Post-It notes to each gift so you know who they belong to.
