Christmas wrapping – making presents extra-special

I know it’s easy just to tape a piece of cheesy christmas wrapping paper around a prezzie, stick a foil bow on the top and hand it over to the lucky recipient but I like to add a little more excitement to my Christmas present wrapping. I spend ages choosing the perfect wrapping paper – in the past I’ve used single colour paper, non-festive prints and even brown parcel paper!

I like to add interest with exciting bows and by adding little trinkets onto the parcel, such as pinecones, bells or a piece of mistletoe. In the past I’ve written the recipient’s name on a bauble with a metallic marker-pen as a name-tag and tied the bauble on with thin shiny ribbon. You can stamp your own gift tags, and even decorate plain paper with festive images hand-stamped all over the parcel.

I also like to use luxurious thick satin or delicate organza ribbon to add a touch of glamour to presents. It’s also a great idea to layer up thinner ribbon or string on top of thick ribbon, or even add two thin rows of ribbon side by side. Always be generous with your ribbon, because a nice big bow looks über-glamourous.

My top tips for Christmas wrapping are:

1. Choose a nice thick wrapping paper – there’s nothing worse than a thin paper that splits on the corners of presents!
2. Always add a ribbon or bow to your present to make it extra-special
3. Use sticky-tape circles for a professional finish that is super-easy to open on Christmas day
4. Don’t forget the name tag, but it can be a luggage tag, parcel stickers, recycled christmas cards or even a bauble!

Today is the day that I’m getting all my wrapping done and this year I’ve chosen a brown-paper wrap printed with a gingerbread pattern. To match this rustic paper I’ve used household string to decorate and have tied an edible candy cane into the bow as an extra treat! I’ve really enjoyed the wrapping process, and although it may take a little longer, I think that the end result is well worth the extra effort. Please let me know your top tips for wrapping presents and share your photos of your glamourous gifts!