Are you or the person you are gifting environmentally conscious? Are you gift wrapping on a budget? Do you want to surprise the person by using gift wrapping as a disguise? Does your gift wrapping budget have no boundaries or are you simply looking for something simple, yet attractive that won’t break the bank?

Often gift wrapping can cost more than the gift itself. That is before you have even bought a card to go along with the gift for that special person. Below are some tips that will help you decide how to wrap the perfect gift. Of course, if you used No Bad Surprises, no matter how you wrap the gift, it will be perfect!

Environmentally/budget friendly

We all played ‘pass the parcel’ at school or at some or other festive occasion. Passing the parcel and hoping for the music to stop when the parcel was in your hand was exhilarating. What was more exciting was when the music stopped and the parcel was on your lap, and there was only one more layer to unwrap! It did not matter that the parcel was wrapped in newspaper. If that doesn’t convince you that newspaper is an acceptable means of wrapping, then try something slightly classier such as brown paper, scrap paper, old rags/material or even some forms of clean, flexible plastic which can be repurposed. A decorative shopping bag could work perfectly to wrap a gift for that special person. Using left over jars from jam, coffee or wine are also alternatives to consider. Scrap material can be used in conjunction with newspaper for example, to make a ribbon with a bow, which shows thought, dedication to wrapping, and at the same time, saving you money while helping to save the planet.

Image by monicore from Pixabay

Gift wrapping by disguise

This is particularly important during Christmas time when gifts are left under the tree. Did you, as a kid, wake up every morning, run to the tree and shake the presents with your name on it? It was obvious that you were receiving a puzzle or a book! This is a parent’s worst fear as it takes away that excitement leading up to the special occasion and may mean that another present needs to be bought to compensate for the one that has been discovered. Even hiding presents away doesn’t always work. Children (and some adults) like to find them high up in the cupboard and shake them to figure out what they are. How does one get around this? Well, it’s quite simple in fact! If the gift is round, place it snugly into a square box/carton and wrap the carton. Is the gift a square (puzzle, book)? If so, then place it in a round container and wrap it, or use affordable means such as toilet rolls, boxes etc. to reshape the gift, so that when it is wrapped, it cannot be determined by its appearance nor by shaking it. A square/rectangular box is always a winner as it could be almost anything if none of the parts protrude anywhere.

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay

Simple, attractive gift wrapping

This is the easiest form of gift wrapping. Be careful to find a suitable gift wrap for the person as well as for the occasion. Nothing says ‘you didn’t try very hard’ like wrapping a birthday present in left over Christmas gift wrapping paper, or wrapping an adult’s gift in a baby’s wrapping paper. Most supermarkets have a wide range of gift wrapping for all occasions and if you cannot find one for the specific occasion, use a neutral colour such as silver, gold, blue, red, or green. These colours symbolize celebration and have no bearing on gender and to a lesser extent on the actual occasion. Plain gift wrapping is often cheaper as well! If you do not have time to wrap the gift or your gift wrapping skills are lacking, consider a gift bag. Go the extra mile and get some tissue paper to spruce it up a little. As before, ensure the gift bag is appropriate for the occasion or person, otherwise go plain!

Image by Anna Larin from Pixabay

The ultimate gift wrap

Ribbons, bows, glitter, metallic, tags and accessories. These are all the words that describe the perfect gift wrapping experience! These items can be found from your nearest scrap booking shop, stationery shop or even your local supermarket might stock some of these items. You may even be able to use some materials lying around at home. The perfect gift for that perfect someone needs to be wrapped perfectly! Don’t be shy! Less is not more when it comes to gift wrapping. In fact, you can combine different materials. Wrap the gift in paper, add a beautiful ribbon made from material, and top it off with a gift tag or accessories such as beads or a pinecone. Keep it simple but classy by sticking to premium paper only with a beautiful ribbon curled perfectly with an elegant bowtie. Try some wicker rope, a small gift on the outside of the actual gift or even go as far as lighting the gift up from the outside using small lights. There are no boundaries for wrapping the ultimate gift. A gift that is beautifully wrapped shows care and creates the perfect impression that a lot of time and thought has gone into the gift.

Image by Frauke Riether from Pixabay

These are just some of the ways you can manage to gift wrap the perfect gift. All of these have brought about smiles to those special people in our lives and we have no doubt that they will do the same for you. Some of these ideas may even bring about a bigger smile than you were expecting! Here’s to perfect gifts and gift wrapping with No Bad Surprises!