Wrapping Presents.. Good? Bad?

Quicken Jasmine

Hello Everyone and welcome to the wonderful month of December!! 🎄☃️🎁🎁

I am curious to learn how your gift-wrapping skills fair in these holiday months! Are you making beautifully wrapped presents? Are you still attempting because "it's the thought that counts and they are just gonna rip it up anyways"? Or have you given up altogether and opted for gift bags?

Personally, I am the second reason. I do try and I feel like my skill increases slightly each year, but not by much LOL. I am proud of myself and that's what matters. Who needs to wrap a present so beautifully and perfectly anyways?!?!?!

I can't wait to hear from you all! 🤗

Jim_Harman

I like to shop for gifts at small local stores that offer to professionally gift wrap presents. They always look much nicer than anything I could do myself.

My wife and I had thrifty Depression-era parents. We still unwrap presents carefully, so that the wrapping paper can be saved and re-used.

NotACPA

My wedding anniversary, to current wife, is a week before Xmas … and like many women what she want's for both occasions is jewelry.

I have to admit that I'm not the most expert at selecting such, but we've figured out how to handle that.

We'll go to the store sometime this month and she'll pick out 6-10 pieces that she likes … and then she walks away. I'll decide which to buy and have the store wrap the selected pieces in 2 packages (1 for each occasion).

Sometimes I remember what's in each package, but she never knows until she opens them, on the appropriate date … but she knows in advance that it's something she'll like since she actually picked it out!

Quicken Anja

I wrap mine all the same. Just make the paper fit the box and cut off the excess (and my biggest issue is probably that I have a lot of excess 😬).

If something isn’t shaped like a square or rectangle, it’s going in a gift bag with tissue paper lol. I used to put more effort into gift wrapping. Then I got married and started a family so a husband and 3 kids later, quick and easy does it. 😅

splasher

I wrap mine and I do very precise corners and ends (it is the engineer in me), BUT it is strictly slap a bow from the bag and no ribbons to finish it off. In fact, the packages that we mail are wrapped, but the bows are in a bag with a "some assembly required" note.

Jon

I use a mix of gift bags & wrapping. No mad skills at wrapping, and I don't generally mess with ribbons either. Since I always travel for Christmas I put the bows on after arriving at my destination, otherwise they tend to fall off.

BK

I think there is one "engineer in me" precision skill that didn't transfer and that is in wrapping as I am very impatient and believe that it is not an efficient use of time - or perhaps that is the "engineer in me" after all. So I do it as quickly as possible, no ribbons, and if it's within my arm's reach I'll slap a bow on it and call it done. I use the bags as well an still have no idea how most people are able to make those tissue papers so pretty.

skeleton567

"I think there is one "engineer in me" precision skill that didn't transfer…"

BK, I'm with you. I'm 81 years old and a 42-year IT techie, but pretty much gave up on the wrapping. We have 'graduated' to sending those fancy food treat gift boxes or nice restaurant gift cards to four sons, and sending Amazon gift cards to six grandchildren so they can choose their own gifts, along with using their 529 college funds for educational expenses.

My wife is a habitual shopper, so she usually gets a gift card to her favorite local women's clothing store and a nice top-end dinner out for just the two of us, then maybe other dinners if any of the family come in from their out-of-state homes for a visit. They are currently in Florida, Virginia, and Colorado besides one here across the street. All of our siblings are also out-of-state.

nomadintrovert

Christmas for me involves a plane ticket and the majority of the opening happens in one household, so I usually end up bringing an empty suitcase to fit what I can in a checked bag. If it's a larger item (I.E. an office chair or desk), whoever agreed to buy it, prints a picture of it, and it's understood that it'll arrive at some point after I've returned home.

This year, we're doing presents on Christmas Eve over FaceTime (parents are flying to me this year), where we'll open the many boxes that have come through UPS in the last two months.

Present-wrapping: I'm hardwired to bring my A-game while balancing it with the fact that any paper will end up in the trash when we're done; as long as it's not obvious what the present is, we're good.

Quicken Kristina

Since my family likes to save/re-use wrapping paper, I try to wrap things neatly and without going overboard on using tape. If the item is too awkward to wrap neatly, then I generally just use a gift bag

Palace

I'm with @Quicken Jasmine. Who cares about the wrappings on a Christmas present, rip that off asap and get to the 'hopefully good stuff' on the inside 😀 Especially as a kid, I knew a few in my neighborhood who got cloths, shoes, socks (fortunately though no PINK BUNNY PJ's) etc. for Christmas; & boy, were they UPSET! Like, WHERE are the toys, bicycles, or hopefully even the RED RYDER BB GUN (or in my case a DAISY, PUMP TYPE BB gun) 😃🤣

Quicken Jasmine

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20465765#Comment_20465765

HAHA! I like your style! Great reference to one of my favorite holiday movies too 😉😂