Last Minute Gift Wrappin'



We’re a dime a dozen -- last-minute Christmas gift wrappers. I admit that I’m guilty sometimes. But I come by it honestly, my momma is a last minute Christmas gift wrapper, too. I think it’s genetic. Growing up, she would do all her shopping a few days before Christmas, and then she would make me help her wrap all the gifts on Christmas Eve. I secretly loved it. To this day, I still love wrapping gifts. The only thing that has changed since then is that I now try to plan ahead so all my gifts are personalized and coordinated. Unfortunately, I feel especially behind this year. Maybe it’s because I haven’t felt too Christmasy in Tennessee’s not-so-Christmassy, 70-degree weather. Because of this unseasonal mood killer, I found myself sitting in the living room, two days before Christmas, brainstorming ways to create pretty wrapping to make my gifts look extra special. So after a little self pep talk, a quick trip to the store and a few hours of cutting and taping, I am feeling super giddy about how cute my gifts turned out, and I thought I’d share with you!

First, I gathered the essentials from two of my favorite places—the dollar section at Target and The Dollar Tree. (I’m on a budget, y’all.) I knew I wanted all my wrapping to look “home-made” and similar in theme, but I also wanted each gift to have its own unique twist, so I decided to purchase kraft, black, and white paper. I also purchased gold, white and black pens with a large variety of ribbons.



With my first design, I started with the kraft paper and drew black pine needle branches all over. I added thin twine and an actual pine needle branch that I saved from when we trimmed our Christmas tree.





With this particular design, you could stop there to save time OR you could add a little gingham print ribbon to fancy it up. This particular gift is being shipped to LA, so fancy, it is!


Using the black wrapping paper, I wrote “joy” (one of my favorite words and one that embodies this sweet and holy season) with my gold pen. Using gold or white on the black wrapping paper looks stunning, by the way. This gift is for a fabulously sassy 15-year-old so I added a fun red, yarn pom-pom. These are extremely easy and inexpensive to make and is a great substitute for your standard bow. I used this tutorial to learn how to make them.




Isn’t it crazy how using corresponding colors and patterns can quickly make your Christmas gifts feel special and well thought out instead of just “thrown-together”?





Of course each gift doesn’t have to be wrapped differently, but something that may spark some extra creativity is tailoring the wrapping design to include the recipient's favorite color, hobby or personal style. Keep in mind that gift wrapping is something you can have fun and be creative with – there really are no rules! Each gift has the potential to be a work of art, a personalized creation that can make your loved ones smile before they even see what’s inside!

Happy Wrapping!



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Maira Gall