How To Wrap Your Holiday Gifts Like A Pro

You just brought home some amazing gifts you found at the mall. You picked up a few rolls of wrapping paper, gift tags, bows, ribbon and tape. The first gift you wrap makes it look like you don’t even have opposable thumbs. The second is only a little better — at least the tape is sticking. So how do you turn your giftwrapping abilities from problematic to pro? It’s really not as hard as you think, as long as you know what you’re doing, have the right tools, a little bit of creativity and a clean work space.

Firstly, make sure tyou’re using double-sided tape. It will not only make your wrapping job look nicer, but also lend you the correct amount of stick. If you’re wrapping clothing or an oddly shaped item, always use a box.

Before you cut your wrapping paper, measure it out. You don’t have to get out a ruler — just use the box itself to determine if you’ll have enough paper. You don’t want to end up with a gaping hole on one side, but you also don’t want to be stuck with wrapping paper several layers deep. Use sharp scissors to avoid crooked or jagged paper edges.

Fold the sides of the paper over first (as opposed to the ends) and tape (using the double-sided tape). If you did end up with jagged paper cuts, fold them over and crease the ends to form a nice, neat line. Then, fold down the tops of the ends against your box, tape, fold in the side corners, tape again, and then fold up the resulting bottom triangle.

While you can buy premade bows and ribbons at the store, you can also dress your gifts up yourself by incorporating tulle or satin ribbons. It’s as easy as tying one strand around the length of your gift, and one strand around the width and aligning the tied portions together in the middle. If you’re not comfortable with your bow-tying skills, you can easily tape the strands in the middle of the top of the box and cover the place where they meet with a giant premade ribbon for a simple yet classic look.