Gift wrapping ideas: Creative ways to wrap Christmas gifts
Once you’ve found the perfect gift, the only thing left to do is choose the right kind of wrapping. Gift wrapping can be an art form. Make your gifts truly eye-catching with these ideas and instructions on how to creatively wrap and decorate various gifts. We also explain how to wrap oddly shaped gifts and how to make your own gift bag.
Wrapping gifts: How to wrap a bottle
A good bottle of wine or a homemade bottle of herbal oil are popular gifts. However, they can be tricky to wrap nicely. Here are instructions and a few ideas on how to wrap bottles with wrapping paper.
Instruction: How to wrap a bottle with wrapping paper
Cut a piece of wrapping paper that is large enough to wrap around your bottle once, with an extra few centimetres at the top and bottom.
Place the wrapping paper face down, lining up the bottle with the right-hand edge. The paper should extend about two centimetres beyond the bottom of the bottle. Glue the side of the wrapping paper to the bottle, then roll it to the left until the bottle is completely covered. Tape the loose end to the bottle.
Bend the paper at the bottom of the bottle and secure it with tape.
Neatly bundle the paper above the bottle lid and secure it with a ribbon.
Besides this basic method of wrapping bottles, there are many variations that you can use for your gift. For example, you could simply wrap paper around the middle of the bottle or tie a bow and gift tag around its neck. Another idea is to design your own label for the bottle and write nice Merry Christmas wishes or a personal message on it.
For Christmas, it’s also a great idea to decorate the bottle to look like a Christmas elf. Simply cut out a pointy hat from felt or paper and glue it to the neck of the bottle. Then, pluck a long white beard from cotton wool and stick on a cute pompom nose. And there you have it – a bottle wrapped as a cute Christmas present!
Tip: As an alternative, you could make a large gift bag for your bottle. Instructions for making your own gift bags can be found in the next section.
Gift wrapping ideas for oddly shaped gifts: How to make a gift bag
Cuddly toys or figures are difficult to wrap. Using cellophane is a good way to get over this hurdle. If you bundle the cellophane together in an appealing way and put a nice ribbon on it, your present will have an elegant touch to it.
Another idea is to put oddly shaped gifts in boxes or bags. Simply add a bow and a gift tag to make your gift more personal. If you don’t have a gift bag, don’t worry – you can easily make one yourself!
Instruction: How to make a gift bag
1. Take a large piece of paper and lay it out in front of you. Place it facing the table in a landscape format.
2. Fold both ends towards the middle so that they overlap slightly, then secure them with tape.
3. Fold the bottom third of your bag upwards.
4. Place your index fingers on the top two corners of the folded section. Press the corners inwards towards the centre, then fold it upwards in thirds. This will create a square with the lower tip pointing towards you.
5. Now, fold the lower tip of the square up to the middle and tape it. Next, fold the upper tip to the middle and secure it with tape.
6. Reach into your gift bag and carefully unfold it.
7. Once you have filled the gift bag, fold the top over twice and use a hole punch to make two holes through which you can thread a ribbon.
Video tutorial: How to wrap clothes and round gifts
Our video tutorial shows you how to wrap clothes and round gifts. You will also find instructions on how to use as little wrapping paper as possible. Take a look:
Gift wrapping: Ideas for decorating gifts
There are a many design options you can use to add the finishing touches to your gifts and make them truly eye-catching. If you’re looking for creative ways to wrap your presents, here are a few simple ideas to try out.
Wrapping and decorating gifts: Decorating with natural materials
Natural materials look beautiful on neutral-coloured wrapping paper. Whether you use colourful leaves, fir branches, dried flowers or even kitchen herbs – your gift will look pretty and have a personal and natural touch. When you go on walks, keep your eyes open for materials that you can use to decorate your presents.
Decorate gifts with design paper and lettering
If you want to decorate your gifts even more, single-coloured wrapping paper is the perfect canvas. Our easy-to-use, practical cut-out sheet that will make your gift wrapping look more festive. The cut-out sheet contains templates that you can print on coloured or transparent paper. Create your own design paper yourself in no time.
Use the cut-out shapes to decorate your gifts or create small gift tags using the lettering design. Have fun and let your imagination run wild!
Creative gift wrapping idea: create a pleated look for your gift
This cool ‘pleated look’ is very easy to make and looks great. You can decorate it with small ornaments or fir branches that are fitting for Christmas, or simply insert dried flowers into the little tabs. Either way, it’s sure to be a hit.
1. Use enough wrapping paper or kraft paper to cover your gift completely. When cutting the paper, allow for a generous overlap by making it at least two hand’s widths wider than the gift.
2. Place the paper face down and with the short side facing you.
3. Fold the bottom edge up by approximately two centimetres. Repeat this step as often as you like to create the pleats in the wrapping paper.
4. Turn the paper over and unfold the folds. This should create an ‘accordion pattern’ on the paper.
5. Place your fingers on the top fold and bend it down slightly. Smooth out the fold, then repeat the step for each one.
6. Once you have folded and smoothed everything out, turn the paper over and tape up your pattern.
7. Finally, you can now wrap your gift, decorate it and give it away.
Tip: If you want to fit something larger into the pleats, increase the size of the fold by about four to five centimetres.
Wrapping gifts: Alternatives to wrapping paper
As beautiful as wrapping paper and gift ribbons are, they usually end up in the bin after Christmas. They are therefore often purely disposable products. To save on wrapping paper at Christmas, there are various alternatives you can use. Here are a few ideas for wrapping gifts in an environmentally friendly way.
Creative gift wrapping ideas: Alternatives for traditional wrapping paper
Save used wrapping paper: If you receive a gift, take care not to damage the paper so that you can reuse it.
Recycle paper: Old catalogues, magazines, newspapers and calendars are perfect for wrapping gifts. For larger gifts, simply glue several pages together. This will give your presents a more modern style.
Don’t throw away packaging: Packets are often full of packing materials such as packing paper or tissue paper. These can be reused to wrap presents in an environmentally friendly way.
Use alternatives: Why does it always have to be paper? Boxes, bags, jars, scarves or fabric remnants are also great for wrapping gifts.
Avoid using tape: Often you don’t need the adhesive tape at all to keep wrapping paper in place. A nice piece of string or a reused ribbon is often enough to wrap a gift neatly and securely.
You can apply these environmentally conscious packaging tips to all our gift-wrapping ideas. In the sample photos, we used recycled wrapping paper and decorated the gifts in a fun way.
Gift wrapping with Furoshiki
Furoshiki is the Japanese art of wrapping presents in cloth. This trend is not only beautiful, but also a great way to wrap gifts in an environmentally conscious way. Furoshiki cloths are square and between 30 and 100 cm long, depending on the size of the gift. With the right knots, you can wrap a present in seconds. The idea is that the Furoshiki cloth is reused and gets passed on from person to person.
Furoshiki cloths are available in a variety of colours, patterns and shapes. However, you can also upcycle old clothes and turn them into gift wrap. Simply cut out a large square in the correct size and hem the edges. Then your Furoshiki cloth is ready!
If you want to start using Furoshiki to wrap gifts, you can find instructions for different shapes on the website of the Japanese Ministry of the Environment: http://www.env.go.jp/en/focus/attach/060403-5.html
By the way: Furoshiki is useful for more than just wrapping presents. You can also use these practical cloths for other things, such as shopping bags.
Conclusion: Creative gift wrapping ideas for Christmas
Creative gift wrapping is great fun and is sure to put a smile on the recipient's face. With the right technique, you can easily wrap gifts of any shape or size. Alternatively, you can simply make a gift bag. As you can see, there's always a way to make a gift look more beautiful!
