Getting a gift is exciting, but getting a nicely wrapped one is even better. The way you wrap a present says a lot about the thought that has gone into it. An attractively embellished box or package says that you have taken the time to make it special for someone. But this seemingly simple process can turn into a headache even for the most thoughtful of gift-givers, simply because sometimes people just run out of ideas. So, if you have a wrapping problem or you are just looking for some fresh and creative ideas on how to dress up that perfect gift, read on.
Christmas Gift Wrapping Ideas
Mess-Free “Gingerbread” House
Christmas is the biggest gift-buying time of the year, which involves a lot of gift wrapping. This means that this is the perfect time to show off your creativity and artistic side.
We will start with Brittany’s idea for these fantastic gingerbread house gift boxes. They are made from simple cardboard boxes, decorated with white painter’s marker. The white marker really stands out against the neutral tone of the box, making it look just like the real thing. You can use bigger boxes for larger presents and smaller ones for something like homemade cookies, tea, meringues or truffles. These adorable packages will definitely upgrade a handmade present to a polished gift. For a tutorial, head to The House that Lars Built.
Rustic Meets Artistic
The next gift wrapping idea is simply brilliant and it will make your presents look like they came straight out of a magazine. As you can see, it is hard to go wrong with brown craft paper and artsy winter scene images! For a tutorial on how to create these rustic-artistic gift wraps, visit Design Sponge. The website also tells you where to download the beautiful images from.
Tiny Paper Bag Cottage
With a little imagination and some decorative paper and glue in hand, you can turn an ordinary paper bag into a masterpiece. Take a look at this cute paper bag cottage from Unify Handmade! It is a super easy craft and it is perfect for handing out treats or small gifts to neighborhood kids, teachers or Christmas Carolers. This creative idea can also be adapted for making little "haunted" house treat bags for Halloween.
Faux Fireplace
Nothing says Christmas like stockings hanging on the mantle over the fire place. But if you don’t have a fireplace, don’t worry! You can transform a gift box into one. This idea comes from eHow, Brazil and will definitely bring some coziness to your living room. The bricks were cut from red contact paper and then stuck to the box, which was wrapped in advance with white paper. For this project, especially if you have to wrap a large box, it is better to use a sheet of brick-patterned paper. This will save you a lot of time and work.
Repurpose an Old Sweater
If you have a bunch of old sweaters in your closet that are good candidates for some “upcycling”, you may like the gift wrapping tutorial from Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart. All you need to do is literally cut off their sleeves, make couple of stiches, find a pretty ribbon and you re good to go this holiday season. In case you don’t have old sweaters laying around, just head over to your local thrift store.
Gift Wrapping Ideas for Baby Showers
Clothesline Garland
Those looking for a special way to wrap a baby shower gift should consider this idea from Anastasia Marie. It is a charming clothesline garland decoration, inspired by the homemade clotheslines that are often given as gifts at baby showers. And if you substitute the baby clothes cutouts for cartoon characters, cars, dolls or animals, you will have a nice gift topper for kids, too.
Giraffe Silhouettes
Here is another example of how to spice up a baby shower gift with an artful packaging. This one is perfect for when you are giving boring items off the registry, like diapers and onesies. There is no tutorial for this project, but it is pretty much self-explanatory. Just cut giraffe silhouettes from cardstock, decorate them with markers and glue them to the gift box.
Gift Wrapping Ideas for Kids
Toy Topper
As many parents know, small kids find a gift box or a wrapping paper way more exciting to play with than the actual gift itself. For this reason, it makes sense to make the outside of their presents fun and entertaining. One example is this interesting packaging from Lines Across. In order to make it, you need to glue a strip of black paper across the lid of the box, draw small lines down the center of the strip to make it look like a road, and then glue a car toy to the “road”. Boys will love this!
Woodland Critters
When a gift comes covered in a cute animal wrap like one of those found at La Aventura de los Buhos, kids will probably not tear out that wrapping paper as fast as they normally do. Making the critters gift wraps involves just some craft punches and a ribbon for additional embellishment.
Coloring Book Pages
Another clever idea for kids is to wrap their gifts in coloring book pages, so they can have some additional fun before opening them. You can get a cheap coloring book from the dollar store for this project or just print out some pages from the internet. In case you are wrapping gifts for their cousins or friends, you can ask your kids to color the gift wraps beforehand in order to customize them.
Gift Wrapping Ideas for Father’s Day
Raid Your Photo Stash
What more can make a dad happy on Father’s Day than a gift that has been specially created just for him? This means that you need to put some thought into the wrapping process, too. For a very personal touch, use large photo prints as wrapping paper. You can print vacation family photos, pictures of your favorite places, childhood photos or images of significant memories and events. Annie from Most Lovely Things has figured out that “engineering prints” from Staples make the best and the cheapest photo paper for wrapping gifts. Plus, the black and white pictures look fantastic in combination with bright, colorful ribbons.
Make It Masculine
You can also give this original shirt-style gift wrap a try (watch the video for the how-to). Customize your dad’s or husband’s Father’s Day present with wrapping paper that resembles his favorite shirt’s pattern. It can be a bit challenging to find masculine-looking paper in stores, but cool plaid, check, Gingham and argyle patterns are available online.
Ribbon Neckties
If you feel like your gift-wrapping skills are a hot mess, you may like this necktie Father’s Day wrap. All it takes to create the look is find a striped ribbon in classic shades of blue, red and green and wrap it around the package like a necktie. That’s it!
Wrap It in Denim
The last idea for making a Father’s Day gift package stands out from the crowd comes from Tikkido and it uses a denim-like paper. The cool jean pocket is made from the same paper and its purpose is to hold a gift tag or a small handmade card.
Gift Wrapping Ideas for Mother's Day
Flowering Gift Boxes
Flowers and Mother's Day go hand-in-hand, but if your budget is a little strained, you may want to save on the real flowers. As a substitute, simply embellish her gift with few handmade paper calla lilies. The tutorial for this beautiful and colorful gift wrap can be found at Oh Happy Day.
Unreal Flower Toppers
Tissue paper flowers are another great option for dressing up a Mother’s Day gift. Tissue paper is cheap, very easy to work with and creates pretty realistic-looking blooms. These kind of toppers are guaranteed to make a big impression. The step-by-step tutorial at One Little Project at a Time shows you how it is done.
Post-It Flowers
Continuing the floral theme – here is a simple Mother’s Day gift wrap from Vixy Blu. It is fresh, bright and colorful, and all it takes to create it is a sharpie, Post-It notes and a brown paper bag. This one could come in handy for those last-minute presents that need wrapping in a hurry.
Gift Wrapping Ideas for Birthdays
Pleaded Elegance
The simplest way to give a gift box a luxurious touch is by pleating the wrapping paper. For a step-by-step guide, visit Cut Out and Keep.
The Emoji Bunch
Right now, Emoji are one of the most popular ways to express emotions without words. People use them constantly in text messages and social media posts, so why not use them for gift wrapping, too? These bright and fun Emoji packages from Studio DIY would be perfect for teens, kids and even some adults.
Ideas for Wrapping Bottles as Gifts
Push the Limits of Paper
While a bottle of wine is an easy gift to give, it is often difficult to wrap, especially if you want something unique and interesting. Instead of having the liquor store attendants throw it in an unexciting gift bag, or instead of wrapping it in an old sweater sleeve, try this cool idea from Kate's Creative Space. The eye-catching embellishment is just a sheet of white paper.
Pineapple with a Twist
A box of chocolates and a bottle of sparkling wine is a common gift given at many occasions. So, why not combine both and turn them into an impressive-looking gift? The fun pineapple look is achieved by gluing the chocolates to the bottle and disguising the bottle’s neck with paper leaves. Check out DIY Enthusiasts to see how it’s done.
Ideas for Wrapping Sweet Treats
Retro Oven Box
A batch of fresh-baked cookies is always a welcome gift, especially when it comes from an enthusiastic baker. What could make this gift even better is some unique packaging. So, for your next holiday get-together, slide a batch of cookies into a plain brown box and decorate it to look like an old-fashioned stove. It is almost impossible to look at it and not crave the treats inside.
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