Christmas Countdown: Wrap Happily

Day 2: Wrap Happily

I admit that there are times I'm the "throw it in a gift bag and stuff tissue paper on top of it" kind of a wrapper.  However, I was reading in a Rachel Ashwell book (she founded the Shabby Chic line and wrote a whole book about Shabby Chic gifts) that her belief is that the wrapping is as important as the present.  I believe this to be true.  I am one of those openers that takes a long time as I savor the fact that I am getting a present.  No ripping the paper.  Just taking my time to enjoy the experience.  There are hours of VHS footage of me on my third birthday opening my presents, not because I had received tons of gifts, but because I opened each gift as though it was my only one.  Some things are not outgrown, and needless to say, I am the only one who enjoys watching that video.

I have determined to do better at wrapping.  I am not the kind of person who will have all matching presents under the tree (although I admire the photos of those trees).  Instead, my goal is to make sure I have enough time before a present is needed to give it the attention it deserves.  Rachel Ashwell looks for vintage linens to use to wrap the gift and ribbons and silk flowers that can be perked back up with a little steam to adorn the packages.  I haven't gotten there yet, but I do keep my eye out at Thrift Stores for fun baskets to wrap gifts in that the person receiving the gift will be able to re-purpose.  After being re-inspired to make the wrapping as much a part of the present as the gift, I went through and reorganized our wrapping closet.  I know that if I have to take the time to dig through ribbons as they are overflowing the box, or if things are falling on my head to get a shirt box out, I will go with what's easy--hand me the gift bag!  So I took about an hour and went through what we have.  Here's how it turned out:

No longer do bows spill out of an overstuffed box or out the side of a ripping bag.  The ribbon is in sandwich baggies sorted by color.  (Yes, the rumor that I was going to organize them by colors of the rainbow is true, but I knew no one else using the wrappings would put them back so I nixed that idea.)  One drawer holds scissors, tape, pens and tags.  Those little boxes that just don't stack nicely went into an empty dresser drawer right next to the half of the closet that stores the wrapping.  Christmas themed bags, boxes and tissue paper are in the box on the shelf to be taken down now that it is the Christmas present wrapping season.  My goal for the closet rod part is to have a hanging system for my spools of ribbon (They are in the little house right now where they are never used because I won't go over there to get them to wrap a present.  It has to be easy remember?!). 

The countdown says to "avoid wrapping packages on the floor, which strains the neck and lower back.  Stand on a mat in front of a countertop and wear comfortable shoes."  It's obvious to me that people who wrap presents this way don't have spies in the house.  You know, those people who are going to be receiving the presents and do everything within their power to "happen" to find out what they are getting.  I live with many of them.  Countertops are out.  My next great idea was the desk in the guest room (where the wrapping closet is).  It would be perfect.  And it's easy because it's in the same room.  You know what happened right?  It's where I'm sitting and typing right now.  I was going to take a picture of what the desktop looks like to include in this post, but I forgot.  No, I really did forget.  Suffice to say that I could wrap a box of jewelry and that's only because the desk has a pull-out for a keyboard and I have a laptop.  So, unless I clean off this desk within the next few days, I will be wrapping on the floor--and I'll be barefoot.