Gift wrapping is a millenary art with an infinite number of possibilities to surprise the recipient even more.
It is an art that was already practiced in Asia thousands of years ago. An example of them is the furoshiki, a square cloth that can have endless patterns that has been used in Japan for more than 1,200 years to wrap not only gifts, but also belongings.
Two packages wrapped using the furoshiki. Image by Toast
When it comes to receiving gifts, the Japanese give much importance to the number of folds, due to the fact that if it is an odd number it means luck, but an even number is linked to gifts for funerals.
Detail of a pleated wrap. Image by Jane Means Blog
Very close to the Japanese country, in China, from the second century BC the emperor paid the salary to politicians with bags made of bamboo and rice straw. In this country, wearing a red wrapper is synonymous with good luck.
It wasn’t until 1910 that Christmas gift wrapping became popular through the company Hallmark Cards. Since its creators began using silk paper to wrap Christmas gifts. In 1917 c they created another type of thicker and patterned paper, having a great success and quickly spread around the world.
This year, due to restrictions, we will be forced to send gifts instead of delivering them “in situ” to our loved ones. So, we give you a series of ideas and tips to not only surprise with the gift, but also with its presentation.
To protect the gift, we will need to buy packing boxesthat we can customize by creating collage of papers, messages, photographs or painting them in the color you like.
Example of decoration by hand. Image by: Naomi Loves
If the gift is smaller than the box, we can use a paper shipping shavings which in this case are 100% ecological and you can choose from more than 20 different colors.
Box with products protected by paper shavings filling. Image by: Foxblossom
5 original gift wrapping ideas.
Here are some creative gift wrapping ideas to make what’s on the outside as appealing as what’s inside.
1-Natural wrappings with simple materials such as recycled brown paper you can include decorative elements with natural motifs such as feathers, flowers, leaves or branches of plants.
Gift idea decorated with branches. Image by A piece of rainbow
2- Wrapping with paper flowers for those who love crafts and if you do not have much material at hand, you can take pencil, scissors and glue and get down to work. A very decorative motif are the flowers, you can take ideas from the internet or draw as you like and then cut and paste.
Image of a decoration made with paper flowers. Image by Giochi di Carta
3- Paint funny expressions, this way you will surely be original in your wrapping. Add a funny face to your wrapping, either by painting it or making cutouts from magazines.
Different examples of boxes with funny expressions. Image by: Oeuf le Blog.
4- Gifts with details “made in origami”, you can take the opportunity to assemble yourself the decorations you want to add and give them a 3D touch. For that the Japanese art of origami is ideal.
Gifts decorated with different types of origami. Image by Papelismo.
5-Details for playing and eating .
For children it is always a good idea to include some sweet, but there is also the option to go further and put balloonsto give it a festive touch. You can even add some toys..
Gifts with details. Image by Kotipalapeli and Lines Across.
To embellish the wrappings, you can use ribbons or cords, there are of different thicknesses, materials and colors. It is necessary to make sure that they combine with the chosen paper.
It is also very important how to put the name of the recipient, we can use a card or write it by hand in a nice way using the lettering,
We hope these ideas have been helpful and that you can surprise your family members in this way.
