Show Them You Care: Personalized Gift-Wrapping Ideas

It’s that time of year again — when the weather gets colder and family and friends become a priority, and the feeling of togetherness with loved ones warms your heart.

Have you started making your shopping list for the year? For us, making sure we’ve checked off every name is a fun pursuit, even if it’s difficult. 

Shopping for your friends and family is a personal journey that is different for everyone. However, every gift must get wrapped.

That’s why we’ve put together a list of unique gift-wrapping ideas for the holiday season. 

Read on for a few ways to make sure your gift is a memorable one, even before it’s opened!

Add Some Evergreen

While wrapping paper may be the most noticeable thing about how you present your gift — and we’ll get to that — including a few natural elements that reflect the season is a great way to add some fresh flair to your present. According to Good Housekeeping, “kumquats, holly sprigs, and other seasonal decor attached with floral wire add a burst of color” to an otherwise plain wrapping.

Memorable & Sustainable 

A way to add a personalized touch to your gift is to wrap it in the traditional Japanese “furoshiki” style. A furoshiki wrapping technique uses only a single cloth or square piece of fabric and was created centuries ago in ancient Japanese culture. It is a convenient, economical, and eco-friendly way to wrap gifts.

Below is Wellness Mama’s 2 step instruction manual for furoshiki gift wrapping:

1. Use a yardstick to measure out a square or rectangular piece of fabric. A typical size for a furoshiki wrap is 36 inches by 36 inches, but these can be made larger or smaller depending on what will be wrapped. Larger premade fabric pieces, like tablecloths and bedsheets, will probably also need to be cut down to size.
2. For a no sew version, cut out the fabric with pinking shears. (Fabric must not be prone to fraying.) Otherwise, use scissors to cut out the measured fabric. Pin the edges like you would for a hem and sew.

Polka Dots

As far as patterns go, plaid is the go-to for holiday gifts. But it’s important to differ from the norm if you want your wrapping to stand out. 

Just use a different, but extremely recognizable, pattern. Polka dots!

A Used, But Nice, Button-Down Shirt

Repurposing old dress clothes can be a quirky, fun way to wrap your gifts. In fact, it serves as two gifts in one! Using a button-down shirt to wrap a small gift makes it ready-to-wear.

Check out Country Living’s tutorial on reusing patterned clothing for gift wrapping here.

Hand-Painted Wrapping Paper

This is the most personalized wrapping idea on our list. And all it takes is a few markers, or acrylic paint, and a brush. 

By painting minimal, simple patterns on several 24 inches x 36 inches or 18 inches x 24 inches poster boards, you will create plenty of wrapping paper for your gifts. 

Check out these instructions by Camille Styles to make beautiful, personalized wrapping paper for your loved ones:

SUPPLIES

• 1 hand painted poster board per book
• scissors
• ruler
• pencil
• hole punch
• ribbon

1. Lay the book flat on the back side of the poster. Fold the edge of the poster until it covers 2/3 of the book front from top-to bottom. Let the folded poster fall back down and do not move the book. Measure the space between the bottom of the book and the edge of the poster.
2. Measure and mark the same amount of space from the top edge of the book. Cut along the mark. There should now be the same amount of poster from the top and bottom edge of the book.
3. Fold the left edge of the poster until it covers 2/3 of the book from left-to-right. Repeat the rest of steps 1 and 2. Your book should now be in the center of a rectangle that’s perfectly sized to wrap around it.
4. Cut the corners out of your rectangle as pictured.
5. The edge of the folding flaps should line up with the edges of the book, as pictured.
6. Fold in the top and bottom flaps.
7. Fold in the left and right flaps, then mark and cut only the left and right flaps to form a triangular envelope shape with a flat point. Make sure that when you cut, these two flaps still overlap when folded.
8. Use a hole punch to poke two holes into the top flap.
9. Press the top flap down, and use a pencil to mark through the holes onto the second flap. Punch where holes were marked on the second flap. Repeat onto the third and bottom-most flap until all four flaps have holes punched in them that align.
10. Cut a long piece of ribbon and thread it through the bottom flap.
11. Fold the next flap down and thread the ribbon through again, as pictured.
12. Repeat with the two top flaps, then tie the ribbon into a pretty bow.

Fill Your New 1st Lake Apartment With Holiday Cheer!

Contact us today to learn more about our private gated apartment communities!

---