Become a Wrap Star

Publication Date: Saturday, December 01, 2007

How to wrap perfect presents

As traditions go, gift giving has to be the best, but going that little extra and wrapping a present well could be the icing on the cake for the recipient.

The Japanese, for example, traditionally view wrapping a gift as ‘wrapping the heart’, and apply extravagance to the practice, with the unwrapping similarly steeped in ceremony and ritual.

So practice the following and you’ll soon become a bona fide wrap star – after all, with a tantalisingly well-wrapped gift, the pleasure begins even before it’s revealed.

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Presents in boxes are easier to wrap. Not finding a box for footballs, rugby balls, bottles of booze etc. will simply ruin the surprise
Tool-up with some paper, blunt scissors, and sticky tape, then find a flat, clean surface (no, a beanbag won’t do!). You may also want additional items such as bows, ribbon, tags or glitter
Remove the price tag from the gift – a particularly important tip for tightwads, after all, it’s better to be thought of as one than known as one
Place the box on enough wrapping paper to cover the gift plus a 5cm overlap in all directions then cut the paper to size
Place the box top down in the dead centre of the unprinted side (duh!)
Fold one side of the paper up and over so that it covers just over half the width of the top of the box. Secure with tape
Do the same with the opposite side of the paper so that it just overlaps your first fold. Secure with tape. You now have a rectangular, open-ended tube
Flip the semi-wrapped box over
Next, close the ends. Face an open end towards you and fold the right and left corners of the top overhang inwards to form a 45-degree angle fold. Tuck the whole overhang downwards with a sharp crease and secure to the box with tape
Do the same for the bottom overhang, being careful to tuck the sides in smoothly, and then repeat for the opposite side of the box
Neatly tape all folds to the box and along the seam of the wrapping paper
Next, take some ribbon and wrap it around the box lengthwise. Twist the ribbon where they cross over and wrap it around the box width-wise. Where the ends of the ribbon meet, tie a pretty bow (directions on how to tie a pretty bow will appear in a future edition)
Tie a card or gift tag to the ribbon on the topside of the box and don’t forget to write a nice message. If you’re in a creative mood, why not write the recipients name in non-toxic glue, sprinkle with glitter and shake off the surplus