Wrapping Presents on Christmas Eve? Try These Fun and Easy Gift Wrapping Ideas

Soon you’ll be enjoying the festive fruits of your many labors this holiday season as you celebrate the big day with your friends and family.

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We’d like to take a moment to express our appreciation to everyone who spent December 2019 with us. We hope you found plenty of inspiration and helpful tips in our Perfect Holiday Season Blog Series.

We’re guessing you still have at least one task left to complete before Christmas morning. It’s time to break out the wrapping paper. 

Gift wrapping is something that a lot of us tend to leave until the last minute because, well, it’s hard! There may be some holiday wrapping geniuses out there who can beautifully wrap a package in no time, but the rest of us have enough trouble just getting our parcels covered in gift paper without attempting to make them look nice. 

Procrastination isn’t just a symptom of our gift wrapping fears; usually, it’s part of the problem. Without a plan, we can find ourselves on Christmas Eve covered in tape, surrounded by unwrapped gifts, and frantically typing “how to wrap a gift” into Google. 

Too much stress can often stifle creativity, reducing the capacity of our brains to function at any but the most basic levels needed for survival. It’s no wonder that making something beautiful out of the various leftover bits and pieces in our gift wrapping supplies seems impossible under these conditions.  

There’s no reason for you to have the same unpleasant gift wrapping experience year after year. In the fifth and final post of our Perfect Holiday Season Series, we want to offer you some parting tips to get you through the last task standing between you and relaxing with a holiday movie on Christmas Eve. With a little preparation, you can cut down the time and stress of this daunting endeavor and assemble some great-looking gifts that you’ll be proud to place under the tree. 

Here are some creative gift wrapping ideas that will make it easy to wrap all your presents in no time. Who knows? You may even enjoy yourself!

Purchase Gift Wrapping Supplies

It may sound like a no-brainer, but making sure you have everything you need to wrap your gifts is very important. We’ve all made the fatal mistake of heading to the store without making a list and returning home to find out there’s no tape in the craft drawer after all. In order to avoid a string of stressful last-minute shopping trips or, worse yet, attempting to make do with whatever you have on hand, you should plan ahead. Take an inventory of your craft supplies and write down everything you’ll need to make this year’s gift-wrapping session a success.

Set Up a Gift Wrapping Station

Another aspect of gift wrapping that often causes unwanted holiday stress is finding a place where you can complete this task in peace. It can be challenging to keep the house tidy during the holidays, which means that there will be fewer uncluttered surfaces that can be dedicated to gift wrapping. This is why it’s important to decide ahead of time where you’d like to set up shop.

That way, when you purchase your gift wrapping supplies, you can organize and store it all in one place. Having this designated gift wrapping station will make the process quick, easy, and much more pleasant.

Invest in a Wrapping Paper Cutter

It’s pretty tough to cut wrapping paper neatly. Making individual snips with a pair of scissors can result in jagged edges, but trying to glide your scissors across the paper always runs the risk of creating a huge tear. You can avoid both of these frustrating endeavors by ordering a Christmas Wrapping Paper Cutter from Amazon. This ingenious tool holds your wrapping paper in place while you effortlessly sever the portion you need in one smooth motion.

Use Gift Boxes

Have you ever tried to wrestle an oddly-shaped present into wrapping paper and, after an absurd amount of effort, ended up with a wrinkly, misshapen parcel that you’re embarrassed to put under the Christmas tree? Save yourself the time and irritation by purchasing gift boxes for unusually shaped presents. You can find inexpensive gift boxes almost anywhere you shop for gift wrapping supplies. These All Over Tree Print Gift Boxes from Target are as festive as they are useful.

Find Unique Wrapping Paper

You don’t always need ribbons, bows, and other decorations to make a gift look festive and inviting. Sometimes, the wrapping paper you choose says it all. Even if you’re not the best at wrapping presents, this Dinosaurs Silver Christmas Wrapping Paper from Paperchase is sure to get at least a giggle, if not a gasp of delight, from your family and friends this Christmas.

Bare Minimum 

Sometimes simplicity is key when it comes to wrapping presents. If you’ve purchased a gift that already comes in a gorgeous gift box, why cover it with wrapping paper? Every gift from Art Pix 3D is packaged in a satin-lined gift box that’s as durable as it is stylish. You can decorate it with a festive ribbon, or place it under the tree as-is.

The Perfect Match

Speaking of simplicity, if you want to give your gifts a polished, professional appearance this Christmas, try a monochromatic look. Purchase gift paper in one solid, attractive color, and find ribbons, bows, or other accents in an identical or similar shade. This uniform display is sure to make your gifts stand out under the Christmas tree.

Mix and Match

Another way to make sure that your gifts look great together when placed under the Christmas tree is to buy wrapping paper and bows in a few different complementary patterns and colors. A lot of wrapping paper sets are already designed to go together, so it shouldn’t be difficult to create a beautifully coordinated assortment of gifts to present on Christmas morning.

A Hint of Greenery

Nothing says Christmas like a little greenery, so why not incorporate some of nature’s holiday decor into your gift wrapping this year? Go outside and gather a few twigs, or take a pair of shears to a fir tree for some creative accents to make your Christmas presents extra festive. Fasten them to your gifts using tape, or tie them down with decorative twine as featured in this article from Country Living.

Christmas Gift Tags

Have you ever forgotten to buy gift tags and tried to fashion them out of paper at the last minute with disastrous results? While it’s not uncommon to treat gift tags as an afterthought, they’re one of the most crucial components of a well-wrapped Christmas gift. Gift tags identify the giver and recipient of each present under the tree. This year, make them the focal point of your gift wrapping with these unique Chalkboard Gift Tags from Amazon.

Go Tagless

If you don’t have the time to get decorative gift tags at this point, don’t worry. There’s a simple alternative that looks just as fun and creative. Just grab a Sharpie and write your “to”s and “from”s directly on the package! This gives you an opportunity to include a funny or heartfelt message with your gift, too. For an extra festive look, try using a silver Sharpie or a Sharpie paint pen.

Dress up Your Gift Bags

It may be easier to drop an item into a gift bag than it is to try and wrap it, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative with it. Give an elegant touch to your gift bags this year with decorative wrapping tissue. This stylish Cream & Black Scallop Gift Tissue from Target adds a subtle dash of charm to any gift.

Sparkly Accents

Red ribbons and bows may be a classic staple of holiday gift wrapping, but if you’re looking to try something a little different this year, why not replace this accessory with a modern alternative? Pom-poms are fun embellishments that are sure to catch the eye, especially when they’re as shiny as this Gold Tinsel Bow from Paper Source.

Odds and Ends

As long as you’re experimenting this year, you might as well see if there’s anything in your craft drawer that inspires you. Glitter-glue, pipe-cleaners, rhinestones, and scraps of lace could all be transformed into fun holiday accents for your Christmas gifts. Not only would this help you use up your leftovers from previous DIY projects, but it also ensures that your gifts are one-of-a-kind.

Christmas Takeout 

Maybe instead of creative gift wrapping ideas, you’re looking for the quickest way to get this task over with. If you want your gifts to look fabulous and original, but you don’t have the time or energy to deal with gift wrap, ribbons, or tape, these Snowflake Takeout Boxes from Target are the best solution. These innovative gift boxes are shaped like traditional take-out boxes with a little holiday flair. They don’t need any embellishments to look festive, making them the most straightforward gift wrapping idea on our list. 

This brings us to the end of our Perfect Holiday Season Blog Series. We hope these fun and easy gift wrapping ideas inspire you to get creative with your gift wrapping this year, and that you discovered some cool ideas and helpful tips in our previous posts, as well. We’ll be returning to our regular programming after Christmas, so stay tuned for more great content from ArtPix 3D. In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday!