How to beautifully wrap a present
As a lifelong present-wrapping obsessive, Christmas is one of my favourite times of year. There’s nothing nicer, to my mind, than whiling away an afternoon surrounded by gorgeous paper and ribbons, Handel’s Messiah on full blast and a mince pie to hand, making everyone’s gifts look really beautiful. For me, an exquisitely wrapped present just adds to the pleasure of both giving and receiving. Forget the stress of a last-minute dash to the garage for some cheapo paper and emergency sellotape on Christmas Eve - making the things you’ve spent money and effort buying look tempting and beautiful for the recipients is definitely worth the extra time involved.
There’s also the added pleasure of trawling for the most beautiful wrapping equipment to make your gifts look good. I’m always on the lookout for lovely papers, ribbons and tags to stash away so I’ve got a good stock to hand come December. On that note, it’s worth having a place to contain all your wrapping equipment - tags in a box with a lid, papers in a suitably-sized container, a dedicated pair of scissors and roll of tape. Arm yourself at the outset with a decent pair of paper scissors and one of those heavy, weighted tape dispensers - it’s a game changer when it comes to wrapping, trust me.
I’m a firm believer that you don’t have to use “Christmas” wrapping paper for your gifts - of course there are some beautiful festive papers out there, but I prefer to make my presents look Christmassy with rich colours and statement bows. This year I’ve been using a mixture - for clashing bold colour, I love the papers made by Cambridge Imprint - I’ve been trying out yellow and bright pink and am thrilled with the results, especially when you add in a Scribble & Daub fuschia bauble gift tag. Choosing Keeping is also brilliant for all manner of gift tags and ribbons to jazz up your wrapping. I’m particularly taken by their gold foiled labels, a little like the ones you’d find on a nice jar of homemade jam - I use them in place of sellotape to seal a gift, which has the added bonus of serving as a tag you can write the recipient’s name on.
Compton Marbling is another treasure trove for wrapping: their beautiful marbled papers look fabulous offset by a clashing ribbon. I think the key to a beautiful present is to mix a little bit of high with a little bit of low - so if you’re using a very classy, subtle, marbled paper for example, combine it with a glitzy, glittery ribbon in a complementary colour - you still need some sparkle and naff at Christmas time. If, however, you want to keep it all sophisticated but still with a bit of a twist, why not consider brown? Shepherds Bookbinders (possibly my favourite shop in London) sells a Nepalese brown floral paper which looks almost edible with a rich chocolate-coloured satin bow to set it off.
Now for the icing on the present wrapping cake. When it comes to tying your ribbon, learning to tie a Tiffany Bow will impress your recipients no end - after university I worked at their flagship store for a few months and I learnt how to tie their famous bow. Little did I know that it would become an essential skill for life.
How to tie a Tiffany bow:
- Measure out your ribbon by working out how big you want your bow.
- Put your thumb in the middle and take the ribbon over and under the box and trap it with your thumb again.
- Come across the box horizontally by 90 degrees, taking it all the way round and back to the centre.
- Hold everything together in the centre with your thumb
- Bring your ribbon down on a diagonal then slide it under everything in the middle to secure everything, you’ll know you’ve done it right because everything holds together.
- Tie a bow - with no need to do a knot.
