{"id":1209453,"date":"2023-12-07T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1209453"},"modified":"2023-12-07T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T13:00:00","slug":"how-to-wrap-absolutely-any-gift-even-if-youve-run-out-of-tape-or-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1209453","title":{"rendered":"How to Wrap Absolutely Any Gift (Even If You\u2019ve Run Out of Tape or Paper)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The holidays are here, which means you have a lot of stuff to do. You have to make travel plans to visit loved ones, hosting plans for visiting loved ones<\/a>, party plans, shopping plans<\/a>, cleaning plans, decorating plans<\/a>, and every other kind of plan. While most of these plans are well within a grown adult\u2019s capabilities, there\u2019s one plan that confounds even the smartest people: wrapping all those gifts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever sat down to wrap a mountain of gifts only to have a nervous breakdown some unknown time later when you run out of tape, you know how surprisingly stressful the gift-wrapping process can be. Even simple, classic boxes can turn out looking like you wrapped them in a dark room after a long day\u2014and oddly shaped gifts can often seem impossible. But don\u2019t despair\u2014wrapping gifts, even those with non-standard packaging (or no packaging at all), is easier than you think. <\/p>\n

How to wrap a gift<\/h2>\n

First things first: the fundamentals. If your approach to wrapping gifts is to haphazardly apply wrapping paper with gobs of tape, resulting in what holiday scientists call abominations<\/em>, rejoice: Wrapping a traditional box-shaped gift is actually easy once you know the basic approach, and there are plenty of gift wrapping hacks and ideas<\/a> out there if you\u2019re looking to up your wrapping game or facing a specifically challenging gift shape. <\/p>\n

Classic methods<\/h3>\n

The easiest way to wrap a gift is to put that gift into a traditional square or rectangular box, if you can. That way you can employ the classic approach<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Place the box face-down on the back of the wrapping paper, still attached to the roll. You should have enough paper on either side to come up about three-quarters of the height of the box.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Fold the free end of the paper over the box until it can fold over the other end of the box and touch the back of the paper.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Cut your paper, adding a three-inch margin past the edge of the box.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    Trim the paper so you have the same margins all around.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  5. \n

    Flip your box so it\u2019s face-up.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  6. \n

    Fold about two inches of paper over the top of the box on the shorter side and secure with tape.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  7. \n

    Pull the other side over the top of the box and secure with tape. For extra style points, you can fold it under itself and use double-sided tape to create a neat seam instead of a taped edge in the middle of the box.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  8. \n

    On the ends, fold the paper into triangles on top and bottom, crease, and fold up. Then pull the edge down and tape. Repeat on the other end.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Voila! A cromulently wrapped gift (you can see it done here<\/a>). Some of the folding isn\u2019t 100% necessary, but results in a neater-looking job. And you can employ double-sided tape to hide it, creating a seamless look, but this is also extra credit and not absolutely required.<\/p>\n

    If speed is more important than an exquisite final product, you can do some speed wrapping<\/a>:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \n

      Measure your paper so it wraps all the way around your box with two inches extra.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    2. \n

      Place the box on its narrow<\/em> side, diagonally<\/em> across the back of the paper.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    3. \n

      Take the corner closest to you and fold it so it lines up with the edge of the box to your left, secure with tape.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    4. \n

      Fold along the edge created and bring the flap of paper up flush with the box edge. Secure with tape.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    5. \n

      Repeat on the other three sides.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      These classic approaches require a lot of tape, which means you will likely run out of tape. Plus, all that tape can get maddening and messy, especially as you grow increasingly frantic as the clock winds down toward gifting deadlines. But you don\u2019t actually need<\/em> tape<\/a> to wrap a gift:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. \n

        Cut your paper so you have two-inch margins all around your box.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      2. \n

        Turn the paper so it\u2019s a diamond shape, place the box in the middle.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      3. \n

        Fold the bottom point of the diamond up and tuck it under the box.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      4. \n

        Fold in both sides and fold up along the top of the box.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      5. \n

        Holding those ends in place (awkwardly with your wrist), fold the top down and over.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      6. \n

        Tuck the point under the folded sides.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        You can see it done here<\/a>\u2014no tape used at all!<\/p>\n

        Pro tip:<\/strong> Just as with any artistic endeavor, the key is in the finishing. Now that you have a perfectly wrapped gift, add some ribbon to really play up the fact that you\u2019re better than everyone else\u2014and for the final coup de grace<\/em>, use custom labels. You can use a fancy label maker<\/a> to create labels, grab some label templates<\/a> for your printer<\/a>, or just buy some custom gift tags<\/a>.<\/p>\n

        Different materials<\/h2>\n

        Having no tape is one thing, but what if you have no wrapping paper (or you\u2019re concerned about the environmental impact)? You have plenty of options<\/a>:<\/p>\n