7 wrapping hacks that get you through Christmas

Wrapping is not my strong point. I’ve never had much luck with wrapping Christmas presents and always end up in a bit of a mess. Think sellotape in the hair, think paper not quite meeting by a bloody inch, think scrunched up corners.

That’s right, presents from me are not exactly appealing to look at. One thing you can guarantee is you’ll find a stand or two of my very own hair caught somewhere in the tape. My boyfriend can confirm this.

Anyway, I’d love to get a bit better at wrapping so decided to try some new things this year to help me. Whether you’re wrapping a simple box or a complicated shaped item like a wooden statue of a giraffe (I don’t know, giraffes are odd shaped, right?) – I’m here for you.

Wrap on a hard surface.

I’ve always done my wrapping on the floor. Sat with my legs crossed and all the presents spread everywhere – but doing this makes it harder to get the corners crisp. Try wrapping on a hard surface or using a table for a more finished look!

The diagonal wrap.

Ever tried to wrap a present and find that the paper is slightly too short? If you place the present diagonal, you can pull each corner up to fully wrap the present!

The good old gift bag.

You might call it a cop-out, I call it being efficient. If you do have an oddly shaped present then wrap it in a gift bag and simply tape the top closed! You can even make your own gift bag out of wrapping paper.

Box it first. 

Another great idea for a strangely shaped present – put it in a box first and then wrap the box! You could take the thrifty route by using an old box or jump onto Amazon, search ‘cardboard box’ and grab one the right size. Ah, Amazon to the rescue once again! Pringle tubes also make a great box for a present – just make sure you wash it out first!

The toilet roll hack.

If you have a small gift – place it inside a used toilet roll and wrap it like a Christmas cracker! Wrap it with some shredded paper or Christmas coloured tissue paper. You could even add a bit of fun by adding cracker snap, paper hat and joke!

Use double sided tape.

Using double sided tape is a great way to make your wrapping look a little more professional as it hides all tape from view.

Pre-cut your tape.

You need 3 hands to wrap and tape a present – sadly evolution did not take Christmas wrapping into consideration when helping us adapt to our environment, so we are just stuck with two of the things. One way to get around this is to cut the tape into strips before you start wrapping and stick a small part of the tape to the edge of a hard surface. Prevents getting tape tangled up and having to cut it when you’re holding wrapping paper in place.

Still hungry for more tips? Check out The Body Shop’s Christmas Gift Wrapping Tips!