This year, I wanted to come up with some fabulous Christmas wrapping ideas but the more I thought about what I could create and use to do so, the more I felt like following the rule – less is more. Simple packages, created with your own two hands and topped with a personalized item – will certainly show more love than a bought at the supermarket, mass produced, fancy boxes. It’s all about putting a little bit of thought and character into packing what you (or shall I say… Santa Clouse *wink*) have got for your friends and family. Using small twigs and printed photos added as a decoration, has been one of the top trends for a while, so I will show you how I wrapped my presents, using those elements.

It might come as a surprise but I have used white sheets, rather than a typical wrapping paper. Apart from the obvious eco-friendly value, the wrap can be done at the very last minute – as I’m sure you can find some sheets of white paper at home. Am I right?

You will need:

sheets of white papera stringtapesmall twigsphotos of your choice (you can use photos of your family members to ‘sign’ the gifts, or Christmasy photos to simply decorate your packages)

Instructions:

Before I let you dive into wrapping your gifts, let me show you a simple technique to do it. The white paper is slightly harder to bend than the typical one, so try to be as neat as possible. It will work better with regular shapes gifts, however if your present has a different form, don’t stop here – you can always place it inside the box before wrapping.

1. Remember to remove all the price tags. Place the item upside down on top of the paper.

2. Fold the paper around the gift. If you are using harder paper make creases on the edges. Add tape to keep the wrap in place.

3. On the side of your package, fold the paper in the shape of two triangles, then tape them together. Repeat the same method on the other side.

4. Add a string around your wrap.

5. Add decoration – a photo or a little twig. You might want to add handwritten personal message at the back of the photo.

Taaa da! That’s it! I have wrapped two gifts (the only two I got so far) but there will be more coming in the next few weeks. I always admire people who have all their gifts ready before December and skip the Christmas fever in the shops but as hard as I try each year, I never seem to be in advance. What about you? Have you already got all your gifts wrapped?