Gift wrapping ideas for Christmas to give your presents pizzaz
Even a pound shop present will look a million dollars when you dress it up with these festive gift wrapping ideas
Give your presents a more personal feel this year with our gift wrapping ideas for Christmas. With our easy tips and quick tricks you can wrap your gifts like a pro. In fact, they’ll look so gorgeous nobody will want to open them!
Whether you choose to craft your gift wrap from scratch or simply decorate existing papers, these Christmas ideas will get your creative juices flowing.
1. Print your own paper
Image credit: Annie Sloan
Create bespoke gift wrap by making your own stamps. Cut a half moon shape from either a piece of sponge or half a potato. Dip into white paint and print onto a sheet of black paper. Repeat until the whole sheet is covered. Leave to dry before wrapping your gift.
2. Top with dried flowers
Image credit: Future PLC/Dan Duchars
Use dried flowers for an on-trend look. Tie a sprig of pretty dried blooms together using a small piece of florist’s wire. Wrap your gift and tuck your posy beneath ribbon tied around it.
3. Have fun colouring in
Image credit: Eat Sleep Doodle
Wrap your presents in sheets of blank colouring-in paper. Once your gift is wrapped, use colouring pens to decorate. This one is perfect for getting the kids involved, or just for the young at heart. It’s also great for grabbing a mindful moment among the Christmas chaos. Try trying a set of pens to the gift to make it an interactive gift before it’s even opened.
4. Use up leftover yarn
Image credit: Hobbycraft/Lottieandalbert
Try this Christmas craft idea using wool to decorate your gifts. Set about making pompoms and tassels to tie around your presents. You could even thread a few fragrant orange slices onto a pompom garland. This gift wrapping idea for Christmas is a great way to use up yarn from knitting or crochet projects.
5. Make paper feathers
Image credit: Future PLC/Dan Duchars
Create stylised feather gift toppers using scraps of paper or card. Cut feather shapes from black and natural coloured card and layer on top of each other to create a 3-D effect. For a little extra festive sparkle, paint the edges in a little PVA glue and dip into gold or silver glitter. Secure to your gift with metallic ribbon.
6. Try reusable fabric wrap
Image credit: Dunelm
Sustainable style is a big trend this Christmas. So why not try the Japanese art of fabric wrapping called furoshiki? It’s easier than it sounds but looks really impressive!
Simply lay your present (box-shapes work best!) in the centre of a square of lightweight fabric. Lift up two opposite corner and knot in the centre. Do the same for the remaining corners, et voila! The recipient can then reuse the fabric to wrap another gift or even sew something new.
7. Embellish with trims
Image credit: Future PLC/Colin Poole
Any avid crafter is sure to have a stash of leftover trims and embellishments from past projects, even if they’re just a few centimetres long! Give pieces of pompom trim, rickrack and lace a new lease of life by wrapping them around Christmas gifts to decorate.
8. Draw your own designs
Image credit: Hobbycraft
It’s time to get out the paints and felt tip pens for this idea. Take a large sheet of plain white paper and let your imagination run wild. Simple leaves and berries work really well and what’s more Christmassy than red and green? Finish by wrapping with twine, threading through a handwritten luggage tag.
Rather than decorating each present once it’s wrapped, it’s best to draw or paint onto one large sheet, then cut it into smaller pieces when you’re ready to wrap individual gifts.
9. Add a fabric ribbon
Image credit: Future PLC
To quote one of our favourite festive films, Arthur Christmas: ‘There is always time for a bow!’ It is worthwhile throughout the year building up a box of ribbons from presents or things you’ve bought. A fabric bow is a quick and easy way to turn an ordinary present into something luxurious.
10. Weave a paper wrap together
Image credit: Future PLC
This brown paper wrapping idea is perfect if you don’t have any ribbon lying around. Cut scraps of wrapping into twelve long strips. Weave the strips together with six of the pieces of paper going vertically and the other six horizontally. Wrap the woven paper wrap around the present and secure at one end.
11. Wrap it up in a carol
Image credit: Future PLC/Polly Eltes
Use old sheet music as wrapping paper or to make envelopes for gift cards. Secure with a velvet ribbon and top with a feather dipped in gold glitter.
12. Get crafty with wooden pegs
Image credit: Future PLC
Wooden pegs are a genius way to add a splash of personality to a present in seconds. You can jazz up plain white paper bags by pegging a sparkly silver star to the front. Plus, there’s no messy glue or sellotape in sight. They are also perfect for attaching gift labels to ribbon. Clip in a piece of foliage for the extra wow factor.
13. Stick to a colour theme
Image credit: Future PLC
An easy way to create a perfect-looking pile of presents is to decide on a palette of two or three colours – and stick to it. Jewel-coloured blues and greens, combined with gold, look wonderful under a tree. ‘Throw in a little glitter, too, to truly make your parcels sparkle,’ suggests Louise Lee, Christmas buyer at Wyevale Garden Centres.
14. Get green fingered with foliage
Image credit: Simon Brown
Everyone loves to bring the outdoors inside at Christmas – think trees, wreaths and mantelpiece garlands. So why not introduce it to your present wrapping, too? Pine sprigs, eucalyptus, berries or pine cones can all be incorporated using ribbon or twine. You could also try festive foodie items like dried oranges or cinnamon sticks.
15. Bag it up
Image credit: Future PLC
Avoid the usual wrapping paper in favour of cellophane pockets, paper bags, oversized envelopes or miniature hessian sacks. Cut the edges to create a pretty scalloped pattern, decorate with stamps, tags and ribbon, and get people smiling before they’ve even opened the present.
16. Add a flourish with old newspapers
Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Scarboro
Wrap presents in plain paper and cut out Christmas shapes from newspaper, magazines or even wallpaper remnants and stick on as decorations. Look out for paper cutters in festive shapes to make the job easier.
These paper stars would also make a lovely Christmas card idea.
17. Personalise with old photographs
For a fun way for guests to find their presents, wrap them in simple brown paper and create a name tag using an old photo, copied onto thick paper or card. It’s a good excuse to look through cheesy old photos of relatives!
18. Fold in some Japanese pleats
Image credit: Future PLC/David Giles
Try your hand at stylish origami. To get the look, cut a piece of wrapping paper double the size needed to cover your present. With the paper facing down, fold a 2cm pleat along the short bottom edge. Fold the paper in on itself four more times, then flip the paper over and unfold, so you can see the lines marking each fold.
Next, pinch the first line and fold it down to create a smaller pleat below. Repeat along each line so you have a series of small pleats. Turn the paper over and use a strip of tape to hold the pleats down. Now place your gift in the centre of the paper and pull the pleated edge to the top of the present. Continue to wrap as normal and complete with a length of baker’s twine.
19. Have fun with washi tape
Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore
Use washi tape as a simple but creative way to decorate your presents. Wrap gifts in plain brown or white paper and pick washi tape in bold bright colours to make them stand out. Experiment using tape to customise your wrapping, creating bunting, bows and stripes.
20. Doodle your own design
Image credit: Future PLC/David Giles
By wrapping your presents in simple black paper you can doodle over them freehand to create a beautiful parcel without the hassle of tying ribbons. Here, we’ve used a white marker pen to draw a wreath, holly, stars and festive messages and banners. We’re big fans of this chalkboard style!
21. Go dotty with double layers
Image credit: Future PLC/David Giles
Wrap your gifts once in colourful tissue paper, then take a sheet of Kraft brown paper, and using a paper punch, make holes in it. Wrap the piece of punched brown paper over the tissue paper, and tape in place. Tie with coordinating raffia to finish it off.
22. Keep one thing the same
Image credit: Future PLC/David Giles
Create a uniform motif that runs across all your gifts, like these DIY paper bows. This consistent embellishment allows you to cover your presents in any old mismatched wrap, including newspaper or Kraft paper. But as an ensemble under the tree, they’ll still look smart and matchy matchy!
23. Say it with stamped paper
Image credit: Future PLC/Ania Wawrzkowicz
Here’s a really affordable way to create as much wrapping paper as you need. Just take some plain white paper and decorate with a librarian’s date stamp – you could try the same trick for a birthday. Letter beads allow you add a personal message.
Right, time to get wrapping!
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