Global Gift Wrapping

There are two places in the world where wrapping is taken to a whole new level whether it is for a gift or just for a purchase in a store. In France or Japan when you make a purchase in a store, it is carefully and neatly wrapped in paper and secured with a piece of tape. It is not just tissue paper as some of our stores do. It is more like a gift wrap paper. Your purchase is ready to be given as a gift when you walk out the door of the store.

The Japanese are especially careful about their gift wrap since gift giving is a big part of their culture even when it's not Christmas. By the way, they celebrate Christmas with a trip to KFC. Its become such a tradition that lines form around the block on Christmas day. But I digress.

In Japan you will also see gifts given in a piece of cloth, wrapped and tied neatly. This gift wrap is called furoshiki. (Click here to see some examples.)

Whether it is paper or cloth, the wrapping of the gift is as important and significant as the gift itself. Should you find yourself in the fortunate position of receiving a gift from someone who is Japanese, be sure to unwrap it with care and respect.

All of this reminds me that Mary wrapped God's gift to us, Jesus, in swaddling cloths. A precious gift wrapped with loving hands.

Raffia and recycled paper gift wrap

It is easy to help the planet when choosing gift wrap and ribbons. I am a fan of natural raffia ribbon. The natural raffia is made from Raffia palms, with 20 species native to Africa and especially to Madagascar, and 1 species found in Central and South America.

Raffia can be found in most stores that sell stationery and gift wrap. Some raffia is made from rayon, so I look for the raffia made from the palm trees.

You can buy raffia in its natural beige color, or dyed in many colors. Also, by typing in “recycled gift wrap” in an online search you will find many appealing wrapping papers made from 100% recycled paper. Greenraising.com is one company I found which sells some pretty Christmas wrap at a good price.

Color Coated Gift Wrap- By Trish Berg

One of the best Christmas gift wrapping tips is to color coat your gifts for each child or each extended family event.

We have 4 children, so from the time they were babies, each child inherited a gift wrapping color, which matches their stocking color as well.

Hannah - Hannah is green. So all her gifts are wrapped in paper that is mainly green.

Sydney - Sydney is red.

Colin - Colin is blue.

Riley - Riley is gold.

I purchase my wrapping paper at the end of the season on clearance prices, and store it in the attic. And keep in mind that the color coated paper does not need to be solid colors. It can be a pattern, just mainly that color. Then you don't have to label any gifts, each child knows their color. I also stack each child's gifts under the tree in a pile all theirs, so they know where to choose their gifts form one at a time to open them on Christmas morning.

As for extended family events, choose one color or type of paper for each extended family gathering so when you pack the car, its easy to see which gifts go where.

We also save all our boxes, store them in the attic, and reuse them every year. Any boxes worth saving (sturdy ones that are nice) make life easier when you are in need of boxes at wrapping time.