If asked, I would say I love all things Christmas. However, that might not be the complete truth. One area that is a little humbug for me is wrapping gifts.
It wasn't always this way. In fact I used to be very good at wrapping. I was good enough I could have worked for a gift wrapping company. Truly. I know that shocks some of you who have been eye witnesses to my wrapping efforts as well as some other "crafty" endeavors. But it is true.
I remember when I learned how to do it right. We went to San Jose for Thanksgiving and my cousin Greta was wrapping some presents. She is about five years older than I am, and was probably sixteen or seventeen years old at the time. She was a whiz at wrapping! Double ribbons, pretty bows, nice, turned under edges. I was fascinated. She was kind enough to show me how. I loved it!
My mom took advantage of the kid power in our home at Christmas time and would get my sister Cheryl and I to take a Sunday afternoon and wrap gifts. We were a gift wrapping factory. Somehow that never happened for me in my own home. Where did I go wrong?
Ray does not wrap gifts. When I asked for help our first Christmas, he offered two suggestions:
1. Don't wrap it, just put it under the tree.
2. Put it in a brown bag (or better yet, leave it in the bag it came in) and staple it shut.
I rejected those ideas out of hand. Now that we have four children, three sons-in-law, and seven grandchildren with more on the way, the number of gifts can be staggering, and we don't buy that many gifts.
To preserve my sanity I now do minimal gift wrapping. I no longer put on ribbons or bows. I buy two large rolls of paper that coordinate with each other (thank you Costco). I try to wrap gifts as I buy them so the stack is not too overwhelming. I listen to Christmas music or occasionally pop in a Christmas movie to help the time pass more quickly. I'm pretty efficient so that helps.
I'm not ready to take Ray's wrapping suggestions yet. So I hunker down and get it done. It might not be my favorite thing to do, but it's worth it.
I'll Be Home for Christmas words by Kim Gannon music by Walter Kent
Sounds very familiar:) I'm trying something different for next year. Joann's has their gift bags at 60% off. The ones I purchased look more like decorated paper bags. I purchased a big assortment in all sizes. I put the gift tags on the tissue paper so we can reuse the gift bags until they fall apart. It sure is quicker.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting about your daily Christmas experiences and memories. I'm enjoying them. Last year I tried something different - I made bags from red polka dot fabric. The idea was to reuse them. Of course, the presents were wrapped this year before I remembered them. But it's a great way to give a stuffed animal or something else that's soft. And the bag under the tree just added to the guessing game.
ReplyDeleteWhew, that's a lot of wrapping! When my daughter was home, she helped some, but I'm on my own again! I think your presents look great!! Job well done :)!!
ReplyDeleteRay's wrapping suggestions made me laugh out loud - that is so something Daniel would suggest. I did most of my shopping online this year, and I have to admit when the boxes started coming in from Amazon, I was tempted to just start sticking them under the tree as is. I did what you did, though - it has helped to wrap them as they come in, instead of waiting until the night before and being so overwhelmed.
ReplyDelete