Elegant Gift Wrapping

Hello, friends!

I truly hope you are enjoying this holiday season!

I also hope you are well on your way to being shopped and wrapped!

I still have a little more to do, but I have a good handle on things this year, so I am happy about that!

Today's post is about how I wrap my presents...

A friend of mine recently said, "Your gift wrapping is like a work of art!"

So that made me wonder if it'd be worth composing a post about it...?...

Each year I come up with a sort of theme.

I make sure my gift wrap and ribbons all coordinate with one another.

One year I did leopard print with red...

Another year I did sheet music with antique name tags...

This year I am doing french toile and plaid...

In my experience, the prettiest and most unique wrapping papers can be found at Hallmark and HomeGoods. I have not had much luck with places like Walmart or Hobby Lobby. However, my ribbon this year is from the craft section at Walmart.

(Tip: I like to use cloth ribbon instead of paper ribbon. I find it to be a more elegant result. So I shop for my wrapping ribbon in the craft aisles of stores like JoAnn Fabrics or Walmart, because the holiday aisles tend to just have the paper ribbon.)

Another way to wrap a package very elegantly, is to be generous with the ribbon.

I wrap the ribbon all the way around the box, crossing it in the back...

Then bringing it back around to the front for a full bow.

(Make sure the ribbon ends are trimmed in a tidy way to avoid frays.)

Now for the finishing touch... a beautiful name tag with a small pine sprig...

I purchased these Christmas tags on Etsy...

But I've also seen beautiful ones at HomeGoods as well.

Several years ago I had Micah plant a few holly bushes for me in our yard.

I wanted them specifically for garnishing presents!

But, disappointedly, they've never produced berries!

(If any of you are gardeners and can tell me why my holly bushes are berry-less, please leave a comment! I'd love to know if there's anything I can do!)

So instead, I buy a few faux sprigs each year. I make sure they're small so they don't over-power the gift. 

Hobby Lobby and JoAnn Fabrics are great places to find tiny holiday picks.

I like these...

They were 50% off, so I bought six of them for only a few dollars.

Inexpensive and elegant!

Of course, you don't want the wire to show. It can either be trimmed with a wire clippers, or folded over once or twice before sliding underneath the ribbon...

If you have some berries or pine in your yard, it is very lovely to have something like that embellish a wrapped package. If you do a fresh clipping however, wait until a day or two before Christmas so they don't dry out!

I have been very happy with my toile and plaid gifts this year!

I think it's a beautiful combination!

I noticed, just today actually, that the presents on the cover of this months' Victoria magazine have some plaid in them as well!

(Victoria magazine)

Isn't this just beautiful!!!

These are the gifts under my tree...

Not stunning like a magazine, but good enough for me!

Happy holiday wrapping, friends!

xo,

~ Courtney ~