Wrapping 101: tips and tricks for beautiful gifts

When I was a little girl, I always wanted to help my mom wrap presents for Christmas. I thought it was so fun listening to Christmas music and wrapping gifts. My mom’s presents were and still are always so beautiful. She uses real ribbon on each and every gift is colorful and vibrant. I love a beautiful wrapping job, and so, I try to make my gifts at home just as gorgeous as hers. In recent years, I’ve opted for more simplistic wrapping paper, but more embellished ribbons and bows. A beautiful gift is such a treat to open.

Today I wanted to share some tips for wrapping beautiful gifts- sure to be appreciated! And, I used my new Olympus PEN E-PL7 to shoot these gorgeous photos!

1. Think outside all of the expensive wrapping choices. This year, I kept my paper choice simple with some red paper and butchers paper that I bought on Amazon (and should last me all through the year for other events). Simple paper may seem boring, but you can embellish it up to be anything but! Don’t underestimate how simple things can become beautiful with a little embellishment.

2. Grab some embellishments. I usually pick these up in the home decor section. Think pine cones, berries, etc. I actually grabbed some pine garland this year and have used it for pine embellishments. I just snip a piece or two off for each gift. You could also snip straight from your tree!

3. Tie on an ornament. Instead of a bow or ribbon, use some twine and tie on a cute ornament! (or a Camera if you’re feeling extra generous). 🙂

4. Put a bow on it. Last Christmas, I used tulle instead of ribbon and spent half of what I have in previous years and my mom thought it was such a great idea. Twine is also a great low cost option. I mean, brown paper packages tied up with strings? Who could go wrong! (Cue The Sound of Music).

5.  Don’t forget to add a cute name tag. Yes, the sticker ones are much more convenient, but I love a good tied name tag in heavy card stock. Target sells little buckets of them for $5.00 and I use them every year.

6. Use coupons. I can’t stress this enough. Michael’s and other craft stores are perfect places to pick up embellishment items, but it can get expensive! Look in the Christmas home decor section or the floral arrangement section. That’s where I pick up my cans of berries, pine cones, etc. Grab some wire and poof, your gifts look amazing!

7. Don’t rush. Put on a Christmas movie, pour some wine and enjoy it. Don’t wait last minute and don’t look at it as a giant task. Enjoy! It can be pretty therapeutic actually. If you take two minutes to wrap a gift, chance are it will look like it. 🙂

Now about the camera. I’ve been using my Olympus PEN E-PL7 for about a month now and I love the features. It’s such a great alternative to my giants DSLR and fits nicely in any small purse, but the quality is not compromised like it can be with a phone camera (It’s become my go-to for Instagram photos). It has an amazing swivel screen for the perfect selfie shots and the accessory choices are sure to give you amazing results. Plus, who doesn’t love that it’s a little vintage looking? This camera is sure to be a hit with anyone (Aaron loves it too!). We’ve been carrying it around snapping photos with ease and we don’t argue who carried the camera now since I just put it in my purse. I definitely plan to take it to Ohio and snap all of our holiday photos with it. Have you tried it?

Did I miss any other wrapping tips? I’d love for your to share what you use to give your gifts a little personality! Share below and be sure to check out the new Olympus PEN!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.