Those are lovely Mtn.

She did a great job - tell her they're really pretty!

& seconding the ribbon end snipping - I always do that.

Although I recommend keeping fingertips out of the way...

So pretty and I love the ribbon. Does DD also follow the no red rule?

I'm also big into ribbon but I went a little conservative this year. I also like cut a "V" in the ribbon but someone must have been using my fabric scissors to cut wood because they were as dull as can be so I didn't bother.

Just simple jute twine on the owls:

I bought several fabric bags on etsy a couple of years ago in an effort to make our holidays a little more Eco-friendly. The bonus is that wrapping presents now takes about a third of the time.

Carol, so that's how it's done! I used to cut a V, but didn't know the trick.

No presents this year, just a couple gift bags with homemade treats that went to neighbors earlier today.

Mtn., where, oh where, did you get the birch tree/bear/deer paper?

Hi Tibb,

Papyrus.

Mag, I like the blue w candy cane!

In re ribbon, I always make a point of clipping the end at 45 degrees, but I don't really care for the inverted "V". can't say why...

I like the fabric bag!

I'm about 90 pct wrapped. I have had the kids wrapping their own. They have no idea what they are wrapping or whose is whose. I always mark the underside of the boxes with a code so they don't go poking around trying to figure things out. They didn't even notice me marking the code...

My code this year; the second letter of the last name of each kid's Math teacher. Huh, try crackin' that!

Tib~I don't know if you shop Etsy but the wrapping paper is there.https://www.etsy.com/listing/239556126/forest-friends-wrapping-paper-2-ft-x-10

We're packing the packages for delivery so I snapped these two for my nephews. I have always been mad for plaid, especially at Christmas!

TY, mtn and 4boys2. I love Etsy!

I had a couple of big boxes to wrap this year (piece of luggage and a sleeping bag). Did the best I could.

LOL ya'll have pictures of everything! No pic of my table and none of the gifts either. I love so many of the packages I have seen on blogs this year with the brown paper and different ribbons. I used brown gift bags with different tissue papers that had aqua, white, red, gold. For the few boxes that needed wrapping, white paper with bows in same colors as the tissue paper. I love the wire ribbon and tying pretty bows - I never buy bows.

I am just starting to wrap now. Fortunately I don't have much to do. I already gave presents to one side of the family and to DS#1. Imagine boxes wrapped in CVS wrapping paper with stick-on bows and a few gift bags. That's what will be under my tree!

I am very impressed with the beautiful wrapping you all have done. Lucky recipients! Merry Christmas.

Full disclosure. Not all of mine look like this. Many have stick-on bows and a few odd ones are in gift bags with fun tissue paper.

Half of my red plaid paper gifts with raffia have been opened and the other half are loaded in the car for tomorrow.

No wrapping here, I am the Gift Bag With Tissue Paper Queen. I start buying gift bags in October and have a closet full by 12/24, which is when people in my family seem to realize they need them. Select size, drop gift, fluff paper and you're done :-). Most can be reused at least one more year.

I'm with you kswl. I'll be your runner-up. Once the shopping is done I go to the dollar store and stock up on the sizes that I need. I then buy extras because yep, suddenly kids are coming home looking for tissue paper, bags and scotch tape.

All the presents have been opened and we have a huge pile of boxes and paper from the gifts from others that I have to dispose of. And I have a nice neat small stack of cloth bags I used to wrap and I have now folded and will store in the space of less than a shoe box. Those cloth bags were the best holiday investment I have made! Eco friendly, easy to wrap with and easy to store, plus I'm sure that over two or three years I have already started saving money.

Tina, yesterday I searched for websites to give me gift wrapping ideas for next year, but I don't think I used the right wording which was, "Christmas giftwrapping themes." Not much came up. Can you share a site that has some gift wrapping ideas?

Mtn., I usually do the inverted V, but the way you cut your ribbon is more organic to the paper...which is good!

Coming back to look at more presents before going to the movies and I am taken with the idea of the cloth bag, although they seem a bit laundry looking. Maybe instead of a drawstring, one could sew a couple of ribbons in the side seams and just tie those around the bag?

Mtn, also want you to tell your DD that her wrapped packages are precious, and MORE than good enough to post on Gardenweb :-) I like her ribbon / paper color and texture combinations, and she already does a very pretty bow!

Sigh. Cat....no bow on our gifts

Kswl2, some of the cloth bags have no string or ribbon sewn on and come with a loose ribbon to tie around gathered material at the top.

Myn, your daughter did a lovely job.

This is not my wrapping style, but the TSA's. Boy was I fuming when I opened my luggage and found they had completely unwrapped and attempted to re-wrap a box full of books for our granddaughter.

My local news station did a feature on gift wrapping and this is one of the options they showed. The Giftmate gift bag is a reusable food grade flexible bag with a tie - they have solids, metallics, holographic, prints. I didn't buy any but I did look for them at the Container Store - they didn't sell them this year.

In the past I did buy a similar product without the built-in ribbon to wrap huge boxes - some of the bags were 4 foot by 4 foot - they don't tear and I've reused them several times. I have tried to use material that I can either reuse or recycle which means no glitter or foil. These can't be recycled but they can be reused for years.

http://www.giftmatebag.com

justgotabeme, I'm stunned that they made any attempt at all to rewrap them. It's long been a rule that you are not supposed to travel with wrapped packages and that TSA can and will (if they search your bags) unwrap them. I remember traveling to my parents' house on Christmas Eve one year and arriving at about midnight and having to stay up to wrap all the presents we had brought with us.

Cro thanks for the additional info on reusable cooth bags and thanks to maire cate for the link to food safe bags. I think i will try some of these next year.

i think i have posted this before....one year we moved just before Christmas, and then went to my parents' home in another state. Dh and i went to a huge mall (my personal nightmare scenario) and bought gifts for all three children in about four hours of concerted shopping ---plus everyone else on our list. We bought three enormous holiday patterned trash bags, one for each child's presents. On christmas morning we had them close their eyes, reach in their bag and oull out gifts one by one, only getting another after each wa taken out of packaging and admired. It was great fun and a HUGE timesaver!

I'm a total sucker for a nicely wrapped box. I agree with the poster above, it is hard to find a good quality box, too. They are such a luxury and never discarded! They have some great bags, but to me it is not the same as the thrill of tearing paper. My favorite paper is kraft paper, but they did not have any at Micheal's and can't recall where I got it last. I think next year every box will be in kraft paper, with all different ribbons. I untie and respool all the ribbon and re use it (I refrain if it is a guest; but my kids know the drill). I still have fabulous ribbons form 15 years ago! Sometimes I need to iron them.

Mt favorite ribbon is a gorgeous fabric ribbon that a florist used once when I had my house professionally decorated for a holiday party. I have to post a photo so y'all can tell me what it is. He used it for a big magnolia wreath on my front door. Just magnolia and the ribbon. Id like to do the same here but I have double doors, so I want to find similar style ribbon and get enough for 2 wreaths.

KSWL, the gift grab bag is brilliant!

I love beautifully wrapped gifts, too. No pictures, but I use organza ribbon. So pretty! I cut on a single 45 degree angle-no inverted v cut. That is the way my grandmother and mother did it, so I suppose that is why I do it. We have a small local store where I buy all my wrapping paper and ribbon. Best cards, too! Their wrapping paper is fabulous. Oh, and like Mtn, I save ribbon.

You all must have substantially more storage space than I do, if you are willing to save all that wrapping stuff for just once a year use. Goodness, I have a huge box of discards just from the presents other people have given us this year. Keeping those would meaning devoting as much space to Christmas wrapping stuff as I do to ornaments, stockings and other decorations.

Late to add this - mainly because we had no presents under the tree this year until Christmas Day afternoon (hubby & I exchanged gift card$$) & I forgot to take pix before giving them to the grandkids, so they are now history. However, I found this from some years back that I am kind of proud of; wrapping paper is actually joss paper from an Asian market - I was so struck w/ the vivid colors I had to have it & the large size leant itself well to gift wrapping...

Forever grateful my dad taught me how to wrap gifts - he had worked in the gift dep't. @ Macy's Herald Square when he was a young man - back in the 40s/50s.

Thanks, Cindy! I needed a good laugh!

He has the same problem I have--the paper is always just a smidge too short.

I worked in a gift/housewares shop in college, and we did very pretty, elaborate giftwrapping. My grandmother always loved the wrapping I did for her gifts, probably more than the actual gifts I gave her! She would very carefully unwrap and save the paper and ribbon.

When she passed away, we found about a dozen of the gift boxes I had given her. She had opened them, and then carefully re-wrapped the packages as they were so she could admire them, and then saved them for years. (sniff, sniff, made me cry)

Sweet jlc712! & you just reminded of an interesting study I heard about re: wrapped vs. unwrapped gifts. Turns out the more elaborate the wrapping, the more likely the recipient would be less than thrilled w/ the gift, while unwrapped gifts elicited the highest satisfaction, & less elaborately wrapped gifts were somewhere in the middle - go figure....

So this ribbon is wired, velvet on one side and satin on the other. I want to find ribbon like this for wreaths for next year. What would you call it and where would you source it?

Thanks, JLC, I've seen that ribbon, but this ribbon I am looking for has satin fabric on one side and velvet on the other, and is much heavier.

Closer up

PS the original source was a florist near our old house and he retired.

I would check with your florist or any florist actually!

PSA: If you watch the wrapping a cat video on a tablet, none of the funny subtitles show. That was the best part.

Crl, i checked and it is okay with TSA to pack wrapped gifts in both carry on and checked luggage. They can see through the wrapping paper when xrayed. And yes, they do have the right to open anything that sets off an alarm, and I completely agree with that. What I can't imagine is what type of alarm a box full of childrens books would set off though.

mayflowers - the subtitles were there when I watched the cat video a few minutes ago - my favorite was when the cat said 'save the paper ' - reminded me of my grandmother.

Speaking of huge gift bags - I was in Bed, Bath and Beyond 2 days before Christmas and they had a large bin up front by the check-out with giant red, canvas bags with a clothesline for a drawstring. They originally were $29.99 and were reduced to $5.99. They were about 4' or 5' tall by 3' and on the side was some printing about Dec 25 and being a Good Boy.

I bought one to use for DS's gifts. He made settlement on his first condo and DH went to Sears and bought a lot of Craftsmen tools. I didn't bother putting them into boxes since most were packaged in plastic cases. I did wrap them in heavy duty paper and put all of them in the bag. It was so funny to watch his face when he tried to lift it. Can't post a photo since he took the bag with him.

Maire-cate, the bag you describe is much like my mom uses to give gifts to the grandkids except that hers have straps with a lock/key and are decorated with the kids' names. It started when they were young.. and smaller than the bags.. and has continued! The two older boys no longer get bags but the older girls insist that they want to keep getting the bags "forever". It's a lot for my mom to shop and fill 8 bags.. which is why I have been doing all the shopping for the kids for the last 5-6 years.

This year my youngest sister and I looked for bags for my parents too. We thought the kids would get a laugh out of it.. and my father LOVES surprises and opening gifts. We didnt think of it until last minute so we ended up getting big stockings instead. Still that was fun since they havent had stockings since we were small kids. We filled them with favorite snacks, small gifts and gift cards. They were definitely a hit. My sister couldnt stop giggling as my dad stuck his hand in deep to see what else he had in his stocking!

For some reason, my inlaws give us back the empty boxes and gift bags right after they open the gift. I don't understand why they don't just keep them and reuse them the next year. One of the empty boxes that returned with my husband (I wasn't there this year to 'forget' to take them) was from Hickory Farms. I have never shopped there, do they even still exist?, so another year we must have received a gift in it and didn't return it to its rightful owner. We must mess up their whole gift packaging system since we take our gift home in the box/bag it came in and then reuse them.

Sigh. I'm afraid my wrapping skills are about on par with the TSA's. Maybe I could apply for a job? I used to work in an art gallery and whenever anyone wanted something wrapped the other employees would send for me and giggle maniacally. :)

Now that gift boxes are so flimsy they barely keep their shape I've stopped using them completely for family gifts unless the item needs the extra protection. Over the years I've saved a few of the heavier stock to use for those special items and I still put ribbons on almost every wrapped gift.

Funky - I hope you took photos of your parents with their Christmas stockings. When a wonderful moment to treasure. I remember when your posted about those gift bags - but I had no idea the bags were that large. No wonder your nieces and nephews were so excited to get them - they were like giant Christmas stockings.

My kids are in their 30's now and they receive fewer presents but they tend to be more expensive and DH still insists on giving them each a check. And after all the gifts are opened and we've had breakfast they are still excited to retrieve their stockings from the banister and discover what little surprises are inside - it's always an odd assortment - socks, chapstick, dunkin' donuts gift certificates, refrigerator magnets, bandanas, candy, oven thermometers, cloths for screen cleaning etc.

You've all inspired me.....next year I will go back to putting ribbon and bows on the boxes....haven't done that in years. I do use a mix of boxes and bags.

Mtn.....your daughter did a great job! With regard to the satin/velvet ribbon.....take a picture to a good florist and they may have a source for it or you could probably have it made by a local seamstress....and that way you could pick out the exact colors you want.

LOL Writers block.

I bought a huge (41" x 30") red felt bag at BB&B with a drawstring that said "Santa's been here" in white embroidery. It was only $5.99 (regular price) and I used it for my adult kids' grab bag gifts.

When I was young, I had an aunt who would wrap gifts absolutely perfectly. We were more in awe of the wrapping than of the actual gifts (always pyjamas). I still don't know how she did it - she had 6 kids and was widowed fairly young.

One of the only practical skills I learned working in retail while putting myself through school, was how to tie a perfect bow with both loops up and the ends always down. I have astounded many friends with this talent throughout the years.