The best way to wrap a gift | 5 reasons and 5 steps

A few girlfriends and I arranged to have a secret santa gift exchange back in late November, and it wasn't until this past weekend that we were finally able to get together and gift swap! I decided to make a simple tutorial to teach you how I wrapped a gift for my giftee (the loveliest Jen Yu), and to explain why you should wrap it this way as well. Although the following method takes twice as long to wrap as the typical one-sheet-of-wrapping-paper-around-a-box method, it is my favorite way of wrapping presents for a few reasons: One, the box and lid are individually wrapped so that there is no pretty wrapping paper ripping involved when opening. (I always feel a little sad when I have to tear gorgeous, sturdy, expensive wrapping paper. Can I get an amen on that?)  Two, my giftee can reuse the box to give another gift which (a) protects the environment by saving paper and (b) saves my giftee time and energy from rewrapping. Three, I use solid colored wrapping paper so that my giftee can personalize it again for any occasion and personality. Four, no more fooling your giftee by putting their gift in a box from a different store. (I once received ugly christmas socks wrapped in a Tiffany's box. Now that was just cruel.) And five, it's just way more fun to open. :)

Yes, I actually think about these things. There is logic, reasoning, and math behind wrapping gifts! :P

Read on for the steps!

Step 1: Wrap the box and its lid separately. Use scissors (or a gift wrap cutter like I did) and some clear tape. Straight-forward.

Step 2: Line the box with tissue paper in two different colors. Carefully place your gifts inside the box. Then take a circle punch to cardstock paper and punch out some confetti! Sprinkle that confetti on top of the presents.

Step 3: Tie hemp cord around the box and lid as you would a ribbon, and secure with a bow. I opted to use hemp cord instead of twine -- both have an earthy rustic look but hemp cord looks neater and has a much more pleasant texture to feel.

Step 4: Cut out a tag from cardstock. Here, I used a stamp to embellish. Punch a hole at the top of the tag using a regular hole punch (or tiny 1/8th inch hole punch like I used) and thread a loose end of the bow through. Tie a knot to secure the tag in place.

Step 5: Sign the tag and give your gift to your lucky giftee!

And there you have it. Simple :) And now that I've successfully de-stressed from an overwhelming Monday via blogging, I must get back to real life. Pray for me, friends! 

Until next time!