It's the most wonderful time of the year! I figured I'd get a head start on wrapping presents this year because I was still finishing the last of mine on Christmas morning last year... oopsie! I love adding the perfect warm touches to gifts to really make them pop (even though they'll sadly just be ripped to shreds come Christmas day). Butttt, it's also really exciting to see them sitting under the tree lookin' all pretty, so I always take a little extra time to make them special.
For my wrapping paper this year, I decided to go with a few patterns that have a vintage feel to them. The plaid patterned paper and wine bags/wine cylinder box are all from Christmas Tree Shops and the other three rolls of wrapping paper are from Michael's. I definitely slipped out an excited squeal when I saw the plaid reindeer and the cars with Christmas trees on tops - seriously how cute are they?! All of the ribbon and gift tag accessories are from Michael's, as well.
A tip for spicing up your gift wrapping is to add a little touch of nature to them. This year I picked some pine cones in early November to decorate my house with and use later on for gift accessories. I definitely recommend going out into a nearby forest and picking your own pine cones - stores seriously overcharge for the tiniest bags of them! Just make sure you spray them with some sort of bug repellant so you don't have any little critters creeping up on you unexpectedly. I normally like to add some freshly picked pine or spruce underneath some of my bows, but I'm recovering from the flu and haven't had a chance to get out and go hunting for any yet. I fasten the pine cones with just a single piece of twine and tie it underneath.
Another fun tip for spicing up your gift wrapping is adding an edible treat to them. I have two little brothers and they always get super excited once they get to a present that has a treat waiting for them. I used candy canes this year - they make the cutest accessory and will match just about any kind of Christmas wrapping paper. You can use any sort of mints, candies, or even baked goods to surprise your loved ones with a yummy treat while they're unwrapping their gifts.
A few other accessories I used are bells, ornaments and lots and lots of ribbon. For my ribbon this year I mainly stuck with a burlap theme. I think it looks super cute and classy with a touch of contemporary. It took me a little while to understand how to do the whole 'gift box bow' thing properly, but I've close to mastered it at this point. If you have trouble with them, I suggest watching YouTube videos - that's how I learned!
I hope you enjoyed these tips and are able to use some of them as inspiration for your own Christmas gift wrapping. Christmas is only 8 days away and time's a tickin'... so get to wrappin'!