How Good Is Your Giftwrapping?

[cabanafrau]

I'm okay, but not great. Growing up, my dad was the gift wrapper in the family. His always look great. Mom always asked me to wrap my dad's gifts. Believe it or not, being able to wrap gifts has nothing to do with the gender you are.

I have friends whose husbands are the gift wrappers. It's more about individual strengths than gender. I can't understand why my husband isn't a star gift wrapper with his skillsets, but it eludes him. I don't think it ever occurred to my father that he should begin to even attempt it, but that was a difference in the times.

 

[amberpi]

My first husband was an excellent wrapper - crazy good. He loved origami and his advice to me was to take an extra second for straight lines and folds. It works!

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Not quite Martha Stewart, but pretty darn good.

I'm also pretty quick. I can wrap a stack of gifts in the amount of time that it takes most people to wrap just a couple.

 

[amberpi]

Not quite Martha Stewart, but pretty darn good.

I'm also pretty quick. I can wrap a stack of gifts in the amount of time that it takes most people to wrap just a couple.

Dang! Now that I'm impressed with!

 

[NYCgrrl]

My gift wrapping skills have improved in direct correlation to how many gifts I buy. The older the little people get around me the less gifts I buy and thus my wrapping skills improve.

I don't like fabric ribbons (couldn't that ribbon be used as a dress trim? Oops another obsession revealed) as much as paper ornaments like fans, cornucopias or even ribbons twisted around pencils to make swirls.

I suspect "Missy Martha" and I could have a gay ol' time wrapping presents with MaryLovesPoohBear, LOL.

 

[Mizzoufan]

horrible

 

[elgerber]

All I can say is thank goodness for gift bags

Ditto!!

 

[Diznotyzed]

I'm pretty good at it, but a little too cheap (I like to say environmentally aware) to go all out on the ribbons and bows. We actually reuse wired ribbon from year to year, though.

 

[SG131]

I’m decent. Nothing fancy, but very fast and fairly neat. I never played around with my own bows for the simple reason that I buy way more presents than I should for everyone so I would never have the time!

Pretty much as soon as I was a teenager my then over 30 year old brother enlisted my help to wrap his gifts cause his wrapping jobs were just attrocious. Needless to say since I didn’t wrap my own gift from him, my present was always the most “creatively” wrapped of the bunch. About 7 years later he got married and it’s now his wife’s job.

 

[ashley0139]

Of course not! But then again, in my mind anyway, giftwrapping is just one of those things that women are generally better at than men. Also decorating and entertaining. There are men, gay and straight, who excel at those things, and there are women who suck at them. But in the main, women are better at it. That's not a sexist statement, it's an obvious fact (in my head, lol).

There's a reason for this, and it's not because men as a gender can't do it. In fact, genitals have nothing to do with it. Women are taught this stuff from an early age because it's what we're "supposed" to do. If we teach men to do it like we teach women, they would be just as good at it.

I have friends whose husbands are the gift wrappers. It's more about individual strengths than gender. I can't understand why my husband isn't a star gift wrapper with his skillsets, but it eludes him. I don't think it ever occurred to my father that he should begin to even attempt it, but that was a difference in the times.

Exactly. It has to do with your personal skills, not gender. It's the same with my mom. She should be perfectly able to gift wrap, but can't do it to save her life. Who knows.

 

[nene0182]

My wrapping resembles someone using their feet while wearing mittens on them. It’s never been something I’m even remotely good at.

 

[RedAngie]

My mother had this device to make her own bows for gift wrapping.

 

[Mizzoufan]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1798862120148688

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

My gift wrapping skills can be amazing. I worked at a gold crown Hallmark store while in college and we had to take a gift wrapping class! And I'm thankful.

Having said that, I try to use re- usable bags now. I'm embarrassed to say I forget the number now but I read something like a million bazillion quadrillion tons of wrapping paper end up in the landfill between Thanksgiving and New Years each year in the USA.

And Mr. Homie, we all want to be friends with Mrs. Homie! She sounds like a great person. I don't know if she reads the boards but you always say such complimentary things about her! I'm sure she doesn't care if your wrapping skills are minimal; it's the thought that counts!

 

[lovesmurfs]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1798862120148688

Okay, given that, I'm the first one. So it's not so bad!

 

[BrianL]

I am actively bad at it. My wrapping jobs always look terrible, but then again, I don't care as it is just going to get torn off anyway.

 

[AppleDumpling]

I’m actually pretty good and enjoy doing it. I wrap all the gifts for the family except the ones for me. DH is definitely the second type in the video above. And he will use half a roll of tape on one package. I don’t mind. He has many other redeeming qualities.

 

[Kitty 34]

I wrapped pretty good but when it comes to being creative with ribbons and bows I just use the store bought bows that you tape on the package.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Back in third grade (1978ish), our class made pizelles as "holiday" gifts for our families (we had a Jewish girl in class, so the teacher was loathe to say "Christmas," the Establishment Clause having made its way to central Illinois by that time), and we then had to wrap them. The girls' wrapping jobs were utilitarian if not professional: straight cuts, clean folds, etc. The boys' wrapping jobs looked like they were done by, well, third-grade boys.

To this day I can't wrap a gift to save my life, and I"m pushing 50. I can't cut straight, I can't fold cleanly, I sure as hell can't estimate properly how much paper I need to cover this side of the box or that. Anything I wrap immediately harkens back to my elementary school pizelle-wrapping job.

Mrs. Homie's wraps are like those of my 70's girl classmates: functional and well-done, if not particularly noteworthy. However, I've known women who take giftwrapping to Martha Stewart levels. I'm talking ribbons and bows curled and tied and zhuzhed this way and that; if the State Fair gave out ribbons for giftwrapping, these women would win them all.

How's your giftwrapping?

Somewhat on topic once upon a time your average home waffle iron would have 2 plates on either side: waffle and pizzelle. Prolly cost about 20 bucks back then and now they sell for 50 bucks and up , up, up and only have one plate. Guess they call that progress.

 

[Liberty Belle]

My father and grandmother were both artists and I have a tad of the gene, but don't really have time to use it anymore, so wrapping gifts is my outlet. I am very picky about my paper, coordinating it and I do nice ribbons (sometimes just tulle) and add little goodies, depending on the paper. This year the papers are various plaids and the goodies are cinnamon sticks, copper ornaments, and fresh holly.