Santa’s super wrapping
ideas for oversized gifts
Christmas is coming. At the North Pole, Santa, Mrs. Claus
and the elves must be working overtime to make holiday toys and gifts. As
everyone knows, the winter holiday shopping season starts months before
Yuletide begins.
Often, Christmas is the time of year when Santa and families
and friends splurge on big-ticket gift items, such as home entertainment
centers, sound systems, major appliances and even vehicles. These extravagant gifts
are difficult to package. How do you gift-wrap a brand-new horse trailer, a hot
convertible sportster, or even a tricycle?
Sometimes, even less costly items may be oversized and
somewhat unwieldy for gift-wrapping. A sled, a craft easel, a dollhouse, a
standing floor lamp, or a beanbag chair may present special gift-wrapping
challenges too.
Much of the fun of Christmas gift-giving is watching
recipients unwrap their holiday treasures. What’s a generous gift-giver’s
solution to the gift-wrapping dilemma?
Here are Santa’s super gift-wrapping strategies for
oversized or bulky Christmas gifts.
Wrap It. Wrap It big.
Some oversized gifts, though large, still lend themselves
well to traditional gift-wrapping. A new computer (still in the original
shipping container), DVD player, or filing cabinet can certainly be wrapped.
Generally, geometric shapes (such as rectangles, squares,
cylinders or cones) can be wrapped, regardless of their size. If your gift items
are heavy and bulky, you may need to enlist a gift-wrapping assistant to help
you lift and maneuver the packaging.
However, store-bought holiday wrapping paper does not usually
fit larger packages. To gift-wrap these, you will need oversized paper.
Purchase a roll of extra-wide mural paper at a craft store or art supply shop.
As an alternative, pick up a roll of banquet table-runner paper. A third option
might be to offer to purchase a leftover newsprint roll remnant from the local
newspaper, if their presses still use rolled newsprint. (Many still do.)
If you wish, you can decorate these plain oversized papers
with paints, markers, holiday stickers, ribbons or other embellishments.
NOTE: Written by this author, this copyrighted material
originally appeared on another publisher’s site. That site no longer exists.
This author holds all rights to this content. No republication is allowed
without permission.
Piece together gift wrapping paper for oversized
gifts.
Oversized gifts that are square or rectangular may still be wrapped in
festive holiday gift wrapping papers. Standard- or jumbo-sized gift wrapping
paper can be doubled up to cover larger presents.
Simply unroll gift wrap in a large, open room. Measure and cut a single
sheet of wrapping paper to encircle the oversized gift. Cut a second sheet of
wrapping paper to the identical length. Lay both sheets of wrapping paper
adjacent to one another (printed sides down), lining up ends and edges. Be sure
to overlap the shared edges by about an inch.
Place books or paperweights on the corners of the wrapping paper sheets
to prevent recoiling.
Use long strips of wide, clear packing tape to affix the two sheets of
wrapping paper together.
Wrap the oversized Christmas gift, lining it up so that the taped seam
will be in the center of the package. Trim the wrapped present with wide
ribbon, covering the taped seam.
Bag Big Gifts.
If a Christmas gift is oversized, but not huge, you can use
an extra-large clean trash bag, a lawn refuse disposal bag, a Christmas tree
disposal sack, a fancy pillowcase, or a store-bought holiday drawstring bag to gift-wrap
it.
Simply place the big gift into the bag, and tie or tape it
closed. Add a holiday bow, if you wish. Sometimes, Santa’s best gift-wrapping can
be quite simple and speedy.
Tie It All Up.
Many oversized Christmas gifts are odd-shaped items. Presents
that do not fit into a carton or box can be difficult to gift-wrap in the
traditional manner. Suppose you need to gift-wrap a large figurine, a small
electric fountain or a piece of garden statuary. How will you do it?
You can easily disguise many sorts of odd-shaped gifts by
hiding inside a few layers of disposable plastic holiday tablecloths or tarps.
Plastic tablecloths are available in nearly unlimited color and
holiday design choices at party supply stores. (Often, the dollar-type stores
offer these as well.) Purchase plenty of these, as they tend to be somewhat
transparent and delicate to use for gift-wrapping.
Lay out a few plastic tablecloths on the floor or a large
flat surface. (Stagger a few colors together, if you wish.) Place your
oversized Christmas gift in the center of the tablecloths. Take up all of the
corners, and hold them together, forming a hobo-sack-like bag. Tie the sack
closed with sturdy holiday ribbons, yarn, twine or string.
Drape a Big Gift.
Of course, some oversized Christmas gifts are simply too
heavy and grand-sized to lift. For example, how might you gift-wrap a new piano
or a piece of furniture, once it has been delivered and assembled?
Don’t panic. Simply head for the linen closet, and grab a
large sheet, blanket bedspread, beach towel, or coverlet. (You can even unzip a
sleeping bag for this purpose.) Gently drape it over the oversized Christmas gift.
Fasten the drape closed with large safety pins or diaper pins. Tack on a gift
tag, and it’s ready for Christmas morning. You might even purchase a new sheet
or spread and make it part of the gift.
Be sure to keep the prying present-pinchers and nosy gift-peekers
away from your draped presents, so they do not ruin Santa’s surprise.
Embellish a Big Box.
Many oversized Christmas gifts do arrive in big boxes. Even
if these are heavy and unwieldy, you can certainly disguise a big box. Cover it
with sticky opaque or ornamental contact paper, or simply paint it, instead of gift-wrapping
it.
Handprints, stenciled holiday designs, sponge-painting
patterns, vegetable-stamped prints and other adornments can make festive
costumes for a large carton. The main point is to hide any of the manufacturer
or product distributor’s images, identifying tags, labels or printed
descriptions that might reveal the contents of the box.
Where can you obtain big cartons, if oversized Christmas gifts
do not come prepackaged?
Often, large boxes are available (free for the asking) at furniture
and appliance stores. Be sure to call ahead to request leftover cartons, as
trash pickups are regularly scheduled. In addition, moving and storage
companies often offer boxes for sale. Friends and neighbors may be thrilled to
pass along used cartons for Santa’s use.
Think outside the box with oversized gifts.
Sometimes the most creative gift wrapping for oversized gifts actually
offers a bonus gift in itself. The packaging may even fit the theme of the
gift. Laundry baskets, hampers, picnic coolers, tents, and brand-new muck
buckets can make super gift packaging.
Have a Treasure Hunt.
When my children were young, Santa loved to add a bit of
mystery to Christmas morning by hiding some of the larger gift items. A small gift-wrapped
box might appear under the Christmas tree. Once a child opened the box, he or
she might discover the first clue in a Christmas morning holiday treasure hunt.
One clue would lead to another, until the actual gift would be discovered,
usually in the basement, attic, garage or other secret spot.
Our Christmas treasure hunts are treasured holiday memories.
Many times, a child might have pleaded for a certain item (such as a new bike)
and seemed somewhat crestfallen to find that gift apparently absent on
Christmas morning. Later, when the gift is uncovered, the child may be
particularly delighted.
Don’t Wrap the
Biggest Items at All.
Hide oversized gifts at a trusted neighbor’s house. Santa
can retrieve them on Christmas Eve and place them in an appropriate spot for
Christmas morning showcasing. A big red holiday bow might be just enough to
dress up a brand-new sports car, motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle, snowmobile,
scooter or bicycle.
Of course, a perky holiday ribbon bow is the ideal gift-wrapping
for a living gift, such as a puppy or a kitten.
Can you imagine the look of surprise that will appear on
recipients’ faces when they enter the family room (or the garage) on Christmas
morning and find their much-anticipated holiday gifts on display?
Christmas Creativity
Counts.
Much of the fun of Christmas gift-giving is watching
recipients unwrap holiday gifts. But finding creative ways to wrap oversized
gifts can be an enjoyable adventure as well.
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Image/s:
vintage
public domain artwork
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