Christmas Wrapping

While it’s tradition for my sister and I to stay up late into the night on Christmas Eve wrapping presents together, I’ve found its important to do a test run in advance to make sure I’ve got everything together to get just the look I want for my packages. Last year, I chose to wrap everything in brown paper, tied up with simple red ribbon. I loved the look so much, but I wanted to do something a little bit more rustic with added textures and dimension this year. Here’s a bit of what I came up with, and how you can do it yourself at home.

Wrap gift in brown paper. Measure distance around box one time, then cut out a panel of accent wrapping paper that length. Choose width of panel based on how much brown paper you want to show on the sides (wide for less brown, narrow for more). Cut a half an inch extra on each side of paper. Fold and tape this half inch on each long side under so that you have a nice clean edge on panel. Wrap accent paper around gift, making ends meet and tape together on bottom of package.

Gather festive wrapping accents: I found it was best go grab unexpected elements – ones that brought lots of texture and excitement to the package (all staying with in a rustic, natural feel). Cut out small rectangles from coordinating card stock paper for homemade gift tags.

Combine all together for a festive, rustic wrapping that is simple, yet a far cry away from basic brown.