Fixing Common Gift Wrap Problems - Guest Post by Pretty Handsome Guy

Brittany came down with a cold yesterday, so I thought I'd fill in for her today and share with you some common gift wrap problems and how to deal with them.  Think of this as the polar opposite of her Creative Gift Wrapping series of posts.

The Squish and Tape and Tape and Tape

Do you ever end up with a present that hangs out of the wrapping paper?

No problem, simply squish the gift inside the packaging as far as you can...

...and quickly fold over the end and slap on some tape. Then use some more tape to close the gaps,

and just for good measure add some more tape. Hey, tape is cheap, no need to be stingy with it!

All done, and the goal of hiding the present has been achieved!

The Panel (not to be confused with the type of pants pregnant women wear.)

How many times have you cut your wrapping paper only to realize that it is too short to go around the package? When it comes to wrapping presents I adhere to the adage "measure never, just cut it".  I mean seriously people we aren't building a house here, what you are wrapping is meant to be destroyed anyways. 

Here is the solution! It is called the panel. Simply cut another piece of wrapping paper the width of the gap (or maybe a little wider.)

Tape it on (no need to match up the pattern, no one will see the bottom when it is under the tree.). Bonus points if you can manage to use 2-3 different types of wrapping paper - just tell everyone it is a "holiday medley". 

Super easy solution and the best part is that you don't have to go back and cut a whole new piece of wrapping paper.  The environment will thank you for this one.

The Nip, Tuck & Roll

Now we are down to one of the most common wrapping problems. What to do when you have too much wrapping paper on the ends of your package.  And yes I realize most of these "problems" are a function of not measuring in the first place but whatever.

Normally I would simply roll the sides in until they meet the package, but in an effort to neaten things up a bit, you can simply gather the end in your hands and snip off the excess.

Now simply fold in the end towards the box.

Continue to roll the paper in...

...until you reach the box, then smash the end down with your hand to flatten it.

And tape your end down.

Done. Problem solved, any questions?

Adding a Gift Tag (bet you've never seen it done this way!)

I found the little key tags that Brittany bought for tagging her presents. Creative idea and all but sheesh a lot more work than a stick-on "To/From" tag.  But I devised a new way to attach them to the gift without ribbon.

Simply grasp a corner of your package and use a hole punch to make a hole in the gift wrap.

Then take a piece of tape and twist it into what I call a tapepick (looks like a toothpick.)

Thread the tapepick into the hole you made in your gift wrap.

Then grab another piece of tape and fold it over the ends of your tapepick to secure them.

That's it. Thanks for reading my post today. Hopefully Brittany will invite me back to show you how I make a bed in less than 10 seconds!

- Pretty Handsome Guy