[This is a paid partnership with The White Company, but all words and opinions are my own]
Wrapping gifts is one of my favourite Christmas rituals. Each year I set aside a whole afternoon and evening, put on some seasonal tunes, help myself to a tipple and a mince pie, and lose myself in a mountain of paper, ribbon, twine and tags. It always helps me get into the festive mood, and I love making presents that little bit more meaningful by putting time and effort into the way they look.
I always shy away from bright wrapping paper and opt for something more minimal instead. For the past few years I’ve used plain Kraft paper, but this year I wanted to add a bit of pattern into the mix. Few places seem to stock patterned wrapping paper that isn’t garish or overpowering, but The White Company’s range is perfect – understated and elegant, with just the right amount of sparkle.
I decided to mix and match several different papers and ribbons, but I stuck to a limited palette of colours – white, grey, silver and brown – to create a cohesive look. I chose brown Kraft paper decorated with silver snowflakes, white paper with a silver ‘Merry Christmas’ script, dark grey paper with glittery stars, and a huge 10m roll of plain white paper which I can use for birthdays, weddings and baby showers as well as Christmas; I also selected co-ordinating silver ribbon in several different widths, along with natural white and brown twine. Instead of gift tags, I used white porcelain stars with names written in silver marker pen – it’s an easy way to make presents look extra-special, and it means the recipient will have a personalised decoration which they can use for years to come.
If you want to create beautifully wrapped gifts this Christmas, here are a few tips that might help…
- Make wrapping feel like a treat not a chore by creating a festive atmosphere. Light a scented candle (The White Company’s Christmas votive candle collection is perfect and also makes a wonderful gift), prepare a pitcher of mulled wine, and have a Christmas playlist or film playing in the background.
- Always wrap on a hard surface such as a table, rather than a carpet or rug.
- It sounds obvious, but make sure you use sharp scissors to avoid ragged paper, tangled tape and frayed nerves!
- If you find cutting paper in a straight line tricky, try folding it and cutting along the crease. If you still struggle, fold over any visible edges before taping them down to create a neat finish.
- Have bits of sticky tape cut to different lengths ready and waiting, so you can reach for them with one hand while holding the paper in place with the other.
- If you’re wrapping items with strong colours or visible lettering and using pale paper, cut twice the amount you need and fold it over to create a double layer. This will stop anything showing through the paper and revealing what’s inside.
- If you’re using patterned paper, try to cut it so that a full repeat of the design is visible across the front of the parcel once wrapped. This might not be possible with small items, so you may want to save patterned paper for larger gifts.
- Small prints tend to look better with narrow ribbon or string, and large prints with wide ribbon. Rules are made to be broken though, so play around to see what works best.
- Cut ribbon on an angle to prevent the ends fraying; this tends to look a little prettier, too.
- Have fun with additional decorations. In the past I’ve tucked sprigs of festive foliage behind the ribbon, wired pine cones into bows and even made personalised gift tags from photo prints.
Shown above:
White Kraft wrapping paper (£10 for 10m) | Glitter snowflake wrapping paper (£8 for 6m) | Grey glitter star wrapping paper (£8 for 6m) | ‘Merry Christmas’ script wrapping paper (£8 for 6m) | Set of three silver Christmas ribbons (£12) | Sparkle Christmas ribbon (£5 for 5m) | Set of two Kraft Christmas ribbons (£8) | White porcelain star decorations (£12 for a set of six) | Christmas votive candle collection (£40) | Cocktail jug with stirrer (£45) | ‘Belgravia’ tumblers (£25 for a set of four)
See The White Company’s full Christmas range here.
All photography by Abi Dare
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