Holiday Gift Wrapping

Updated on November 08, 2011
☆.A. asks from Beverly Hills, CA
22 answers

OK--so we all probably do a LOT of gift wrapping for the holidays.
It has taken me 47 Christmases to get to the point that I am NOT hunched on the bedroom floor gift-wrapping on a needs-to-be wrapped TODAY basis. In the past few years (maybe 3) I have gotten much better at wrapping ahead of time. When I shop, I wrap what I bought that day.
What frustrates me is that my husband usually shops for his parents and waits til the last minute, then we have to wrap ALL of that at the last minute.
I have made a stand and told him--his purchases, HIS wrapping duty!
But, honestly, it's painful to watch. So I usually end up doing them for him. WHAT a production.
I wrap everything else and I should probably just let him do it (however convoluted "Where's some paper? Do we have any tape?"LOL)
Just curious. Do you and your husband split the wrapping or does one of you do all of it?

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Featured Answers

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B..

answers from Dallas on

I do all the wrapping, but I LOVE wrapping! I still go over to my parent's house and do all their wrapping. I've taken on doing all my mother in laws wrapping, as well. I'd do it as a job if I could!

6 moms found this helpful

T.K.

answers from Dallas on

I do all the wrapping. Otherwise, it would be handed to the recipient in a walmart plastic sack with the price tag showing.

5 moms found this helpful

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S.R.

answers from El Paso on

If it's going to my family, I wrap it, except in the case where it's something HE specifically picked out. My husband doesn't do the "prettiest" wrap jobs... lol. I can't stand to watch him do it. I literally have to not watch him so I won't try to step in and do it myself. So, if it's something from both of us and it's going to my family, *I* wrap it.

3 moms found this helpful

P.W.

answers from Dallas on

I do all the shopping and wrapping. Not saying it's right, but it's more my thing than his. I don't really mind and my husband rarely has input. He is grateful I take it on. Sometimes I ask him to get something specific (order it or pick it up), but he can't wrap. Forget that.

3 moms found this helpful
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C.J.

answers from Milwaukee on

My husband's wrap jobs are nearly a work of art. I'll help him get stuff out and I'm his assistant. The key is being able to find time once our son falls asleep because WE want to go to bed.

I do a decent job and wrap our son's stuff because it doesn't have to be extra fancy. At 4 1/2 yesr old he tears thru them in record time.

2 moms found this helpful
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M.2.

answers from Chicago on

I do all the shopping and wrapping - aren't I the lucky O. =) I'm also guilty of waiting until the last minute to start wrapping so I'm usually up pretty late the eve of Christmas Eve!

2 moms found this helpful

R.D.

answers from Richmond on

I wrap as I buy, color coordinate what's from Santa and what's from mom and dad, label who gets what, then toss my husband the scraps whenever he (finally) asks for them. Last year he wisened up to 'customer service gift wrap'.

On a side note, my parents would wait until the last second, then pay me to wrap everything :)

2 moms found this helpful
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S.H.

answers from St. Louis on

the trick is to use a table, not the floor or bed! It truly makes life easier! I also set up my tags, bows, etc on a chair seat so it's right there for me.

Organization is also a key...I have a small wooden toolbox for all of the misc items, including my scissors & tape.

All of my rolls of gift wrap are kept in a gift bag which has a cardboard box in the bottom....to keep it all upright. The gift bags & tissue are also kept in a similar setup. When not in use, I keep all of this by the Christmas tree as part of the decorations! (for the rest of the year, it stores neatly in my chifferobe...all ready to go!)

For the nicer gifts, I do most of the wrapping....unless I can enlist some help. For the game prizes, my DH & sons do most of the wrapping....so I can tackle a bigger project. It all works out.....

EDIT: as I buy gifts, I store them in oversized gift bags.....O. for my sister's family, O. for each of my sons, O. for the parents, & O. for the misc/random gifts we choose to give. A super easy way to stay on top of everything! Once everything is wrapped, the gifts go back into the oversized bag until we hit the road....or until our party. I reuse the same bags from year-to-year!

2 moms found this helpful

M.J.

answers from Minneapolis on

I do it all, cause my husband is the type to hand over the gift still in the plastic bag at the place he bought just 15 minutes prior, and including the receipt and maybe some candy wrappers or a tin of chew he forgot to take out of the bag.
I even wrap the gifts he gets me so that I feel like part of the family when opening it, or to just pretend there is some care involved on my birthday.

2 moms found this helpful
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S.Q.

answers from Bellingham on

Last year I used the charity gift wrapping services at the mall as I did my shopping. You pay the ladies at the table a donation for each gift wrapped, and they did a beautiful job. I loved it!

2 moms found this helpful
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K.P.

answers from New York on

We actually do it together. We pick O. night and do the wrapping/labels when the little guy goes to bed. In years past, it has involved a bottle of wine- this year probably hot chocolate (preggers)- but we use it as a mini date night!

2 moms found this helpful

A.R.

answers from Houston on

Gift wrapping is an excuse in our house to stay up late and break out a bottle of champagne to assist with the process. Needless to say we tend to stock pile the gifts, spread out on the kitchen table and have a darn jolly time. :)

2 moms found this helpful

X.O.

answers from Chicago on

I do it all, and do the shopping as well. When my in-laws lived with me they asked me to wrap theirs too because otherwise they were messes.

I have a ton of wrapping paper to use up, but once it is gone, I will switch to using re-usable gift bags. More eco-friendly, and easier for me :-)

I worked at Pottery Barn for a year, so I have learned how to wrap gifts quickly and beautifully.

2 moms found this helpful

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

If my husband waits until the last minute to purchase gifts - he is responsible for wrapping them.

We typically purchase together and wrap together...I'll drink some hot chocolate and he'll drink egg nog and we laugh and have fun.

There are times when I just do the wrapping and he keeps the kids busy...

1 mom found this helpful
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K.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

I usually do the wrapping because I enjoy and my husband truly is wrapping idiot. He takes so long and doesn't understand how to cut out the paper to fit right. But I do enlist him to help me out, even just to put tags and bows on, lol. But, when he specifically buys something for anyone he wraps it himself because he wants to. He enjoys wrapping when it's a special gift. But when it's production line wrapping he's not too thrilled with it. But we put on a Christmas movie and drink cocoa while we wrap and talk and laugh and make fun of each other. (he wraps so slow, I wrap like it's 1999)

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

1 mom found this helpful

M.D.

answers from Washington DC on

Haha! I am normally wrapping ALL day. But this year I'm going to have to wrap some ahead of time...once my classes finish 11 December, I'm going to start wrapping because I need to. The big gifts are at my mom and dads house (or will be once we pick them up on Friday.) And those won't be wrapped anyways. But yes, I am normally a last minute wrapper. I'm also 28 and this is my 9th Christmas with kids and 10th with hubby. I also spend many Christmases with my mom wrapping last minute (once I knew Santa was my mom and dad as far as gifts go) and I am O. of 5!

1 mom found this helpful

E.S.

answers from Dayton on

I do about 98% of it. Mostly I enjoy it. I even enjoy staying up until a ridiculous hour on Christmas Eve to finish it all.
I agree w/ LoveTeachingMath...it is painful to watch DH do it-even though his end results are not as horrifying as O. would expect.
But if it is going to someone outside of our immediate family, I have to do it. :)

1 mom found this helpful

J.S.

answers from Jacksonville on

LOL. Well we have to wrap my moms gift right away because she is a big ol snoop!

We did usually just have a O. night and get it all done type of thing. He usually helps, but sometimes I think it would be easier if he just let me do it and kept our daughter away from it all.

Now that we live in Florida we have to travel half way across the country if we want to spend christmas with our family. This means that I order most of the gifts online and send them to moms house. We usually get there a couple days before christmas and if there is any other shopping to do then we finish up. This works great...mom gets to snoop through all the presents (seriously this woman CAN NOT leave a box unopened) and it doesn't ruin christmas.

Of course we never send her own present, it comes on the plane with us. :)

1 mom found this helpful
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L.K.

answers from Chicago on

I do all of the wrapping.I usually need a chiropractic adjustment after:) My husband is a horrible wrapper. His excuse is that he is left handed and can't cut very well. I need to buy him some lefty scissors.I can give them to him from St. Nick along with a piece of coal in his shoe :)

1 mom found this helpful
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L.M.

answers from New York on

Hubby does his own wrapping for the items he purchases for me and a few of the items for the girls. He does it while I'm at work so I don't have to go through that painful process. He uses double the amount paper and 10 times the amount of tape needed. Drives me nuts, but I do give him credit for trying.

He used to wrap with aluminum foil, actually it's kind of pretty. There's always gift bags.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.C.

answers from Dover on

We share the wrapping duty, unless O. of us needs to watch the kids while the other wraps gifts. The only gifts that get wrapped are our kids b-day and Christmas gifts. Everyone and everything else get's a gift bag with artfully stuffed tissue paper.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

F.B.

answers from Harrisburg on

My husband and I share the wrapping. But, usually end up waiting until with a week or so before Christmas to do all the wrapping.

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