typically i would wrap presents as i get them & put under the tree but this year we are traveling (driving) 10 hours away to hubby's fam...i am afraid to wrap the gifts because its gonna be a tight fit getting everything in & i'm afraid the paper will get all torn up just loading & unloading...that being said we are unable to leave until late thursday night, & we will arrive in the morning on christmas eve...i would rather not be up all night wrapping gifts (in our house santa gifts are not wrapped but they only receive a small (er) santa gift & what is in their stockings, everything else is from mom & dad & is wrapped)...so any suggestions on how to transport wrapped gifts without messing them all up??
thanks for the suggestions!! i dont remember what we did last time, i guess it wasnt as big of a problem since we only had 1 child last time we were there for christmas! i am thinking i will wrap as much as i can fit into a big box & also use bags too (my mommy brain must not be working because i just couldnt think of what i would do! lol!)...we do have a van but it's gonna be tight, because we will have the backseat in (which we usually do not) so that hubby can sleep since we are leaving late after he gets off work, & we also have to fit my sons wheelchair behind the seat (the luggage of course will be on top)...but i think we can fit a big box back there too...there are a couple of big things but they are for the baby (15 months) so it wont matter that they arent wrapped because she wont know/understand what it is till she opens it anyway : ) thanks for your responses!!!
(shipping is not really an option, his grandmother (where we are staying) is kinda strange & freaks out just when we come to stay & our bags are sitting in the floor of the bedroom we are in, so i dont think she would be thrilled if i shipped stuff up there ahead of time, she wouldnt say anything but i would just rather not! : )
Ok...We travel every year for Christmas and this is what works for us. I wrap all presents before hand and place tags on them but no bows or ribbon. I place the presents in a series of shopping bags (the paper ones with the nice handles) and boxes I get from Costco. This protects the paper. I throw a bag of bows and when I get there I attach them.
Hope this helps!
Suzy and her men
When traveling if possible put the wrapped gifts in a tote then seal it and pop it in the trunk. We do this, but we have a huge van the suitcases go on top. .
Or order some things, have them sent to Grandma;s and have her wrap some of them.
USPS flat rate boxes ship for about $11 a piece for the big ones. Send the gifts wrapped to Grandma now so they will be there.
You could wrap & ship them ahead of time--assuming his family has room to keep them somewhere for you.
Why not wrap them and ship them to grandma's already wrapped, tell her the box is coming and she can open it upon arrival and place the gifts under the tree?
Surely she would enjoy having mounds of beautifully wrapped gifts under the tree. It adds to the ambiance. ;)
whenever we had to transport gifts, we would wrap them, then put them in a large box to protect it.
I usually wrap early but use a heavier grade of paper and instead of a bow I use several different colors and sizes of ribbon and do a plaid pattern (2 ribbons length wise 2-3 width). This pattern looks very pretty, travels great and can be put over most papers, even loooks good on heavy brown paper.
Put them together in larger boxes as if you were shipping them UPS. Stuff the spaces in between with newspaper. I would suggest that Santa bring your family a roof-top carrier for your van. We bought ours several years ago and it has paid for itself by far. We call ours "the torpedo".
Lots of gift bags and tissue paper!
My thought after reading your , what happened, is not to take both of the babies big gifts. The baby won't know the difference, depending on how big they are, it could save you some space. I also have concerns about your hubby sleeping, if he is laying down on the back row of seats, he won't be buckled in properly. What would happen if you had an accident?
I think it would be easier to carry gift bags of different sizes with you and just put the gifts inside those bags when you get there. I find this easier than spending lot of time wrapping gifts. Get some colored paper too to cover the gifts in the bag.
You could also do one big bag with all the gifts for each kid.
If you still want to wrap everything, then do it at home itself when you have time.Put it in big gift bags or boxes(if you have space) while you take them so that the wrapping doesn't get messed up.Other option is wrap everything with bubble wrap,
My MIL makes fabric bags, like pillowcases, in red and green and uses those. She travels here from Florida and packs the bags seperated in her suitcase. You could already stuff yours though, if going by car.
Can you wrap them now and ship in one big box to your family's house. They will arrive in good condition and you won't have to worrying about fitting in the car until you head home.
