Christmas wrapping: finding your theme

This year is the only year I've included a theme within my Christmas wrapping. I'd like to say I wasn't influenced by the formidable pinterest-worthy blogger choices of Kraft paper and twine but I'd be lying if I said so. That means that this December I've only just come to the conclusive realisation that sticking to one or two designs and jazzing them up to meet your tastes gives the best kind of result. As I'm a newbie to to this malarkey I thought it'd be useful to share what I've learned. Wrapping presents may not seem a big deal to most people but for a striving perfectionist like me, the satisfaction of completing that natural but fruitful look I aim for with everything in life is a grand feeling indeed.

Choosing the print | if you're really specific, focusing on one solid paper whether that be plain or vibrant is probably more preferable but for me personally, I do like a small variety and appreciate the contrast between them. This year I went for candy stripe, some Paperchase reindeer Kraft goodness, and for the main gifts; a brown and red spotted paper. The great thing is, these three choices entwine with each other so I'm not verging too far out of the zone and they're all easy to work with. The print is the main base and it's all about building to compliment the foundation. There's nothing more pleasing than seeing a display of patterned and textured individual masterpieces under the tree!

Coordinating | once you have your starting point, you can begin to accessorize at your leisure. Picking up a bulk lot of bows, ribbon, tags and any other add on embellishments whilst your ideas are fresh to your mind and you know the jist of what you want is a great way to begin because then you don't lose track a month down the line and start panicking Christmas will arrive without any refined gift wrapping *shock horror*. With my three types of paper, I went for red and white bows for all, candy striped twine and gold ribbon for the brown reindeer Kraft paper, ordinary traditional twine for the red spots, white and red ribbon for the candy stripes to allow the two primary colours to play against each other, as well as matching with the , and then a mixture of colour coordinated tags for the trio. I find shopping around first of all helps you to blend in your trimmings with your main; having an almost identical touch makes the end result so much more effective.

Finding unique pieces | I love discovering distinctive, quirky items away from what you'd come across on your ordinary high street. Etsy is my ultimate place to be for those extra special elements, as is eBay (because you can never go wrong with a 99p inexpensive buy). For my presents, I picked up some beautiful rustic calligraphy gift tags on Etsy which go with every inch of my theme, and some felt snowflake ribbon over on eBay. For me, I think both the tags and the ribbon are a stand out feature and are what make the gifts individual to my tendencies, allowing me to hand them over to my family and friends with them knowing exactly who they were delivered by (aside from writing on the tag to inform them that is). 

Twine, twine, ribbon, more twine | did I mention how much I appreciate both ribbon and twine? I've only just discovered my love for it recently, before my deep interest in gift wrapping took over I just used to stick a bow on and make do but ribbon and twine make SUCH a difference, and transform a simple present into a more presentable and pristine present. It dresses up the box without the need to over pile it with extra add-ons you can often get lost with - and, the more you wrap around, the better (although I'm yet to develop my ability in that area).

Finishing touches | even after you think everything is smoothly finalized, you can often feel as though something is missing. I know I certainly did, which is why throwing in a segment of a Christmas plant (mine being mistletoe) really sets the parcel off and ups the prettiness level I always desire. Another gem I love is washi tape, where you can reach out further and decorate in the form of tape - especially when your paper is plain. I remained with normal sellotape but there's always next year now I'm getting the hang of it!

You don't need huge fancy skills to successfully complete appealing gift wrapping, you just need to have fun with it. The key is all in the enjoyment and experimentation. I'm certainly no expert but I'm more than happy with my logical thinking and I now have lovely looking gifts I'm proud to hand over (although with all that work that's gone into it, I'm gonna have to grin and bear the aggressive tearing).

How about you? Do you stick to a certain theme or just wrap as you please?

Bridie x