A little while back I wrote a post about creative ways to wrap your gifts (you can read it here). It inspired me to step away from commercial gift wrap and consider more creative options to wrapping loot.
Not a good photo, but you get the picture nonetheless
The little girl and I began our new approach to gift wrapping by starting with her friends’ birthday presents. Our supplies included brown paper, string, foam shapes and letters, raffia, and those old-fashioned luggage labels. Oh and of course, buttons.
Wrapping is quick and easy, and the little girl spends a great deal of time decorating the luggage label with the foam shapes and letters. The final result may not be too superfluous or gaudy, but it imparts a fair deal of charm and interest. The gifts are always handed to the birthday kid with a big toothless smile, followed by a response along the lines of ‘oh wow, look at that’.
I think the important part of the wrapping mission is the effort and thought the little girl now takes to wrap her friends’ gifts. It’s not only a gift she’s handing over, but a piece of her own handiwork that adds to the delight of giving.
Who knows – maybe she apologises profusely to her buddies after I’ve dropped her off at the parties. Perhaps she says ‘mother made me do it’. Or maybe she carries a secret stash of Clinton’s garish gift bags under her coat. Or maybe not.
