Wrapping presents without tape or glue
Here are two Christmas presents I received tonight from a company I work for, each containing at least 4 pieces of Scotch (plastic) tape. One thing my friends and family know about me is that I can’t wait to open presents, and tonight was no exception. So I justified my impatience by resolving to figure out a way to re-wrap the same presents using no tape or glue at all.
For a few weeks now, I’ve been searching the web for instructions, hoping to find a way to wrap gifts without any tape OR ribbon. I even went to Borders after work tonight to look for a book on gift-wrapping, to no avail. The couple of books I found required double-sided tape. So I decided I’d just have to figure it out myself. I got part of the way there. The method I discovered does require some ribbon to hold it in place, but nothing sticky.
Why, you may ask, am I making a big deal out of something as petty as a little bit of tape? Well, I guess it’s not a huge deal when you look at the mountains of plastic in this world. But why use something if you don’t have to? And not putting tape or glue on the paper leaves it in better shape to be reused by the recipient.
Normally, I’m a terrible, lazy gift-wrapper, preferring reused gift bags and a bit of reused tissue paper. And I guess if I were going to wrap a box, I wouldn’t use new wrapping paper, but maybe a grocery bag or the comics pages from the newspaper, with twine or yarn instead of plasticy ribbon. But these are the materials I was given to work with, so here goes:
Wrap the paper around the box and pull the two long edges together so that they meet in the middle.
Fold both edges of paper over and flatten them down.
This is what the seam looks like.
On the side of the box, fold each flap of paper one at a time, clockwise.
Tuck the bottom flap underneath the right flap and press it flat.
Turn the box on its side and fold the flaps on the other side of the box in the same manner. Use the pressure of the box against the floor to keep the first side in place while working on the second side.
If you were really careful, the paper might stay put without ribbon. But who wants to be that careful? Tie your ribbon or string or yarn very tightly around the box to hold the paper in place.
So you want to know what was in the boxes? A very nice Riedel wine decanter and two merlot glasses. Totally plastic-free! (I don’t know if there was plastic in the boxes before they were wrapped or not. A lot of people know I am not into plastic these days, so the gift-giver may have taken it out. Or maybe there wasn’t any in there to begin with. I’m just glad I only ended up with a tiny bit of tape!)
There are all kinds of other creative ways of wrapping gifts. Clever fabric bags, handkerchiefs, Japanese furoshiki, etc. What are your favorites? I’ll certainly be using the bare minimum of wrapping simply because I don’t enjoy doing it. But others love to wrap gifts. Please share!
you could use cloth ribbons. I use them in my hair.
Or you could just use gift bags! Those things can get reused a thousand times.
Thank you! I just wrapped a couple of packages for our clients and wished that I didn’t have to use tape – not only because it doesn’t look great with tape showing, but also because it isn’t eco-friendly! One google search later and here I am… thanks again
Awesome! I’m SO going to do this.
I wrap gifts in fabric and use cloth ribbon to hold it all together….no tape necessary! 😀
Thanks for walking us thru this with pictures! Very helpful.
I was looking for this very idea because my dad (who passed away in 2002) use to wrap presents this way all the time. I never learned how to do it, and was just talking to someone about it yesterday. Got me thinking that I should learn it now anyway as a part of his memory.
He would like that.
Forgive me if this was already stated but I didn’t read every comment yet. It seems to me taht you whould be able to make a slit in the paper to tuck the flap in and that perhaps it would stay put. I’d also suggest looking into origami techniques if wrapping is necessary.
One nice idea is to wrap gifts in a towel, blanket, dishcloth, or scarf. If it’s a wedding gift, use a towel from their registry. If it’s a baby gift, use a baby spit up cloth. You can tie it with a ribbon and then they can use it again! Also, I like homemade wrapping paper that you can decorate yourself.
Jessica, that is a very good question. I put a sticker or two on the flap to hold it down. Or some masking tape (which isn’t beautiful, but works.)
But this post was about presents, not envelopes! 🙂
I wish I could get inspired to wrap creatively like the rest of you. I guess I put all my energy into finding or creating the gift itself and then just can’t get excited about the wrapping.
But if anyone wants to make extra gift bags, I’ll buy them from you!