6 Common Gift Wrapping Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
We know what you’re thinking. “Is there really a wrong way to wrap gifts?”
Well, it’s true that the act of giving and the thought put into the gift are what count. Still, a poorly wrapped gift doesn’t look very thoughtful, does it? Alternatively, putting in just a little more effort and skill into the wrapping is like putting decorative icing designs on a cake.
For these reasons, we want to share with you the most common gift wrapping mistakes people make so that you can avoid them. To really show your giftees that you care, watch out for these gift wrapping blunders.
1. Making a Second Trip For Wrapping Supplies
Don’t you hate it when you get all your gifts home and lay them out in front of you, only to realize, “Dang it!” You forgot to pick up wrapping paper. It’s even worse when you make a second trip for the wrapping paper only to realize you’re out of tape!
So, rather than making trip after inconvenient trip, do yourself this favor. Have a wrapping station set up all year-round. Or, at least have a drawer or bin full of wrapping supplies that you keep stocked at all times.
2. Not Keeping Wrapping Supplies Segregated
To follow up on that last point, do not put anything besides wrapping supplies in your wrapping supply bin. And don’t use any other supplies for wrapping.
In other words, these supplies should be considered off-limits to your kids. For instance, you should have tape and scissors that you only use for wrapping. This way, your kids don’t use up all of your gift-wrapping tape or dull your ribbon-cutting scissors with glue.
3. Using the Cheap Stuff
There’s a reason that the cheap paper is cheap, several reasons, actually:
- It’s ugly
- It’s thin enough to see through
- It tears easily during wrapping, leaving holes
- It tears easily after wrapping, requiring you to rewrap the gift
We could go on and on. But the bottom line is that cheap wrapping paper cheapens your gift. Go ahead and pay a few extra dollars for the premium paper when you stock up.
4. Not Going the Extra Mile
Being cheap with your wrapping doesn’t only apply to the paper you choose. You can do a lot better than a cheap, adhesive gift ribbon, too.
Using decorative fabric ribbons instead is much more presentable and is not at all expensive. You can even go a step further and use a personalized ribbon.
5. Labeling Mistakes
Here are some labeling no-nos that show you put very little care into your gift wrapping:
- Using makeshift labels from paper and tape instead of genuine gift tags
- Using no labels and just writing the name on the gift with a marker
- Not labeling at all and then forgetting whose gift is whose
It’s also bad to place the adhesive gift tag on the gift before writing the name. If you make a mistake, you’ll either have to cross it out (ugly), put a second label over it (ugly), or rewrap it (time-consuming).
6. Waiting Until the Last Minute
If you wait until the last minute to wrap gifts, you’re already too late. It takes significantly more than a minute to make the wrapping look nice.
It would be a shame to stock up on all those nice supplies and still deliver a late or poorly-wrapped gift. Make sure to start early or schedule enough time for wrapping.
Avoid These Gift Wrapping Mistakes
Don’t make these gift wrapping mistakes anymore. Follow these tips to make your great gifts even better.
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Trevor Anderson wrote this article on behalf of FreeUp. FreeUp is the fastest-growing freelance marketplace in the US. FreeUp only accepts the top 1% of freelance applicants. Click here to get access to the top freelancers in the world.
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