Are you overwhelmed with all the gift wrapping you need to do this week? Or, if you've finished wrapping, are you wondering how to store all the leftover wrapping supplies for next year?
Today I'm sharing 5 tips to make wrapping gifts as simple as possible. And the bonus is that this process also makes storing your wrap easy too!
I've seen lots of lovely gift wrap stations in the last few weeks (you can see some on my Christmas Organizing board), but I don't have a place in my home to put anything permanent.
Here's how I organize my regular gift wrap supplies.
For 11 1/2 months of the year I select the gift I'm giving from our gift bins (pictured below) and the greeting card from the greeting card bin (pictured above). The gift bins are
Sometimes I use my desk to wrap on, sometimes my counters, and sometimes just the floor, depending on the size of the gift. It works great when I'm only wrapping a few gifts a month.
But, at Christmas, there are so many gifts to be wrapped, and I have so many more wrapping supplies. And I don't want to store my Christmas wrap and related supplies with my day-to-day wrap because I only use it for a few weeks each year. So I use a different system for Christmas wrapping.
For a week or two in December, our master bedroom turns into wrap central. I wrap in groups - my family, my hubby's family, friends and teachers, our kids, and my hubby. At each wrapping session, I spread out all the gifts in piles on our bed so I can see everything and make sure I haven't forgotten anything before I start wrapping. {Sorry there are no pics of this step but I don't want to spoil any surprises for friends or family reading this blog!}
Then it's time to start wrapping. I use my bed for a lot of it. Sometimes my dresser, which is a better height than the bed. And sometimes I wrap large gifts on the floor. I crank up the Christmas tunes and wrap away!
I keep my rolls of Christmas wrap and most of my Christmas wrapping accessories in this handy hanging wrap organizer.
I got this several years ago and I can't remember where I bought it, but here's a similar one on Amazon. It's so handy! It keeps all the rolls contained in a pocket, with a velcro strap at the top to hold them together. Plus there are pockets along the sides where I keep my plain tissue paper, patterned tissue paper, gift tags, ribbon, and decorative tape.
During the rest of the year, this baby hangs in my son's closet because he doesn't have a lot of hanging clothes. But during the Christmas wrap season, I hang it over our bedroom door with a cute wreath hook. It's out of the way when we're not wrapping, but easily accessible when I am wrapping! {Our bedroom door is one of the few doors in our home that doesn't have anything hanging on the back, so it's the perfect place to wrap!}
Here's a closer look at this great organizer!
It's so easy to wrap with all these items in one place. And the rolls aren't rolling around everywhere!
I also have a bin that I keep all my boxes and bags in. They're organized by size so it's easy to find what I need.
In this bin I also have 2 cans with all my bows (when I'm wrapping I usually have those open and beside where I'm working). And there are a few decorative boxes and tins that I can use for those small, hard-to-wrap items. I keep a bit of flat wrap in here too or leftover pieces of wrap that can still be used (like the last part of a roll or a bit that was cut off when wrapping another gift).
Update: I've also used a Wrappy organizer for Christmas gift wrap. One side is for rolls of wrap (each secured between elastic bands so they don't unroll or rip).
And the other side for bag, boxes, tissue, etc.
You can order the Wrappy or other versions of it here {affiliate links}.
Are you ready for my 5 tips for simpler gift wrapping? Here you go!
1. Keep your gift wrapping supplies all in one place and organized
2. Wrap items simply {there's nothing wrong with making your own gift tags or decorating your own gift wrap if you enjoy doing that and you have the time and energy - but if you're going for simple, then it's probably best to skip over those ideas on Pinterest}
3. Use decorative boxes or gift bags with tissue paper for awkward shaped items - they look beautiful and you don't have to spend a lot of time fighting with the gift wrap {if you don't have decorative boxes you can use any old box and just wrap it}
4. Use a variety of wraps but try to use up some of the rolls so you don't have to store almost finished rolls for a whole year
5. Use gift bags to group multiple gifts for the same person so you don't have to label every gift {this is helpful when you are bringing gifts for nieces and nephews to extended family celebrations and it makes the process of handing out the gifts simpler too - for your own family gifts it's still nice to label each individual gift under your tree}.
Those are just a few time-saving tricks I've used. Everything ends up looking pretty but I don't spend a ton of time wrapping.
All my wrap supplies are organized and super easy to find so I'm not wasting time rummaging through everything to find the perfect sized bag or that roll of wrap I know my daughter would like. It makes wrapping simple.
And, when I'm finished all my wrapping, I just hang the gift wrap organizer back in my son's closet and put the bin back in the garage until next December!
Actually, before I put them away, I add all the still useable gift bags, gift boxes, tissue paper, and bows from the gifts we received. There is so much life in these items that I always reuse them until they're too worn out to give to someone. After I've added everything to the bin, I take stock of whether I need anything for next year and then pick it up during the after-Christmas sales when everything is super cheap. That way I save money and I'm not scrambling when I go to wrap next year.
On Friday I'll show you how I organize gifts once they're wrapped so I can bring them to each place we go over Christmas without forgetting any or wrecking the wrapping.
If you missed any of the Christmas posts I've shared this month, here are links to all of them.
You can also find more Christmas organizing ideas on my Christmas Organizing board on Pinterest.
How do you organize your Christmas wrap? What simple tricks have you used to make gift wrapping simpler and quicker?
Happy organizing!
I link up at these great parties - Check them out!
