Holiday Wrap

Today is officially wrapping day at our house

I set up a card table, pull out tissue paper, put on Christmas music and get to work. I am not particularly good at gift wrapping, I misplace the tape, the scissors, and tags. Personally, I am a fan of the gift bag, to the disappointment of many of my gift recipients over the years. Most argue that using a gift bag is not wrapping. The comments I have received include “ It looks like you can’t be bothered to wrap”. “It’s just not special” “Oh, look! another bag”. With – Eye rolls – you get the gist.

It’s true, I am a bag lady. To me, Gift bags are the gift that keeps on giving. You can use them over and over again for years. It’s easier to tote everything to the tree and tote gifts home with gift bags.

Need more reasons? Read on-

Sizes and Shapes: Not every gift fits in a box that can be easily wrapped. Especially sports equipment.

Convenience: I’ve had more than one in-law appear on Christmas Day with unwrapped gifts and pull me aside from dinner preparations and ask me to wrap their gifts for them. – isn’t that special? – speaking of people who can’t be bothered- yes, I am rolling my eyes.

Time: Before there was a reduce, reuse, recycle slogan- I grew up in a household where we opened Christmas gifts slowly and carefully so as to not tear the paper. Then the paper could be folded and reused. Gift opening takes hours this way. In fact, we opened gifts from one branch of the family on Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas Day. That’s how long it took, and there were only three of us.

Clean up: Once the space under the tree is bare, everyone can sort their gifts into their bags and take them to their own living space and one bag can be designated for trash. That’s the idea anyway.

It is not a perfect system. Some gifts get forgotten in bags and I will find them the following year packed away with the recycled bags, but for this Santa, it’s what works. Ho, Ho, Ho

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