To some, gift wrapping is the highlight of the Christmas season. This is the time of year when one can let out their inner creative side and really go to town when wrapping gifts. There are so many simple ways to spice up your Christmas gifts before you put them under the tree.

Read on for some easy gift wrapping ideas and tips on where to buy cool crafty items in Hong Kong to decorate your gifts!

1) Wrapping Paper Woes

Plain paper, multi-colored, patterned or just full on Christmassy, it's hard to decide which one to go for when they all look so pretty. Come up with 2-3 colors that complement each other and stick to the theme for all your presents! We like to stick to simple black or brown packaging, and jazz up the presents with some luxurious ribbon and fresh greens. 

Tip: Use brown or black cardboard boxes to save even more time on wrapping! 

2) Gift Wrapping Tips

Gift wrapping doesn’t need to be a stressful, frustrating ordeal. Creating a package that you can proudly present to your loved ones can be as easy as one, two, three.

Before we dive into the details of adding different accessories to your present, here are a couple of tips you might want to look out for. Once you have the wrapping paper you intend to use, make sure you place the present on top and leave a few extra inches around before cutting it. Pull the paper tightly to the package so that the present doesn't move about inside. If you're slightly OCD like us, you can use double sided tape to seal the paper so there won't be any tape marks on the outside. 

And there you have it, a beautifully wrapped Christmas gift, ready for some creative decorating!

3) Play Around with Different Ribbons

Time to let your creativity out! We're not just talking about adding little bows or ribbons, there are dozens of different creative twists you can put into holiday gift wrapping.

Ribbons may be commonplace in gift decorating, but there are so many different things you can do with ribbons on a Christmas gift. Keeping it traditional and wrapping a gorgeous holiday ribbon around your present in a crisscross fashion is always acceptable. Switch things up and use something other than ribbon. Maybe some twine or a pretty color of yarn? Take a visit to Sham Shui Po and follow this map by HK Hub to find your way to a wide variety of ribbon shops and other fun craft essentials! 

4) Use Different Textures and Colors to Accessorize

One your gift has some sort of ribbon or twine on it, consider tucking something into the ribbon, such as a couple of candy canes or fresh foliage. Maybe you went for the more rustic and nature-inspired look and used twine. Consider maybe attaching a pine cone (real or fake) under the tied part of the twine or foliage. A pine cone or even some tiny, fake evergreen branches would do the trick.

Tip: If you're using fresh foliage, go for greenery that will dry beautifully such as eucalyptus or cotton flowers.

5) Foolproof Alternative to Wrapping Your Gifts

If you’ve tried tirelessly to perfectly wrap your Christmas gifts in your beautifully coordinated wrapping paper and complimentary ribbons and can’t seem to get it exactly how you’re envisioning your gifts to look, not to worry! Wrapping your gifts in paper isn’t the only way to make your gifts beautifully presentable. Gift bags are most definitely an acceptable way to conceal your gifts while they sit under the tree awaiting the big day.

Yes, you can decorate your bags just as well as wrapped gifts. When picking out the bag you could also get some complimentary ribbon to tie on the two handles of your bag, or even wrap around your bag. Be sure to coordinate the color of your issue paper into this scheme as well, although you can never go wrong with white tissue paper!

Now that you have the basics down for gift wrapping as well as gift decorating, it’s time to get to work. Tag us @givebydeau in your gift wrapping photos and let us know how you got on!

Happy holidays and happy wrapping!