Be creative and be inspired – and have the best-wrapped gifts under the Christmas tree this year.
Think of the festive season – beautiful Christmas decorations, twinkling lights, the fun of shopping for the perfect Christmas gifts, Christmas carols, mouth-watering desserts … and of course, wrapping pressies. Look at the gifts under most Christmas trees and you’ll find works of art with perfectly folded corners and exquisitely tied bows, and then pressies held together with blobs of glue and paper-thin wrapping paper. No joy there!
uMhlanga interior designer Lisa Walters-Hunter has mastered the art of gift wrapping, and shares her thoughts and tips with us.
“For me, gift wrapping and the thought and time I put into packaging a gift should have the same amount of effort as the time I spent selecting the gift. It’s the first impression – and I like that impression to be a lasting one.”
If you’re not particularly creative, it can be hard to know the best, most effective ways to wrap presents. “There are a ton of gorgeous options out there, but I stick with my firm favourite ideas year in and year out,” says Lisa.
• I love to layer ribbons.
• I mix wrapping paper and gift tags, then embellish and decorate the gifts with goodies to personalise them, and if need be, jazz them up.
• I also like to use beautiful boxes to place gifts in, which means the recipient can use the box afterwards.
• I like to keep to a colour palette – this festive season I have used black, cream and gold.
• Depending on the recipient, let your imagination run wild, be creative, mix clashing patterns and textures.
Find my style:
I sourced the wrapping and ribbons from the following suppliers: Star wrapping paper – Value Co, Cornubia Centre; Various ribbons – Vegmoflora Decor and uMhlanga SuperSpar Decor Division; Black boxes – Value Co and uMhlanga SuperSpar Decor Division; Ticking stripe collapsible gift box – Typo; Christmas ornaments on gifts – H&M Home, Gateway, uMhlanga SuperSpar Decor Division, and Mr Price Home; Christmas gift tags and gold deer stickers – Woolworths; Gold scissors – Poetry.
Lisa Walters-Hunter