Sometimes you don’t have to look farther than your own backyard to enjoy the wonders of the season. The Christmas tree displayed this year at American Greetings came from our own property. The spruce was blown over during Hurricane Sandy, and was brought inside and lovingly decorated by a talented group of AG folks and interns from Kent State University.

As for the gifts under the tree, just like icing on a cake, the wrapping is that final touch to a perfect gift. And it truly is another way to show just how much love and thought has gone into the gift. Here are some tips to jazz up that paper and wrap up your holiday gift giving in style:

Gift Wrap Ideas:

Many people like to color theme their gifts.  Select a few different coordinating papers and mix and match the ribbons to tie it all together for a bold statement.

Get creative with your accents. Who said a bow just has to be a bow? You can include coordinating plastic or glass ornaments, pine cones, or even glittered snowflakes that you find at your local craft or dollar store to add something unexpected to the gift.

There are so many ribbons out there to choose from — why stick to just one? Sometimes a beautifully-textured or fabric bow can turn ordinary paper into something extraordinary and classic.

Coordinate your greeting card with your gift wrap–and leave it outside the envelope to serve a dual purpose as the gift tag!

Recycle last year’s greeting cards and turn them into gift tags. We cite one of our favorite experts for this tip and she suggests gluing card designs to store-bought tags or cutting out the design and punching a hole for the ribbon.

Creating monogrammed gift tags from last year’s greeting cards is a great way to get the kids involved. Trace an initial on the back of the card and let the kids cut out the letter and punch a hole for the ribbon or tape to the gift.

Use a brown paper bag to wrap the gift and use a marker to write words or a special message, or even paint a design. Try making bows out of the bag too!

Some people like to use the comic section, and that’s great, but you can really spruce up newspaper giftwrap by using international papers and then finish with a coordinating bow. Save this idea for the world traveler on your list!

If that special person puts a song in your heart, why not wrap their gift in music? Sheet music to be exact! You can easily download it and print it out to wrap around your gift—and don’t forget the bow!

There really are so many creative ways to put the finishing touch on the perfect gift.  Do you have any ideas you would like to share? We’d love to hear from you.

Happy wrapping this week!

Source Credits:

https://www.marthastewart.com/276934/recycled-christmas-card-crafts#242820
https://www.marthastewart.com/276934/recycled-christmas-card-crafts#272401
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/diy-gift-wrap_n_1159209
https://www.marthastewart.com/274678/gift-wrapping-ideas#198813