by Currie Jean

Created on: November 29, 2010

Wrapping a gift well requires that the contents of the gift be a surprise. If your gift is hard to wrap, that probably means it's really special - it's either super large, alive, or homemade, and definitely straight from the heart. You'll want to choose a really fitting wrapping style to keep the gift exchange surprising and exciting.

Gigantic Gifts

A car for a sixteen-year-old, a bicycle for a six-year-old: gifts like these are huge, and sometimes can't even be brought into the house. Sure, it's nice to add a bow to the top of the gift for decoration and leave it in plain sight, but that takes all the surprise out of the gifting event.

This calls for you, the gifter, to think outside the box. Use the entire environment - the house, or even the whole block - as your wrapping paper. Hide a car down the street and around the corner with a bow on it, and take the recipient for a walk after all the other gifts have been opened. Tag the keys with a "for" and a "from," then drop them on the ground when you get to the car, and point them out as though you just found them there. Let the recipient pick them up, and encourage him to look closely at the tag.

Hide a bicycle, television, computer, or other large item in the basement or a closet with a ribbon tied to it, stretching all the way from the item, through the home, to the Christmas tree or gift table. Address a gift tag with a "follow me" note on it, and tie it to the other end of the ribbon.

Services

Usually, we give goods as gifts: hard, solid items to unwrap and admire. Sometimes, though - especially if you're low on cash or want to do something wonderful for a close loved one - it's better to offer a service instead. Couples exchange massages, nights out, love slavery, and holiday getaways. A parent might offer to have a piece of adored but ill-fitted clothing tailored; a sibling could offer to do another sibling's household chores for a week. All of these gifts are great ideas that come from the heart, but how in the world can they be wrapped?

For each service you want to offer, create a coupon. You could design it on your computer, find examples on the Internet to print out, or hand-write it yourself. Place the coupon (or bundle of coupons) in a card, place the card in an envelope, and add a big decorative bow to the envelope, dressing it up to show that there's more inside than a mere greeting.

Pets

It's not always a great idea to gift a pet. After all, as good a dog, cat or hamster is at bringing joy to a pet

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