When I was a young single woman, my wrapped Christmas presents could have been featured in a magazine spread. I bought designer paper, matching gift tags, and made bows from scratch out of beautiful ribbons. Each gift I gave was wrapped like a work of art.
iStock | Almaje
Then, when I got married, things began to change. I still loved pretty papers and bows, but money was tight and so was time. I stopped buying paper at boutique shops and bought it at the drug store instead. Handmade bows disappeared, to be replaced by the stick-on kind. My gift wrapping went from artsy to functional.
A few years later, kids were added to my life. I bought a different roll of paper for each of my children to match their personalities (and to keep the gifts straight). I had a lot more things to wrap and not a lot of uninterrupted time. My wrapping standards morphed into “Does it at least have paper on it?”
As my family kept growing to include more kids, in-laws, and friends, things changed even more. Gone were the days of folded neat edges. Instead, the cut edges usually looked like they had been cut with a dull chainsaw. No one got their own unique paper anymore. Instead, the goal was to use up whatever I had on hand. Birthday paper was often interspersed with Christmas paper. Clowns and balloons were as welcome under the tree as pine trees and angels.
The gifts didn’t have designer bows anymore. Sometimes, I sprung for stick-on bows, but often there were no bows at all. It wasn’t unusual to see a present wrapped in three kinds of paper with a whole bunch of messy tape. Or, if I couldn’t scrounge enough paper to cover a box, I wrapped the top and left the bottom bare. To finish things off, I wrote names right on the package with a sharpie (no more gift tags).
iStock | Photoguns
When I look back, I can see that the wrapping on my gifts each year has represented the phases of my life.
The lovely packages from my single years showed that I was unencumbered by many of life’s stresses. It was a time of beauty and ease, and it showed in my wrapping style.
Early married life brought more debt and new things to worry about. The cheap paper and bows replaced my former splurges on paper products.
iStock | jsolie
After the kids arrived, life grew even crazier. I was suddenly responsible for making Christmas merry for little people. Unique papers for each child helped me do that.
As my kids grew and took on my kooky personality, patchwork wrapping, crazy paper, and messy edges just became part of the chaos of my life.
This year, I have a bit of quiet time before my kids and their families start to arrive from across the country. I bought one large roll of lovely wrap and a roll of tulle ribbon. I miss the days of zany, colorful presents under the tree, but I don’t miss the stress.
My life is all about reserving energy these days. The matching gift wrap kind of bores me, but it makes my life so much easier. The kids and grandkids don’t care what the wrapping looks like. Everything will be thrown into the bonfire that Papa will build after all the gifts are open.
If I am alive long enough, I will probably turn into one of those old ladies who just gives cash. I hope I at least will doodle a drawing on the envelopes to make the recipient feel special, because that has been my goal no matter what phase of life I was in, to make my people feel loved.
What does your wrapping style say about you?
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Read more of Ann’s contributions to AllMomDoes here.
