Wrapping gifts - who does it at your house?

[Spryte]

Or bagging, packaging, whatever you do to get them ready for gifting!

Who does it?

 

 

[Laura Corin]

I do most of it, so everything from us as a couple, plus various things from aunts and uncles that I actually organise.  Husband only wraps what he gives to me.  The children only wrap what they give individually.  I have re-usable gift bags this year.

[Ottakee]

My daughter LOVES to wrap gifts so she does all but her own.  I wrap hers and do stockings.

We don't don't a ton of gifts though.  I buy only for my 3 and SIL and that is it.  Oh, and a gift card or something for my mom.

[Bambam]

I do the gifts from dh and me. I used to wait till I had them all but I'm not that fond of wrapping, so this year, I'm doing them as they come in.  Kids wrap the presents they get people. Kids wrap my present from my dh - either that or he wraps it in the bag/envelope it came in. 

[mommyoffive]

Before we did reusable bags and boxes, dh did it all.  Plus putting together all the big kiddo toys.  I went to bed Christmas eve and would wake up to the magic he would create. 

[Garga]

I’m not bitter about it, but as is usual for most women, I’m the one to remember that it needs to be done. Some years I’ve done all the wrapping myself and other years I’ve said, “DH, can you come help me wrap presents?” He’s always happy to, but I think he’d be up at midnight tossing everything into gift bags on the 24th if left to his own devices.  And honestly, that’s not a big deal. That’s fine. It’s not morally wrong to toss everything in bags on the 24th. However, I like the look of the wrapped presents and I like the mess of the paper thrown around the room on Christmas morning, so I’m the one who drives the wrapping of the presents.

Most years, I’ve wrapped everything in one or two days and I end up with a backache. This year, I’m wrapping them as they arrive/are bought.  It’s been really nice doing it this way.

DH wraps or bags the presents he buys me. The boys wrap the presents they buy for me and DH and each other. 

[Katy]

Me

[Katy]

19 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Before we did reusable bags and boxes, dh did it all.  Plus putting together all the big kiddo toys.  I went to bed Christmas eve and would wake up to the magic he would create. 

Reusable boxes are a thing?  Do you buy ones that look like wrapping paper, or are these fancy upholstered boxes?

[MEmama]

DH does all wrapping other than what I give to him.

He loves to wrap and he’s really good at it. For me it’s the most stressful part so I’m more than thrilled that he always volunteers! 

[busymama7]

My kids love to wrap so will do anything that isn't theirs.  As they arrive (90% of Christmas is done online) they will wrap it and then it sits under the tree. I will do anything I don't want them to know about.  Santa does not wrap his gifts but just sets them out.  

[Lecka]

Me, or my husband and I.  

This year I have partly said "no" to buying more gifts for our kids because I am "done" with wrapping.

I also want to reserve some things they want that they can choose to buy with Christmas money they are likely to receive.  

One year we watched Bridesmaids on DVD from Redbox (iirc) and wrapped gifts together -- and had a really fun time!  (Edit:  on Christmas Eve.)

But I am more interested in just getting it done at this point.

My husband's family has a tradition of not displaying wrapped presents before Christmas morning, so all the wrapped presents just stay in a closet anyways.  My kids are allowed to look through the wrapped presents in the closet!  I don't really see the point but it's fine with me, lol.  

 

Edited December 15, 2020 by Lecka

[mommyoffive]

Just now, Katy said:

Reusable boxes are a thing?  Do you buy ones that look like wrapping paper, or are these fancy upholstered boxes?

We have both kinds of boxes.  We had some upholstered boxes from giving gifts to people at our wedding.  The people that couldn't travel home with them gave them back and we have used them.  Plus we have the wrapping paper boxes too.  Then we started using regular paper giftbags, but now have gone to fabric giftbags too. 

Like these

Amazon.com: 3 Pcs Xmas Gift Bags Santa Sack Drawstring Candy Bags with Christmas Holiday Party Decoration (15 x 8 Inch): Health & Personal Care

Amazon.com: 3 Santa Burlap Sack Christmas Gift Bags with Drawstring 26" x 19" for Large Xmas Package Storage, Event Party Supplies, Christmas Party Favors.: Toys & Games

Amazon.com: Whaline 7pcs Christmas Fabric Gift Bags Drawstring Bag Cotton Storage Sack with 7 Tags Yellow Present Bags Goodie Treat Bags Favors Bags for Xmas Party Decorations Supplies: Health & Personal Care

 

There are tons on Amazon.  Someone on another board said you could just make your own.  Maybe out of old holiday sheets.  Any kind of fabric that you have too.  

Anyway this makes "wrapping" so easy.  Put it in the bag or box and done.  Plus no big paper mess on the morning off.  And kids don't care at all.  Everything still looks pretty and is exciting to open. 

[Arcadia]

I have been doing the gift wrapping for any gifts that needs to look nicely wrapped since I was a kid. Like gifts for teachers, wedding gifts, housewarming gifts. I reuse bows and ribbons from presents we received. 

[caedmyn]

Generally me.  We save and reuse gift bags and fabric gift bags from previous Amazon gifts, so wrapping is just shoving tissue paper and presents in gift bags and slapping a tag on the tissue paper so the bag can be reused for next time..  One of these days I’ll look up a YouTube tutorial for how to properly pack a gift bag so it looks nice.  

[*Jessica*]

Dh and I usually do it together over a couple of sessions right before Christmas, finishing up on Christmas Eve. 
 

Growing up my dad and I wrapped most of the gifts.  One year my mom gave us taped shut boxes to wrap and a while later stuck her head in to ask, “Have you wrapped your sweater yet?”  I didn’t know what was in the box, or that she bought me a sweater.  😆 

[Tanaqui]

Whoever bought/made the gift wraps them. Or doesn't. Some years we care more than others.

[HS Mom in NC]

Me.  I eat treats and drink my favorite drinks while watching my favorite shows on my laptop. I'm using up what I have left this year and probably next year too, we'll see. I don't enjoy wrapping, so I try to make it as pleasant as possible for myself.

I'm in the process of making reusable quilted fabric bags. Maybe in a year or two they'll be done.  I do a lot of quilting, so it's a fun way for me to use up scraps in little projects that I'll get to use every year.

Daughter went to the dollar store and bought reusable Christmas themed bags this year so she doesn't have to use wrapping paper anymore.

[carriede]

We've never discussed it, but now DH helps the kids wrap the presents that are from them, including for my and my son's December birthdays. Then I'm mostly in charge of gifts from DH and me to the kids and extended family. We usually have a "wrapping party" together the last few days before Christmas to do the Santa gifts.

[MoyaPechal]

I end up doing it all. Even gifts other people send because no one sends wrapped gifts anymore. It's all just Amazon stuff and often not even in the Amazon gift bags (which I really don't care for anyway so I wrap those, too). If DH is giving me a gift, he wraps that, though one time he actually tried to convince me to do it. 🤦‍♀️

[theelfqueen]

My DH wraps gifts for me. I wrap EVERYTHING ELSE. 

[gardenmom5]

Me.  I also do most of the shopping.  which is probably why dh will buy himself a gift, warp it (I refused to wrap it for him.) and put it under the tree.  I can't stand buying my own gift, let alone wrapping it and putting it under the tree.

 

I've managed to get 2ds to wrap some on occasion - he does a generally nice job.

[teachermom2834]

It was always me that did the wrapping when the kids were small but dh would do the toy unpacking/assembling/battery installation/tech stuff so that was pretty equitable. Now that boys are grown and it is just 12 yo dd, it is much less stuff in general and more of it is clothes and easily wrapped items and no toy assembly. My dd actually does most of it now. I have occasionally even given her a box for herself and had her wrap it while I was there so she wasn't tempted to peek. She doesn't mind that or I wouldn't have her do it. 

Dh wraps things he buys for me and dd. The big boys do some of their own wrapping and some my dd helps them too. It's fun to see how my guys wrap 🙂 

[alisoncooks]

Me. 

And since I also buy my own present, I wrap that, too. 

[purpleowl]

Me, except presents that are for me. DH and I are giving each other new chairs for the school room this year, and they won't be here until late January (or later), so there's nothing for him to wrap this time.

[rebcoola]

I do most of  DH will help if I do it on a night he is here.  He does anything he bought for me and the big kids wrap anything they buy.  It's not much work since I use reusable bags or boxes and we don't do tons of presents.   We also don't label they are placed in your giant Christmas bag.   

Christmas is a joint effort here DH cooks, ODD bakes and MDD is the main decorator.

[hippymamato3]

DH and I usually spend one night doing it together. He is better at it than I am, so I probably do about 25% to his 75%. But we put on Christmas music and make it fun. 

[Loowit]

I do most of it.  DH and the kids wrap the gifts that they buy, sometimes asking for help.  DH is the best wrapper in the family, because he takes a lot of time to do it just right.  I don't have the patience for it taking forever, so I do a decent job and just get it done.

[Kassia]

I do it all.  Even my own.  🙂   I am a sloppy wrapper - just get it done.  Otherwise it would take me forever.

 

My kids are old enough to wrap any gifts that they buy for others, though.  

[prairiewindmomma]

I asked dh to start helping me a few years ago.  My fingers couldn't take wrapping that year. (I have rheumatoid arthritis and it affects my fingers.)

I would say we've been about 75/25 this year---he's done the bulk of the wrapping.  I do all of the selecting and ordering, so asking him to pitch in for three hours seems balanced.

[katilac]

dh does almost all of the wrapping - he's a bit appalled at my lack of skills 😄

[Selkie]

I wrap everything. I don't think my dh has EVER wrapped a present. He is a fabulous gift giver, just not into wrapping, so he gives his gifts unwrapped. I actually don't like wrapping, either, but I do it so that the presents look pretty under the tree.

[happi duck]

Dc and dh wrap for me.  Dc and I wrap for dh.  Dc wrap what they get each other.  Christmas eve dh and I wrap for the kids.

We put stuff under the tree late Christmas Eve and take turns opening things Christmas morning.

[Dmmetler]

Me. Except for gifts for me, which get wrapped by DH and DD. And gifts for DD’s best friend, which traditionally are delivered in decorated shipping boxes :). (I can’t remember who started that, but it makes easier for me 🙂 ) I invested in fabric bags and pieces of fabric a few years back, which has made my life much easier. 

[BeachGal]

I wrap all gifts. If dh were responsible, he’d just throw the gift in a Trader Joe’s bag and call it done. Or hide it under a sofa pillow on the day he’s giving it.

Our kids are adults and they all usually wrap gifts. One of them is a little less inclined to wrap but does so most of the time.

[Sherry in OH]

I buy and wrap most of the gifts. I also wrap gifts from relatives.  Dh wraps any gifts he buys.  This year one son wrapped the gifts he is giving, the other asked me to wrap for him.

Most years I wait until Christmas Eve to do the wrapping.  This year I wrapped as items arrived.  I also gathered stocking stuffers into a single box.    

[Spryte]

I wrap, too.  And each person has a plastic grocery bag for stocking stuffers.

I separate the Santa stuff into boxes, and on the Big Eve we take it all downstairs and set it up, do any assembly together.  Some Santa gifts are wrapped, some not.  It always takes way too long!

DH wraps what he buys me, kids may or may not wrap their gifts - that lands on me sometimes, too.

I am hopeful that someone else will take over the shipping this year.  But judging by the ready to go boxes that I packed on Sat, I think I will need to do that ASAP, too. I so dislike shipping, I was hoping to trade this task for doing all the choosing/wrapping, but it’s been a busy time here and didn’t happen.  Maybe next year!

 

[bookbard]

I start thinking about Christmas from Oct-Nov. My husband starts thinking on Christmas Eve. This results in me getting a gift card from whatever shop was still open after work on Christmas Eve, whereas he gets a pile of wrapped gifts. Now I buy and wrap gifts for myself so I've got something decent to open alongside the others. I organise the gifts for everyone else except his relatives (yep they get gift cards!)

I don't mind wrapping presents but I do think the reusable bag idea is good (and more eco-friendly). I should look into it. 

[JustEm]

The kids wrap what they get for other people.  Dh and I wrap the presents we get the kids and other people.  We wrap gifts we've gotten each other. I'm in the process of making festive reusable bags to use every year. I'm hoping this year is the last year of wrapping paper because I hate how wasteful it is.

[matrips]

Me.  I started wrapping early this year, and will spread it out.  I used to wait until Christmas Eve to keep stuff hidden better.

[Kareni]

My husband wraps his gifts to me. Our daughter lives in South Korea, so he also wraps any gifts she has ordered for me. He'll also wrap gifts my sister has ordered for me.

I wrap everything else (which is a significantly larger amount!).

Regards,

Kareni

[Ditto]

I do all the wrapping in our home.

[Excelsior! Academy]

This year being the exception, me.  This year we had a week-long trip planned and paid for with our Christmas budget.  Stupid Covid required us to call it off.  We had all agreed to and planned no gift exchange.  Well, fast forward to this week when we realized that not only would we be home with no visitors we would also have no presents or decorations.  I polled the kids and they decided they wanted to draw names.  This year each person is buying 1 present total + a stocking stuffer for each member of the family and wrapping the gifts they themselves purchased.  I also have several random gifts that will be prizes for Christmas Day games.   I haven't decided whether I plan to wrap those or not.  

[matrips]

8 hours ago, MoyaPechal said:

I end up doing it all. Even gifts other people send because no one sends wrapped gifts anymore. It's all just Amazon stuff and often not even in the Amazon gift bags (which I really don't care for anyway so I wrap those, too). If DH is giving me a gift, he wraps that, though one time he actually tried to convince me to do it. 🤦‍♀️

It’s the Amazon free shipping that makes that part so appealing.  It used to cost a small fortune mailing gifts. 🙂

[KatieJ]

My husband has been 100% involved in the whole process for years. We make our lists, do the shopping and the wrapping together. 

We have a family of 23 with kids and grands. All but three have birthdays between August and February. We start early and have it done and ready to wrap by Thanksgiving. 

I do have to say we do most of our shopping at Costco and Amazon.  😁 

 

 

[RootAnn]

My aunt & my dad were expert wrappers. I learned from them & I have fond memories of wrapping presents with them. I'd do it all if I could because it is fun.

We pick names so each of us has someone else to get a present for. It is a secret because we guess on Christmas after opening our presents.  Kids come in our room one at a time & wrap the present they got for their person. DH wraps his own. I wrap anything left.

[QueenCat]

Dh wraps, I do the bags. Other than each others gifts, we do it together. Our tradition is to drink hot chocolate with Godiva liqueur while wrapping. 

[Emba]

Kids here are responsible for wrapping gifts they give others. DH wraps his present for me, and occasionally a few others. I wrap everything else. Santa presents are not wrapped. Stocking presents are not wrapped. You might think that goes without saying, but mil used to wrap every one of the many little things she put into the stockings.

eta : I count putting things in gift bags as “wrapping”. I use some reusable bags but mostly I reuse paper bags I save from gifts from others. I don’t actually remember the last time I bought a gift bag. I do wrap some things with paper, I just prefer the ease of gift bags.

Edited December 16, 2020 by Emba

[Annie G]

I do almost all of it. And I suck at it. They end up looking like the suspicious packages TSA warns you about.  I’ve been a mom since 1983 and I’m over gift wrapping.  Ds and Ds love unwrapping gifts, so I think using reusable bags or boxes would be a letdown for them. They don’t even like gift bags. 
I know, petty complaint on my part. But we have four kids and four grandkids and sons in law and it all adds up. Dh will help if I ask but he’s turtle slow and not any better at it than I am.

I miss the days when we had little kids and people thought my awful wrapping was charming because they assumed I let the kids ‘help’. 

[Just Kate]

Pre-pandemic (when my kids were in brick and mortar school) I had a “Christmas elf” who came to my house on the kids’ last day of school and wrap all of my presents for me. My Christmas elf was my best friend, who happens to love to wrap presents. This has been a tradition the past several years that I have loved (I don’t love wrapping presents!). But alas, this year no elf...so I suppose I will be doing all of the wrapping. 

[Familia]

4 minutes ago, Annie G said:

<<. They end up looking like the suspicious packages TSA warns you about.>>

That quote will be in my head all day ROFL!!!  Thanks for the laughter!!!

I usually ask DH to help, and we put it off, resulting in some years having late nights, last minute.  Much better to just do it on my own earlier, in the early day when I feel energized....I am a quick wrapper, but it hurts my back.  This year, I took presents with me when I traveled with DH on business - no site-seeing possible, so why not?  It was fun and got it done.  The (grown) children wrap the gifts they give, DH wraps mine, and DH also wraps the ‘daddy gifts’ he gives...those are always surprise gifts - I don’t even know what he gets them.  Back when money was super tight, it really annoyed me b/c I would have accounted for his spending in my Christmas budget, but then I realized it was just something he really wanted to do it (and continues).  it is sweet that he does that IMO.