Today begins a marathon for wrapping as many presents in one day as I can. I’m not quite sure how it got to be four days before Christmas. Unfortunately, it’s already 1:00 in the afternoon, and I haven’t wrapped the first present yet! Maybe that’s because I’m busy writing this post.

To begin, I thought you’d enjoy this picture. Now, I’ve wrapped a lot of presents in my lifetime, but never have I ever attempted anything quite this big!

Photo found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026873.800-the-scientific-guide-to-gift-wrapping.html?full=true

I wonder how many rolls of paper and ribbon it took to accomplish this? Well, I guess in actuality, if you can  afford to give a present like this, the price of paper and ribbon is no object.

With Christmas right around the corner, Faith and I thought you might enjoy having our list of helpful and useful tips to assist you with your final gift wrapping. Whether it’s a marathon session for you, or simply finishing up those last-minute items, we hope you will find these tips beneficial.

1. First, put on your favorite Christmas music. This is absolutely essential. There’s nothing quite like some good Christmas songs to set the mood.
2. Wrap presents with some other people. Gift wrapping can be such a lonely and thankless job. Do it with other friends and family members to help pass the time and to keep you motivated to finish.
3. Station yourself at a big table if possible. I’ve tried wrapping presents on my king-sized bed for years, but I’m finding it’s hard on my back. Being able to sit down and wrap presents at a table or other surface you can slide your knees under will definitely help with back strain.
4. Make sure you have plenty of snacks. You can work up quite an appetite as you measure, cut, and secure your packages. Snacks like luncheon meat and crackers, salsa and chips, as well as fresh fruit help to keep up your strength during this event.
5. Your own roll of tape, scissors, and pen are a requirement. While Scrooge is not my favorite character at this time of year, it’s easy to get a little “Scrooge-ish” when you have to constantly take back the tape your helper “borrowed.”
6. The new stick on nametags are a must. What did we ever get along without them?
7. Don’t waste your time peeling off the back of sticky bows. You know they’re going to fall off your package if you do that. Besides, trying to find a corner to where the backing is easy to peel away from the sticky part can cause you to become “unglued.” Instead, put a small piece of scotch tape on each side of that piece of sticky backing and tape it to your package.
8. Some gift bags from the Dollar Store are a blessing for those odd-shaped items. Round is not a fun shape to wrap with paper.
9. Be sure you leave enough time to finish wrapping all your gifts! Just like running a real marathon, it’s no fun not to be finished when the event is over.

If I could think of one more, I would call this a “Top Ten List” of some kind. But I can’t, so I won’t.

We hope these tips come in handy for your wrapping session. Plus, now you will know what to do for next year in case you wait to do your gift wrapping at the last minute like I did.

Merry Christmas everyone.

I can say that because this is our blog.