Do you know somebody who wraps presents this way?

[FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper]

We have a family member who is kind, thoughtful and generous - but she has a really weird and annoying habit with how she wraps presents.

Rather than taping the wrapping paper to itself, she will tape it TO the present inside. I'm not talking about just attaching tape to a generic inner brown protective cardboard box or cellophane that would be thrown away/recycled anyway, or even a chocolate box that wouldn't get kept once they've been eaten, but the actual cover of a book, the colourful illustrated box that a game lives in etc. that you would naturally want to keep in nice condition - meaning that, however carefully you remove the tape (and little ones tend to dive right in there and wouldn't notice anyway), the present is instantly spoiled with a torn cover or box.

We've gently commented on it, but she just smiles and says it's a lot easier to wrap things that way. If it's not blatantly obvious to her that it's an 'unusual' and unwise idea, I really don't know what else we can say to her - other than to just accept that she gives presents that are lovely but damaged and thus bring disappointment along with joy as soon as you open them.

I don't want to sound ungrateful at all; she is very kind, but then just dilutes the excitement of receiving her lovely gifts so pointlessly. Before anybody jumps to conclusions, yes we all give her lovely presents that she wants/asked for too, we aren't just there on the grab - but we just wrap them in a way that means we don't needlessly wreck them before she opens them.

Is she alone in this, or is this a more widespread practice?!

I still love my Lego, the boxes are part of the present for me. Of course that may vary by gift receiver. As I child I cut out the pictures to stick in a notebook, now I keep the boxes for storage.

I don't resell my Lego but you'd get a much higher price with a mint box, especially if it's old and long out of stock - much higher than RRP. It's like selling a vintage Dior dress with the price tags still on (in % increase, not in £).

I dated someone who bought me a really expensive handbag, and it came in the proper box, and he'd taped the paper straight to the box. The top layer of the box came off with the tape as I pulled the paper, which I would have not done so carelessly, if I had realised he'd attached tape to the sodding thing. I was fuming, not that I said anything. I'd wanted this bag for ages. Kept going to buy it myself and he'd say "oh, no it's your birthday coming up" then never bought it. He never ever got me anything, then when I ended it he decided he'd get it for me, which was a little bittersweet anyway, like he was trying to buy me back. It was something I'd had my heart set on, and before I even got to see the bag, it's box was now torn all across the top. I keep my nice things in pristine condition, all in original dust bags or boxes. It's part of the product for me. I'm so careful with them.

Thankfully though, I contacted them and they understood and sent me a new box, providing I sent in the old one (very high end brand, hence me being so precious about it).

Turns out he's not the only idiot that does it, eh.

I very occasionally wrap very large and bulky items like this, but only if they are firmly in a box. I do it if I otherwise just wouldn't have enough hands to keep everything in place and I try to be as discreet as possible.

I'd never do it to books. I love their colourful covers and would want to preserve them.

Great idea. She won't have to wrap at all then.

That would be rather twisted reasoning, if so! “I’ll give you a damaged gift because you wouldn’t expect anyone else to want/accept a damaged gift.”

Also, it’s rather controlling to take steps so the recipient MUST keep your gift, whether they like it or not!

I've seen this suggested on influencer posts so I would say that's where she's got it from if she's young.

Crazy in my eyes.

I don't resell my Lego but you'd get a much higher price with a mint box, especially if it's old and long out of stock - much higher than RRP. It's like selling a vintage Dior dress with the price tags still on (in % increase, not in £)

Of course mint condition sells for more but I don’t buy or use things with the view to resell them. My dc cut their lego boxes up as you did, but I do know someone who hardly lets their dc play with lego because they want to resell it, crazy!

Everyone is different. If I buy a book from a bookshop, I like to keep in very good condition, ‘holiday’ books I buy from charity shops etc.

I didn’t know people did different books for different things tbf.

Funnily enough a few videos kept being suggested to me on Instagram recently, showing how to wrap presents nicely and they all did this! Maybe she's been watching those! 🤣

How on earth do you become an 'influencer' when you can't even do something basic using common sense yourself?!

Are they like these self-appointed 'life coaches' whose own lives are a complete chaotic disaster?

Well, now you know!

I suppose, to be fair, these Instagrammers may be demonstrating on items that come in plain packing boxes that will be discarded; and then their impressionable viewers possibly don't understand the difference between those and gifts that don't have exterior protective packaging?!

I don't know; it's never occurred to me to search online for a tutorial on how to wrap a present!

😂

It could be this. It really doesn’t make sense otherwise as unless the box is huge it doesn’t make it any faster, easier, or neater to tape the paper to the item. Well, with the exception of age or mobility related difficulties it doesn’t.

I suppose you could always step in with a “Mummy has to open the ones from Auntie Laura so they don’t get torn up by the tape.” 😂

My mum wraps like this, and she learned it while working in a department store in the 1970s, so it's not just a millennial influencer thing! She thinks I'm being quite slovenly not doing it, and using tape instead of glue for the rest of the paper!

I'm just used to how she does it, and take care when unwrapping her gifts. Can't remember ever having any serious damage.

I mean, she could use a 2p sized piece to hold it in place. Doesn't need a long bit!

I think it's really thoughtless to wrap like this
I wrap one handed( disability) and use the Tv remote or a coaster or similar to " hold" the paper, then a tape dispenser for the tape
Not sure how you could get the message across without offending her so a small knife would work

I’d have thought a Lego box was exactly the kind of thing a kid (or adult) would want in good condition (if brand new at least).

Ask her to unwrap it for you. That's the only way she's going to learn.

Can you show is an example of the kind of damage done. Can a bit of tape really tear a box or book? Is it a lot or just a tiny bit?

Yes, definitely. Not all children trash things; plenty like to keep them nice and in good condition, once they get to a certain age.

I agree with PP who said that it can be the difference between it looking like a new present and one from a charity shop. Not that there's anything wrong with giving nice items from a charity shop as presents, if that's what works for you and your budget, but why you'd go to the effort of paying full new price and then making it look like it was £1.50 from BHF's shop window is completely beyond me.

It's almost like some people see a present in isolation, with its sole purpose being that they have to give it to somebody and then job done; rather than that it will then be a new acquisition for that person, who will hopefully like and enjoy it and (depending on the item - obviously not if it's a bag of chocolate footballs) may treasure it for some time to come.

I've wrapped many Lego sets for my husband, I always use a small piece of tape to hold the paper to the box. None of the boxes are wrecked or look like they come from a charity shop.
How much tape is she using?

We've tended to patch things up as we go along, over the years, so they don't look nearly as bad as they did - but still look obviously patched up.

If you use half-decent tape, it very much can tear the box of a jigsaw puzzle or a book cover. Those of us of a certain age will even remember the old price tickets that some crazy shops used to use on each item (in the days before barcodes and prices on shelves), which were impossible to remove without tearing the item.

As time went on, easy-peel price tickets eventually became the norm, thankfully - but I'm amazed that nobody thought it might be a problem before that.

Quite a lot, actually - like the person mentioned upthread who doesn't leave any room to get your thumb under to unwrap it.

Sometimes, the tape is already under some tension, because if you think about (what I always assumed was) the normal wrapping method, you pull the paper tight before taping it, for something like a book or a boxed item.

Why do you not just tape the paper to itself, though, rather than to the item inside? Isn't that easier?

I'm just amazed that, in spite of little hints and gentle comments, she just doesn't get that wrapping presents is meant to temporarily hide them, not damage them.

She really isn't doing it to be unkind at all; for some reason, it just doesn't occur to her that it's unwise.

So just tell her clearly that it bothers you.

The effort you've put into this thread seems way out of proportion when you can just tell her. Be self-deprecating if it will help, "This might sound fussy, but I'd so appreciate it if you'd..."