Gift wrap.. very trivial!

[haveabreakhaveakitkat]

Friend's dd's Birthday yesterday. She had an informal party in the local park with just a couple of friends. Birthday girl is heavily into My Little Pony so I bought the gift her mum suggested. I looked everywhere for MLP wrapping paper, couldn't find it so bought some online. It was a large present so I used a whole sheet with the minimum amount of tape so the paper wouldn't be damaged. It would have made a nice poster or good for a sticking project.

Birthday girl carefully opened the present, she was really pleased with the gorgeous paper. Her mum grabbed the almost intact paper, screwed it into a ball and walked over the playground and put it in the bin! Birthday girl was so happy with the present she didn't notice. I was really miffed though.

When I get a gorgeous wrapped present I tend to think of the gift wrap as part of the present and try to save it, at least until the present giver has gone. I appreciate the thought someone has put into the wrap.

AIBU?

Yes I have never once expected someone to keep wrapping paper. Do you know how much wrapping paper I would have to find a place for if I kept it all from my son's birthday?

What should she have kept it for?

We go for ripping wrapping paper into shreds to get the present out, and then straight to bin, in this house.

The thought of someone being insulted by us not carefully saving the paper is a bit baffling.

Yadbu!!! Just because you value wrapping paper, doesn't mean everyone should. I am awful at wrapping gifts, but as with life, it's what's inside that counts.

Yabu sorry!

What on earth??

Err.. Yes, you're definitely overthinking this one, sorry. It just wouldn't occur to everyone to keep the wrapping paper as well as the gift, although I can see your thought process.

Sorry OP!

Yabu! Your way is YOUR way.You can't expect everyone else to know!

Yes I can see how unreasonable I sound. But it was beautiful paper, my dd would happily have spent time cutting out the ponies and making pictures. I try not to be wasteful with gift wrap and gift bags and I do recycle if possible.

It was lovely of you to go to so much trouble and I'm that you can be organised enough to order specific warping paper online. I tend to swing by a shop and write card and wrap on my knee outside the party venue, so kudos to you!
Sad as it is that the paper was wasted it is yabu.

I love paper OP...I do...I love looking for lovely paper and at Christmas I often source vintage paper and tags...but I don't expect people to keep it. Part of my pleasure is seeing it in use and admiring the gift...but it's just that...MY pleasure.

And especially as they were at the park, she probably didn't want 'mess/litter' that the kids weren't playing with to be flying around.

My instant reaction was YABU but now I think of it, you have a point. Probably just didn't occur to her.

Wrapping paper is underrated - we always look out for it in museum gift shops and have framed some pieces. We often get compliments on our unusual prints. But maybe people are just being polite. Who knows?!

I read a thread once where people were not so pleased to receive gifts wrapped in used paper.

I'm creative. I use newspapers for wrapping... (Of course, only aprpriate pages)

I can see both sides, it was lovely of you to find and use that paper and yes it could have been kept and used, but if we kept everything that could usefully be used as art and craft materials we would be awash with clutter, my DD is the type to hang onto things like this and use them though. Ultimately, when you hand over the present you have no further say in what the recipient does with it, wrapping and all.

Fish when I say I source vintage wrap I mean unused..old stock.

You are so thoughtful op, it was lovely of you to take so much trouble.
I think the mum might have been a bit distracted and not realised how nice the paper was
I would have kept it

I can't see what's wrong with recycling gift wrap . My council tell us not to put gift wrap in the recycling bin - something to do with the print used I think. It seems an awful waste to not use it again or let the kids at it with scissors and glue before chucking in the bin - same with Birthday cards.

YABU, many people don't save the paper and maybe the mum didn't want to carry it around the park with her or thought it would be crumpled by the time they got home. Or maybe she just didn't notice the special design.
I usually tear the paper when opening presents, I like the sound it makes! My mum opens things very carefully and saves the paper and re-uses it. So when wrapping her presents I always use good-quality paper in single sheets. Other people I use cheap paper though I still wrap carefully. I love wrapping presents and making them look pretty, but I'd never be upset if someone tore the paper and disposed of it. It's nice if someone acknowledges it e.g. says 'oh what nice paper' or 'isn't it beautifully wrapped' but I don't consider the paper part of the gift. If I didn't enjoy wrapping I'd just use gift-bags.