Wrapping for everyone else

[nanbread]

Has anyone else been landed with wrapping all extended family's presents as well as your own?

Family on both sides have just ordered things to be delivered straight to me. Sensible idea perhaps but some still haven't arrived, I have no spare time except at weekends when DC are around and we are currently isolating so they can't be taken out to give me some time and space.

I have an injury making bending over wrapping difficult and am having to work evenings as looking after DC in day as well as juggling work means I'm not getting much done.

That's four lots of people sending gifts for four recipients, an average of two gifts per person = 32 extra gifts I've got to bloody wrap - and some of them are massive! It's also a logistical nightmare trying to work out who's sent what, for who, and making sure it's all labelled up correctly.

It's going to cost me a fortune in wrapping as well, probably 6 rolls worth of paper.

Rant over.

Anyone know a good, quick way round this?

@Pipandmum

Did they ask you before they did this? It's odd so assume they did. Next time say no.

It would also be ridiculous and wasteful to have the presents sent to them to be wrapped and posted to the OP. Especially as a royal nail are overrun and not coping due the SD measures and lack of staff. I some areas post is taking weeks rather than a couple of days to arrive. Taking pressure off the system is sensible at this time.

Amazon sell these plasticky drawstring gift bags (not very environmentally friendly I know) which are about £15 for 30, they’ve been a life saver for me since being disabled and not able to sit and wrap things any more. They’re all different designs and sizes - some quite generous - but look more like wrapped gifts than the square paper gift bags. Could that be an easier option for you?

Hopefully it’s only because of the year that’s in it. If it makes you feel any better most of my family delegated the buying and choosing to me as well but I’m looking on the bright side and enjoying a no-tat Christmas.

One of the perennial tips from MN is to use an ironing board for wrapping. That, and a good heavy tape dispenser make wrapping easier. I keep a couple of rolls of paper in my desk drawer (top drawer is long and shallow) with scissors and tape and it makes it easy to wrap as things arrive.

I don’t mean to sound unsympathetic though. I’m growing increasingly impatient with people who add to my mental load.

I assumed a lot of people were sending gift directly to the recipients considering we're told to stay at home and try and not to visit relatives 🤷‍♀️
It is however a little bit unfair on you OP that they didn't pay for a giftwrapping service (I know a fair few online stores offer this service like amazon and Firebox) or purchased a gift bag to be sent with the item. I agree with the suggestion on nipping into somewhere like the works, b&m, home bargains etc and grabbing a few gift bags; a lot less faff for you.

Wrap the 2 items in one parcel. Down to to 16 presents already.

Yes but in glad they have sent them here so my children have them for Christmas. I'm not going to complain about wrapping them! I've sent gifts to others straight from amazon so just as bad.

Just wanted to add how surprised I am at how ungrateful so many people are! It is a pandemic and lots of people are in tier three. Has anyone seen the postoffice queues? They are madness. I would prefer to wrap a few extra presents that family and friends have send directly from stores rather than them get it sent to themselves, wrap then go to post office (risk getting covid in the queue) to post to mine just so I dont have to spend 5 mins wrapping. It doesn't need to be fancy.some cheap wrap from asda and a label. Done. Over reaction in my opinion and as for the gift to you that was wrapped- I think that's incredibly thoughtful. They obviously assumed you would be the person to unbox and wanted you to have a surprise.

I'd baulk at 32 extra gifts to wrap too.

At this point I'd leave the packages unopened and put under the Xmas tree. Stick a bow on each and take turns to open. Your own family will get that it's pandemic year

Email or text your family who sent gifts to say, we've had 32+ additional gifts posted to us, My hands are painful /I'm disabled and can't wrap them all, so they're under the tree with bows on.

If you don't mind emailing me what you sent, when the package is opened I can tell people who it's for and from! It'll be a Xmas dip this year!

I feel for you OP, I’m in the same position. Said yes to a couple of family members having gifts delivered straight to us and I then wrap for them due to covid (ie. saving them needing to go to the shops to buy paper and then also out to the post office to post them on) but it’s snowballed and now far too many family members have done it including those who are able to go to shops/post office themselves. I am viewing it as a one year only thing and won’t be letting it get repeated as the covid excuse won’t (hopefully) be there next year!

I’m another one who is a little shocked at some of the responses on this thread. Personally I expect to have to wrap gifts sent by family that come direct from the supplier.

More gifts than ever are being sent directly this year as we are all seeing fewer people. If people had gifts sent to them and then forwarded them on it doubles the load on already struggling delivery services, plus potentially more trips out for the person doing the sending - needing to go to the post office or parcel drop off - at a time when we are being encouraged to minimise unnecessary contacts with people. Many sites don’t offer gift wrap. Some that do do not offer it on every item. Amazon has been mentioned up thread, but many items, especially those not from Amazon directly - cannot be gift wrapped.

Presumably if you are receiving so many gifts you are also sending a fair number and could reciprocate by not wrapping those so that it all evens out? As others have said, wrap items together, use gift bags or make wrapping pockets to cut down the time taken. Or just don’t wrap them at all.

And you could look at it as how lucky your family are to have so many people thinking of them and buying for them. Wrapping is pretty unimportant in the spirit of Christmas really.

Stick the packages under the tree in the packaging. Or hide them if that bothers you.
I've sent Amazon packages to friends, added gift notes for each item, and sent them a message to expect the parcel and do not open until Xmas. It will still be a surprise.

BTW Amazon charge £3.99 per item for gift wrapping

Are you a single parent OP?

if you wrap gifts from x person together that makes 16 extra gifts to wrap.
If your DH does half, that is 8 each. 8 more gifts to wrap is a lot less dramatic and imposing isn't it?

Me too on DH’s side.

It’s not the cost so much although they completely assumed I would have enough wrap etc but more the time.

DH is in the forces and away just now, I have 3 girls, 2 ponies, living in the middle of nowhere and it’s the lack of thought of how much o have on my hands that’s bothered me, especially as MIL is such a twicher “I’ve ordered another little think to go in with DD’s present”

I would just not wrap but feel rotten for my DD’s who love a food feel and guess at presents under the tree.

They’ve got a bloody cheek but I guess it makes some sense in these times... I bought 18 m of wrap paper from Amazon which came in a tear box like cling film. This made my wrapping far quicker.

Buy a huge bag for each family member and put their gifts (unwrapped or in the Amazon boxes) in the bags. The gift bags can be used for years. We’ve got some in our loft from about three houses ago 😁

Gift bags or furoshiki wraps. I love wrapping presents in fabric, it's so much faster than faffing about with paper and tape. Plus you can reuse it all next year.

The in-laws have done this to us this year.

I don't mean to sound ungrateful, I agree sending stuff straight here makes sense for many reasons, I've just got a lot on (and isolating complicates things) and don't appreciate the assumptions that I will do it all.

But there are some good suggestions here that will help.

DH certainly can help too, but he's been extremely stressed and busy at work so the mental load up till now has mostly been mine. I've done 90% of present planning, food etc