Wrap as you go along or do it in big batches or on Christmas Eve?

[AlternativelyWired]

I like to wrap once the decorations are up, and preferably the tree, so after the 12th December. I like to get the presents out and look at them regularly and consider if I'm done or if I want to buy some more. I like wrapping and love looking at all the nicely wrapped presents once they are done. I'm autistic and don't like opening presents but love giving to others and seeing them unwrap them.

What paper are you using this year? I've yet to buy any.

Usually 90% in one go.
I need to do it all in one go as in the past we have done present buying on behalf of more distant relatives, so part of the wrapping process was assigning presents to relatives, and giving them their own wrapping paper so the DCs wouldn't twig.

I love wrapping presents and start once the tree is up so I feel festive. But won’t wait until Christmas Eve like I have done in the past - one year it seemed to take ages and another I was poorly but obviously had to carry on anyway.

Am using up all the wrapping paper we already have this year so no theme. I’m hoping the different patterns and styles with actually look nice all together under the tree.

I wrap in stages, usually Manchester presents
Then Cardiff, both delivered in December, then wrap the family presents over the last week.
Christmas is going to be totally different this year so I'll play it by ear

When the kids were little we did it xmas eve with champagne and a movie. But we were really lucky as kids were so excited they'd be in bed by 6PM and never come downstairs.

Nowadays I do bits and pieces during work lunch breaks and then a big wrap a couple of weeks before xmas on a weekend DH is home. I barricade myself in the bedroom and wrap on the bed watching tv.

I quite enjoy wrapping tbh, but wont start before December..

I wrap over a few evenings in late November and December.

Wrapping on Christmas Eve is miserable! There was a year I was up until 1am and I swore never to do that again!

I try to wrap everything about a week before Christmas. Kick everyone else out of the house, stick on The Holiday or other Christmas movie I've seen before and have a bottle of red on the go. One of the highlights of the festive season for me

A relatives house- used to be the attic before we converted it x

Oooh I will try that for stocking bits this year ☺️

I wrap some point before Christmas in one big batch. Stick on a film with a bottle of wine and chocolates and wrap the lot. Doesn’t feel as much if I’m half distracted

In batches starting in September with gifts sent overseas by surface mail. I’ve used the oddments of paper, tags, ribbons and trimmings this year and managed to make each groups look quite co-ordinated which makes me silly pleased.

For the household/people we’ll see - when the tree is up with twinkly lights and in batches throughout December. For all sessions I’ll wear festive pjs or hair band, put a ballet on the laptop or later in December a virtual log fire with carols playing. Always with a tipple or two and chocolates to nibble.

Household “ theme” this year is plain brown and Kraft paper with white/cream prints. String, twine, cream and white ribbons and wool to decorate. All from existing stocks. I’ll replenish if needed. There is an area where the scissors, tape, ribbons, papers etc are left out for everyone to use if they wish from the very end of November. Everyone puts their gifts to each other under the tree when they are wrapped and tagged.

Gifts from Father Christmas - 1 each, he delivers to all believers regardless of age are wrapped in gold or silver paper with a big ribbon bow. Stocking contents (everyone who wakes up here Christmas morning gets one) are wrapped in a combination of red and green crinkly tissue/crepe paper and a special paper with a picture of Santa/North Pole stamp/made by elves etc with everyone getting a different design paper. Some years the designs are the same as last, other years there is a new design or two and designs are allocated randomly by the elves. Contents and papers are kept in a huge suitcase in a secret place although they don’t need to be as older now. Currently very high shelf at back of very deep built in wardrobes with stuff in front and only I have top level clearance and the lock combination. There is a dusty smaller suitcase next to it which I don’t have clearance for 🤔 Any ginormous items are hidden elsewhere in various places. Parcels can get a little bashed about on the sleigh and there is always at least one that’s had a bigger mishap and on the spot paper repairs😉Is all good fun.

I buy early but I hold off on wrapping until December. Feels more festive that way.

DH and I will do it over a few evenings. I tend to do one person's presents in each session and then another session for extended family.

DS is 3 this year so I need to make sure I get my santa vs non santa paper straight from now on. I'll probably also do a different paper per person so he can tell which ones are his.

I wrap all in one go usually the weekend before Christmas. I watch a Christmas film while I wrap. It’s one of my favourite things to do.

made the mistake of doing it in Christmas Eve - never again. Far too stressful.

I like to do it in one go, with a glass of Port and something Christmassy on TV!

I wrap in batches. Its usually a night dedicated to a household. Then I start on my household. A night dedicated to DH and each child. It's usually around a week and half worth of nights wrapping buts it's spread out over the first couple of weeks of December.

All together, but ideally before Xmas eve.
I don't wrap til it's all bought tho.

I wrap in about 30 mins flat. At some point early December. DC are teens and so don't get much and don't care what the wrapping looks like, most of their present is cash that we transfer to their bank account.

DH gets about 10 things in a stocking which I can speed wrap.

DH takes hours to wrap fewer things and prefers to leave it till Xmas eve. I generally go to bed and leave him to it.

Batches. Once the decorations are up.

Family and friends generally in one go if we can.

Then DCs one night one they're in bed.

We also do a 'stock take' evening with DCs gifts one evening to check we have an ok amount and divide up what's from us and what's from Santa.

I like to do big batches fairly close to Christmas but absolutely not Christmas Eve. I find I get into a rhythm, and having to get out the paper, scissors and a selection of gifts, then put it all away again annoys me. I prefer to get it done in a small number of big sessions. With wine. And Christmas music.

When DD was at nursery, I used to save a day off work to it, but I don't think that's going to happen now she's at school. So it's definitely going to be tricker this year!

Last year I set up a folding table and made a wrapping station. I wrapped as I went along. Since everything was staged I sometimes managed to wrap things even while the recipients were in the house. I really only needed the time it took to get the paper started around the package to have to hidden. It made wrapping so easy. The only wrinkle was my cat who likes to mess with all things paper and ribbon.

I can't get over how much people have to wrap. We have 2 DC. So that's one or two things each plus about 6 small stocking presents each. Niece and nephew one each. Haven't bought an adult a present in a decade thank goodness.

Either one or two big batches. Traditionally, I get slightly drunk on Bailey's while wrapping and watching those Christmas countdown programmes on Channel 5. The 'Top 50 Christmas toys of all time'-type ones with obscure celebrities saying what they got for Christmas in 1982. I enjoy it more that Christmas Day itself, nobody else likes wrapping so I have a jolly time without being interrupted for anything 😆 would never do it on Xmas eve though!

My cat is the same. One year he deposited a dead bird on top of my big pile of finished wrapping. I suppose it was supposed to be my present

Big box of presents (12) all wrapped and tagged. That will get posted to uk next week then when I go to visit that part of the family in November I will fish out the London family’s presents and deliver their presents to them.
I fly into Gatwick and a hold suitcase is twice the price of posting one big parcel.
DH wraps the (20 or so ) things for adult DDs “stockings” . They still like them but we changed to fabric bags so we don’t confuse the grandchildren.
Family presents ( 10) will be wrapped and hidden in suitcases until they go under tree which we will get on the 10th of December.
I set up wrapping station on the ironing board. Chiristmas film on my iPad. Glass of wine and I am in my happy place
can’t imagine wrapping 42 presents all at once !

Usually wrap in 2 batches in December, definitely not Christmas eve! First is all extended family and friends and then the kids and husbands

Don't know if it's been mentioned upthread, but the gamechanger for me was double gift tags. I have the pretty tags that go with the paper, which go on as I wrap, but I also buy a bulk of cheap brown luggage label tags (£3-4 for 100 on Amazon) and write on them what's inside, and attach that to the gift also. This stops wrapping in advance then forgetting what each thing is.

Wrap in batches. I used to be a Christmas Eve-r with it feeling all special in front of the fire. It feels an awful lot nicer to relax on Christmas Eve now, and wouldn't go back.