Anyone else is wrapping hell?

[notforonesecond]

It’s a bit cheeky of me to post this really, as I have just finished.

But my god.

I made the insane decision to save all the wrapping til my first day off work. I’ve just sat down now after starting at 9.30am.

I don’t even do fancy wrapping! There’s no ribbons, no bows, but it was such a slog.

I had this bizarre idea that I’d put some Christmas music on and wrap away, all festive. Now my entire body hurts and I have a paper cut.

And the kids will think Santa’s sodding elves did it all!

Solidarity to any one still in the trenches.

I did buy a proper heavy duty tape dispenser this year though which helped immensely. I mean, it broke the minute I opened it but I cobbled it back together with some bubble wrap and I feel like I’d marry it if I could right now.

We never do ripping the paper off. We aim to get the paper off with as few tears as possible. It has to be done slowly and carefully.

I loathe it . It’s wrapped . Who fucking cares how it looks.

My DH on the other hand.. fuck me. Dining table pulled out.. everything has to be set out . Paper to present measured with precision.
It. takes . Hours .

This year has been different. One child is done . The other .. we will do together tomorrow. It’ll take fucking ages . And we will bicker .

I hate wrapping presents. So fucking much.

Caitlin Moran had a brilliant tip for that this weekend in the Times. Send yourself a reminder about where you put stuff etc - schedule it to ping your phone on about 15th December.

It’s times like this I fondly think about Pippa (then) Middleton’s wrapping entry on party shit "Place the present on the paper to gauge how much you will need, then cut to length." WHAT IF I CAN’T SUMMON THE WILL TO LEAVE, NEVER MIND WRAP PIPPA!!!! WHAT THEN?!!!

*live.
Clearly, wrapping hysteria has got to me. What happened to those lovely people who used to wrap presents at shopping centres for a small fee? I’d pay to have it done at this point 😅

I remember wrapping with wine to accompany me one year - Christmas Day some people had the wrong presents in their stockings!

What will happen in our house is that I will wrap everything in sight apart from DH's presents to me. Then, about half past 8 in the evening on Christmas Eve, he will sidle up to me and ask me for some rolls of wrapping paper, some tags, the sellotape, some scissors and a pen. He will then disappear into our bedroom on a top secret mission.
As if I don't know what he's doing lol.😂

I too love wrapping, even when our 40+ year olds were small and had loads I loved it! I only have one left to deal with, I'll not say 'wrap', it's a football and I'll be buying a big gift bag, spoils the colour scheme but hey-ho. I bought Lidl paper, cheap, cheerful and quite strong, 99p for 5m. A sharp knife is far better than scissors, a much cleaner edge.

I love wrapping presents!
I usually buy a load of presents, wrap them and then as I buy the last lot, I’ll wrap as I buy them.
this year my 3 grandchildren, 3 adult children and partners, have all asked for cheaper smaller things, which meant I’ve bought them more for their budgets 🤣, so grandchildren have got 8 presents each, also I buy for parents & inlaws, step families, nieces and our siblings , so lots of presents, I’m all done now and most have been distributed, apart from those who will be coming to me on Christmas Day!

Me? In wrapping hell today? No way.

I have ADHD. I'll be experiencing that from midnight - 3am Christmas morning, like every year, I would imagine.

I could convince myself that this year it'll be different, but no, I gave up on such delusions a few years back

We have a wrapping evening for the kids gifts as I put my foot down when child 2 came along. Is q nice doing them together and we work through them q quickly. The rest I have done on my 1 child/work free morning per week. Still got a few odds to do but glad nothing major as I've been so poorly on and off.

I love what Meg did in motherland. Gifts on table, sheet of paper over whole thing. Of course she was pissed at the time.

My first day off today too and did mine this afternoon. 2 hours but I love it. I save ribbon from everything throughout the year and just wrap in brown paper. I poured a little tipple and watched several episodes of Sex and the City! Bliss.

Next's 3-roll set of wrapping paper has pull tags -much better than the stickers which drove me crazy last year and no plastic.

All done here! Stuck on miracle on 34th st and the Rocky horror show and blitzed through!

My tip, striped sweet bags and brown bags in various sizes for stocking gifts. Themed stickers for each child to seal (temu under £1 a roll of 500). Plus a weighted cellotape roll for presents.

And Christmas boxes for odd shaped items - i got mine from poundland and home bargains. Use them every year. I've got big ones I used for a build a bear each and their main gifts (small in size but much wanted!)

Also put gifts straight into sacks as you wrap them.

Snacks, drinks are essential to get you through.

Theres none in stock right now, I think she sold out already and anyway it's too late for you all this year, but

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/JooliPachooli?ref=profile_header

Usually has Christmas themed bags of all kinds. From drawstring to tote to sack.
I've had loads a few years ago. Reusable, washable, christmassy prints, birthday prints if you so wish. Still using them.
Bought because I am incredibly shit at wrapping.

This with bells on! DH and I are tackling the wrapping together tonight, he’s cutting and providing tape whilst I do the actual wrapping. Every time we have to do a new roll he starts swearing at whoever thought it was was a good idea to use labels instead of plastic wrap.

Yes!!!! Same here but with Tesco . What a fucking crock of shit. Whoever the fuck invented that needs a kick up their arse for the inconvenience and stress of opening each roll.

A few people have said this, but I have 50 to 55 presents to wrap for many different friends and family members. There's no way that I could have that many drawstring bags. It's OK if you've only got like 8 or 10 - but it has to be wrapping paper for me.

Again, nice. But no good if you have 55 gifts for many people.

I wrap all stocking presents in plain tissue (bought ans 50 sheets job lots) and seal them with personalised stickers for each person from Amazon that say ‘to X, from Santa’ so that I remember whose presents are whose. I used to have one colour tissue paper per person, which made it a lot easier, until I’d inevitably run out and then get mixed up. The stickers are perfect.

I love wrapping though. I go with a theme. More recently it’s been red and white, so I have massive rolls told red wrapping paper, and big rolls of two different patterns of red and white, a load of red and white ribbons and patterned tags. And some red and white tissue paper for small non-stocking gifts.

The wrapping paper I have this year was bought reduced in Waterstones between Christmas and new year last year, it’s great. I have lots of red and white ribbons and tags so I will continue the theme next year. I think i like feeling that a gift, however small, looks so much more special to a person if it’s well wrapped.

Im finally finished!

I used to be on my knees on Christmas eve through to Christmas morning, yawn. Then up again at 6am. Nowadays I start in October and wrap every time a present comes into the house.

The cleaning and cooking stresses me out these days

@FreshWinterMorning perhaps it’s time to cut back in how many gifts you buy. That’s more than anyone should have to buy let alone wrap!

The wrapping paper stickers have this year been my 100% worst thing. I’m not shopping anywhere that sells them ever again 😂

I’m glad I had so few to do. Rheumatoid arthritis isn’t conducive to wrapping presents and following my recent wrist fusion I have very limited movement in my left hand and wrist. I needed a good dose of painkillers but I wrapped them pretty well.
If there had been more then I would have used gift bags.