People who don’t wrap Christmas gifts. Reveal yourselves!

[RollyPollyBatFace]

I was chatting to someone at work and she casually revealed that she never wraps any Christmas presents for her kids. Or in fact, anyone.

just pops everything under the tree or in a pile and that’s it. Jobs a good un.

She couldn’t explain why really - just said she’d always done it that way so I’m turning to MN to ask … do you do this? And if so, why?

Our parents wrapped a couple of gifts for each kid (there were 4 of us) but most of the presents weren't wrapped - trust me it didn't take away the "magic"!

But we didnt have Elf on the Shelf, light trails, Christmas Eve boxes or breakfast with Santa. Simpler times but fab!

I’ve been wrapping with furoshiki for about 7 years now. I bought a few meters of fabric and it is so quick and easy to do. I use festive cotton fabric which is cut into varying sizes. I’ve overlocked the edges. After we’ve opened all the presents. The fabric is gathered up and put away for next Xmas.

I used to hate the overflowing recycling bin/wheelie bin. I also have a stash of gift bags that get reused and rotate their way around the family.

no sellotape and paper to faff about with.

Ooh do tell! Elaborate wrapping? Pics please 🎄

I want to see too!

I wrap for the children but try to reuse gift bags for relatives. Wrapping is a tedious enterprise! 🤣

About 10. He gets the something to wear, something to eat, something to read and something to play and then if he sees anything while we are out and about shopping he gets to take a picture of it and its usually clothes or stuff to add to his collections of things like Lego, books, switch games, Japanese sweets that we dont have in our local shop or gift cards for games he plays.

Then he gets gifts from other family members too as we are a big family, but he finds christmas very overwhelming.

Reuse it I expect. I think it’s lovely.

I've never wrapped and mine were never wrapped as a kid either. I think it's exciting for them to come down and see everything all out together instead of having to find out what's there but each to their own!

Not really. You take the sellotape off and recycle the paper. That's still way better than chucking away all the paper. Anyway, this year I've bought recyclable tape.

I don’t wrap “Santa” presents, they just go in sacks the kids leave out.
Presents for other people to go under the tree get wrapped

Santa doesn't wrap, so one present and the stocking unwrapped. We also don't wrap for birthdays. I display everything on a low table downstairs with cards etc and it's just have at it. Really liking some of the ideas on here about gift bags and reusable options! Want to look into that more. Guess it would only work in your particular house though, otherwise wouldn't get the wrapping back 🤔

I wrap everything. Even stocking gifts. Surely it’s part of the fun and excitement unwrapping stuff for the surprise ??

I wrap in tissue paper and put in reusable bags or paper. I use a small amount of paper tape if necessary and reusable silk ribbons rather than sellotape. I have also tried Furoshiki but didn't feel it was quite the same.

My parents didn't wrap stocking fillers, but I do as I think watching a child unwrap their presents one by one is half the fun and I love seeing them all piling up under the tree.

I never had a stocking as a kid – this was back in the 70s and 80s, just a pillowcase filled with wrapped presents. I’ve always given my kids a stocking and I wrap the presents that go in their sacks. I’ve always loved wrapping presents, and I must admit that my mum and her friends seemed to be brilliant at wrapping too. I always had such excitement at opening such pretty gifts as a kid. Maybe that’s why I do it, although it’s lost on my two!

My mind is blown!

I had absolutely no idea people did this.

Think unwrapped is awful. The pleasure and excitement is in the unwrapping surely?

I use fully recyclable paper,no glitter, and it either goes in the compost or into paper recycling.

It’s proper strange to not wrap gifts! 😂

You never see a Christmas film with everything just shoved under the tree in its naked form! 😂

Agreed

As a child, we had a stocking & a sack & the presents were just inside. Anything from friends or relatives was wrapped & we wrapped presents to give to them. Dp's family did the same.

As adults, we do the same. Wrap presents for family etc but Santa presents go in the stocking or sack unwrapped.

i have sewn loads of bags, all sorts of sizes, and they come out every year.

Used to wrap everything, but now I’m ancient -74- [ and can think of better things to do witn my time ) I just pop them in a gift bag. Job done!

Drawstring fabric bags with tissue paper, or furoshiki for immediate family’s presents. Beautiful paper wrapping for wider family.

Somehow it seems more consumeristic not to wrap. As if it’s just about the thing you bought, without any additional thought or effort.

Surely the care you take over the presentation has to mean something?

I don’t wrap. My kids are neurodivergent. They don’t like the tension and worry of surprises. They like to see what they are getting. Also, one of my kids is blind so a bit of wrapping paper makes no difference to her. The smaller gifts are placed in the stockings (never placed at the foot of the bed because that creates panic and worry about a stranger entering their safe place); the larger presents are placed in sacks.

Also, most (cheap) wrapping paper contains plastics so cannot be recycled. And, in the main, gift wrapping is wife work. I used to spend many a Christmas Eve up to the wee small hours, wrapping gifts, till I realised that my children don’t actually like the paper.

Nothing I got was ever wrapped as a child.

We now wrap presents under the tree that are from us to each other but anything thats delivered by Santa is unwrapped, set up and ready to go.

Stockings and Santa Sack unwrapped too as the sock/bag Is the wrapping.

Funny you say that, because I JUST finished watching 'The Santa Clause' with my kids and the gifts delivered by Santa were NOT wrapped in the film.

There was wrapped gifts given by each other under the tree in all the shots leading up to Christmas (and people where handing wrapped gifts to each other) but Santa's magic sack spat out only unwrapped gifts (the rag doll, the kayak, the football, the mystery game etc...).