Gift wrapping ideas

Lana Red’s leading the charge on DIY gift wrap that’s good enough to ‘gram! Whatever you choose to gift this year, make sure it looks extra-special under the tree with these gift wrapping ideas. Here we are showcasing DIY gift wrap with paper cutting, pom pom trim and confetti. Keep things eco by up cycling colourful paper offcuts for your accents, using recyclable paper as your base, and use it again and again for maximum craft value!

Once the Christmas shopping, making or baking is done, it’s time to unleash your inner paper artist. Playing with colour combos, pattern vs texture and all the ribbons, that’s the kind of DIY gift wrap we’re here for. These three gift wrapping ideas will inspire you to ramp up the fun factor for this year’s Christmas gifts, and you can go wild raiding your paper and trimmings stash to come up with your own signature parcel style for winter 2020.

Paper confetti and cellophane makes a present you can shake like a snow globe, then there are teeny felt pom poms to make, and stencils to cut for your favourite festive mottos. And once you’ve made a good batch of paper confetti, you can add a sprinkle of it inside each of your parcels as a little extra festive surprise too.

For the DIY gift wrap you will need

• Wrapping paper
• Sticky tape
• Washi tape
• Velvet ribbon

Confetti parcel gift wrap idea

• Sheets of colourful paper
• Circle hole punch
• Cellophane

Pom pom parcel gift wrap idea

• Wool roving
• Washing-up liquid
• Glue

Papercut parcel gift wrap ideas

• Patterned wrapping paper
• Craft knife
• Cutting mat

Gift wrapping ideas

Confetti gift wrapping idea

To make the confetti, use a circular hole punch to cut shapes from red, gold, pink and white paper, or your choice of colours. A handful of paper confetti will be enough for 10 or so medium-sized gifts. (01)

Wrap the gift with plain wrapping paper and sticky tape first, then wrap it with a layer of the cellophane, this time securing with contrasting washi tape, and leaving one side open. (02)

Insert the handmade confetti between the plain gift wrap and the cellophane layer. Shake the gift slightly to move the confetti around so it’s evenly distributed. (03)

Once you’ve added the desired amount of confetti, finish wrapping the cellophane layer and close the final side with washi tape. Tie with coordinating velvet ribbon to finish. (04)

Pom pom gift wrapping idea

Wrap the gift with a layer of plain wrapping paper. (05)

To make a felted pom pom, cut a small piece of roving and place it into a bowl of water. Add a couple of drops of washing-up liquid and let it soak up the water. Remove the roving from the bowl and squeeze out the water. Rub the roving in between your hands in a circular motion, creating a small felted pom. Repeat this process to make as many pom poms as needed to reasonably cover the gift. Once made, leave them to dry for approximately 24 hours. (06)

Apply a small drop of glue to one of the felted pom poms and attach it to the top of the wrapped gift. Repeat, attaching pom poms to cover the top, then let the glue dry. Once the glue has dried, turn the gift to another side and attach a few pom poms to that side. Repeat until you’ve attached all the pom poms, leaving the underside of the gift free so it sits flat, and leaving enough space between the pom poms to tie with ribbon. (07)

Tie coordinating velvet ribbon around the gift to finish. (08)

Papercut gift wrapping idea

Cut a piece of wrapping paper large enough to wrap your item. Place the piece of wrapping paper right side (RS) down on
a flat surface. Place the gift on top and centre it. Trace the outline of the gift onto the paper. (09)

Create a stencil to fit the outline drawn in the previous step by drawing and cutting out your own stencil design. With a craft knife and cutting mat, carefully cut away the main letters or shapes from your stencil, leaving the negative space intact. (10)

Place the stencil RS down– the text or image should be mirrored – in the centre of the pencil outline on the wrapping paper. Place the cutting mat underneath and follow the outlines of the stencil with the craft knife, cutting all of the design out. Once you’ve finished with the stencil, remove it from the paper. (11)

Wrap the gift with a layer of contrasting or coordinating patterned wrapping paper first. (12)

Place the wrapping paper with the cut-out design on top of the wrapped gift, RS up. Centre the design and keep it in place while you flip the gift over. Wrap the gift neatly and secure the paper with washi tape to finish. (13)

More DIY gift wrap

Fins more gift wrapping ideas here on Gathered! Want to try this clever stencilled gift wrapping idea? Click for the handmade wrapping paper tutorial.