Wrapping adventures for 5 kids. My 16 best tips that may just help you too.

I wrote the following a month ago then never ended up editing for publishing. Last night we finished almost all of our wrapping and now reading this, I wish I had read it before I wrapped. Because I forgot number 13 and used pen instead and the labels are now smudged. Anyway, I hope it helps others who haven't finished wrapping yet.

Gift wrapping tips

I have been stuck wrapping late into the night too many Christmases. Too many.

The dream is sitting with Craig, children in bed, watching the carols on TV with a glass of wine in my hand. Never happens. But this year is going to be different! Different I tell you. I have learnt from my past and have plans for this year, which I will now share with you.

1) Buy less = less wrapping.

2) Enlist help = less wrapping. Craig is much slower than I am at wrapping gifts, probably because he simply disagrees with Number 9. But any help is help. He wrapped the Santa gifts, because Santa is much better at wrapping than parents.

3) Stick on gift tags are a must. I like using some swing tags because they are cute, but only use them on a few gifts.

4) Brown paper is awesome to wrap with! It is really thick and doesn't tear easily. Make it look pretty with a bit of ribbon or bakers' string.

5) Use Christmas paper to accent, and wrap only easy to wrap gifts in it. Alternately I will wrap gifts I want them to open at the same time in the same paper. This is something I never considered before 3 kids. Now it seems more important, especially as they are older. It works well when everyone opens their main gift one after the other. I really liked the Ikea gift wrap this year. It compliments the brown paper really well.

6) Have all the extra supplies in one box, easily accessible. Ribbon, string, gift tags, sharpies, scissors and tape dispenser.

7) Don't forget to eat. Sounds easy, but too many times I have become cranky and frustrated, then ate chocolate rather than a meal. Eating proper meals and snacks makes for a calmer wrapping experience.

8) Wrap while watching favourite movies. If I have to go and get something or chat to Craig about a decision we need to make while wrapping, it doesn't matter because I've already seen the movie.

9) Voltaire said "don't let perfect be the enemy of good." I couldn't agree more. These presents are going to be ripped open. Perfect is unnecessary and can end up causing procrastination because it's hard to begin with that kind of pressure. Aim for good. Leave perfect for another day.

10) Start wrapping early, but not too early. The danger here is, what has been made or bought can be forgotten. Then doubts trickle in and more purchases result. 

11) Take photos of what has been made or purchased. This can stop overspending. Last year I took photos of each child's gifts before they were wrapped (as a whole.) This was really helpful to make sure nothing was mixed up and I could tell in a glance that nothing had been put in the rubbish box by mistake.

12) Some people love the 'wrap as you go' option. Just make sure you take photos and keep the photos in a separate file. That way you can glance at it whenever you need to.

13) Sharpies are great for writing on labels of any kind.

14) For electrical products that will be used by children: test them out first!!!! Do not wrap these items until Christmas Eve, after ensuing products are fully charged. Open and download apps etc, making sure you completely understand operating instruction at least two days before Christmas. In doing this, you can take items back if they are not working properly (and beat the post-Chirsitmas returns rush,) and you will have time to call a tech-savy friend should you find you have no idea what you are doing.

15) I think this one is the most important: for toddlers and impatient young children, take items out of boxes before wrapping, take most of the packaging away, then put item back in the box. This makes for a more relaxing (read: less meltdowns) Christmas.

16) Buy a tape dispenser. Even if you just use it once a year, it is worth it. Trust me on this.

Enjoy the wrapping! Coming up tomorrow I will be posting my best surviving-Christmas-day tips.

Jen.x