On Wrapping Paper and First Impressions

Photo by shimelle

First impressions speak volumes.

And the wrapping job on a gift is the very first impression someone gets of the treasure that lies within. I actually think the wrapping on a gift can be just as thoughtful as the gift itself. In this area, I've taken a page out of the books of my mom and husband.

My mom always individualized our gifts--not with the standard "To and From" tags but with the wrapping paper itself. Rather than buying rolls of one paper, she bought a different paper for each of her kids. I've carried on this tradition with my kids, and you'd think individualized wrapping was a gift itself to see their reactions. And to take part of their guessing game on which paper belongs to whom is memory-making.

When it comes to finishing off a present, no one compares to my husband. A Renaissance Man of sorts, he specializes in taking your run-of-the-mill wrapped gift and turning it into a masterpiece. With a little paper craft and ribbon-curling his gifts make the impression that the recipient is someone special. And no two gifts look alike. Creativity is always his guide!

Either of these ideas, or both for that matter, will give those people on whom you've spent hard-earned dollars, and for whom you've stood in torturously long lines ridiculously early in the morning after braving life-threatening mall traffic conditions, the impression that you thought even a little more about them.