Here are some great tips on dressing up gifts and clever tricks to make the simplest boxes look extra special...


Metal Magic
If you’re giving a selection of gifts to a family or group of friends, colour coordinate your packaging and you’ll definitely make an impression. Bling things up with hologram paper, gift bags and shiny paper in silver and gold. Add even more sparkle by using metallic doilies and shiny bits and bobs, from ribbons to corsages.


Spots and Stripes
Use cheap and cheerful brightly coloured paper and dress it all up a little with coordinating ribbons, buttons and sweeties. Make a paper corsage using pretty cupcake papers and fasten with a bright button.


Cheap and Chic
Collect and then photostat used stamps to make your own wrapping paper, scour secondhand book shops for old maps you can use as gift wrap or make a copy of a page from one of your favourite books and fasten to a simple brown paper gift bag. The newspaper classifieds pages make great corsages and colourful elastic bands are just as good as ribbons.


Shape Up
It’s often difficult to give unusually shaped gifts the special treatment. Wrap a bottle of wine in a cheerful tea towel and fasten with colourful safety pins or badges. All you need for a plant is some pretty fabric while a simple selection of biscuits looks great in a tin with a pretty handkerchief.


Paper Love
Keep things simple with plain coloured wrapping paper of gift boxes, then take things a step further with paper chains (think dolls, hearts or festive Christmas trees), novelty doilies and even paper cupcake holders used as corsages.

Stockists

Merrypak & Print +27 21 531 2244
CNA countrywide www.cna.co.za
The Deckle Edge +27 21 448 6800, www.deckleedge.co.za
Crazy Store countrywide, www.crazystore.co.za