Christmas Gift Wrapping With A Feminine Touch

Hasn't the year flown by? We are officially in advent and I am super behind on the festivities this year, so for my new followers, I thought I'd share last years' Christmas gift wrapping ideas which might inspire you to do something a little different. Think soft, subdued shades, interesting textures and a finishing touch of dried foliage.

Pictured: Christmas decor featuring H&M paper tree decorations (they've sold out online but they may have them in store)! You can find alternatives at Artket and Talking Tables. House of Fraser small champagne colored baubles, find similar here and here. eBay gold wreath hoop, eBay brown grosgrain ribbon.

The theme I came up with for 2018 (if you haven't already guessed by the blog title) was 'A Feminine Touch.' I wanted to create something soft and delicate to reflect my personal taste; more natural in color compared to the usual Christmas themes, which typically involve traditional reds and greens, bold metallics or frosty whites and of course, plenty of glitter!

To make my gift wrapping unique, I went for a subdued color palette with luxe touches of velvet and grosgrain ribbon, and, as always (if you’re familiar with my styling) a natural finishing touch of dried foliage. This is for sure an eco-friendly way of decorating your gifts as you can either compost it, keep it and display it in a vase once all the gifts have been unwrapped, or if you're a creative type like myself, you can store it away and use it again for another project!

Pictured: Christmas decoration details and a little DIY clay star.

All the gifts, wrapped up and ready to go! The overall look is relatively tonal a with just a hint of natural color.

To achieve this cohesive look, I based my theme around the paper decoration colors I had spotted at H&M Home. Once I had those, I was then able to add in the base neutral colors (the wrapping paper). I used a selection of papers from IKEA, an off white, almost putty colored gift wrap available in store and cream striped option - Unfortunately this has sold out and I can’t seem to find a similar paper online - If you spot any, let me know!

To add another texture and color into the mix, I included regular brown parcel paper which you can buy in any good stationery store. I wanted each gift to look slightly different but for all the gifts to feel like they were part of the same theme. I’ve put together a few of my top tips for a successful gift wrapping session. My do's and don'ts.

GIFT WRAPPING DO'S

1. Do stick to a theme and color palette. If it helps you, why not create a moodboard? Pinterest anyone?

2. Do use double sided tape. This makes your gifts look much neater. Regular tape is a no, no - Trust me on that! OR how about not using any tape at all and simply utilise your ribbon to hold everything together? After all, ribbon and string are supposed to be both functional and decorative ;)

3. Do use embellishments to add interest, such as the paper ornaments you see featured in my wrapping. The recipient can either re-use or add them to their Christmas tree perhaps...

4. Do include natural embellishments such as fresh or dried foliage. This adds another element of interest. Why not reuse pieces from a dried bouquet or pick fresh foliage from your garden?

5. Do use natural paper where possible. Anything with glitter or coating I believe cannot be recycled.

GIFT WRAPPING DON'TS

1. Don't use too much tape. It's just not necessary. Mum, I'm talking to you!

2. Don't wrap every. Single. Gift. In. The. Same. Paper. Boring! Create visual interest by using at least two different papers. Think about texture and color.

3. Don't load your gifts with too many embellishments – My motto is always, ‘keep it simple!’

4. Don't cut your paper too small. I usually wrap the paper around the gift to ensure there is enough coverage before cutting. Any excess can be trimmed and recycled.

5. Don't cut your ribbon before you've tied the bow.

I hope you got something out of this festive post? It's amazing what you can do to spice up some plain gift wrapping paper, isn't it?

If you're late to the Christmas wrap and decor party like me this year, let me know if you give this look a try. Tag me 'inspired by @melissaselmin' on Instagram so I can see!

Art direction, styling and photography by Melissa Selmin.