As we scroll our Pinterest feeds and catch up on our favorite blogs this time of year, it seems the most elaborate ideas for gift wrapping just cascade down the screen, like snowflakes falling on a winter’s day. And while we appreciate a good DIY {hand-made shibori papers anyone? dip dyed gift tags? let’s not forget about the wonders of washi tape!}, with this year’s schedule {hello house! hello baby!} and only three weeks until Christmas, we can already count on wrapping presents Christmas Eve!
Let’s be real, the holiday sneaks up on the best of us and between decorating, hosting, toasting and oh yeah, shopping for the perfect presents, on top of all of life’s daily duties, we wanted to wrap up our gifts {and the year!} with something simple, beautiful and most importantly, pretty dang easy! One of the simplest {and seriously stunning!} ways to do that is to select a gift wrapping theme and stick with it. Trust us, it’ll be anything but boring!!
Start by selecting your preferred color palette. Color themes add cohesiveness and simplicity to tinsel and garlands and ribbons {oh my!}. We’re in love with the idea of putting a modern spin on holiday decor, so we wrapped our presents up in a crisp white and blue color palette that has us dreaming of a winter wonderland!
With ombre blue and gold starburst wrapping paper as our base, we had tons of fun playing with tone and texture. By mixing in jeweled blues, deep navy, soft gray and of course, silver and gold accents to “holiday” everything up, the whole setting feels incredibly festive, don’t you think?
We also played with nontraditional accoutrements. It’s kinda my favorite part. Forget sticking to stick-on bows {though we totally used some of them too! Do you put scotch tape on the bottom of yours and then save them so you can reuse them year after year? Yeah, totally learned that trick from my mom!}. But back to other package accessories.
Feathers add a bit of drama and flair and are an easy escape route from perfecting ribbon tying. Another alternative to tons of ribbon? Ornaments! Picked right off our trees, adding a cluster of small ornaments or one big one for impact added a glam element to our stack of gifts. When you string an ornament onto your gift tag, you have yourself a stunner so pretty it’ll be hard for the special recipient to rip it open!
If you’re looking to add a glamorous touch to your decor, a black, gold and copper color palette is a must! We snagged black and white striped wrapping paper {mix and match stripe widths for a chic play on print on print!}, black & white geometric paper and of course, some super glossy gold and copper paper for a little glitz! Mixed in with petite crisp bows, dramatic black ribbon and metallic string snagged at our local craft store, we went to town creating a bold, luxurious scene!
Since the patterns of these black and white papers really make a statement on their own, we stuck to classic silk ribbons, simple bows – they kinda have a Kate Spade vibe- and even left a couple packages with only a gift tag! We chose a consistent color palette for our ribbons as well, including black, metallics and smoky gray to add an elevated glamour to the look. Our one exception was a geo-print ribbon that added a little extra zing to the already dramatic pattern play. We really just wanted any excuse to go into the craft store and peruse the aisle of ribbons! It’s such a treat to shop fun and gorgeous ribbons, isn’t it? Why is that?!
And don’t forget that presentation is everything, but that doesn’t only apply to presents themselves. Glam up the ground and the area around your gifts with glitzy garlands and faux fur rugs, drizzle ornaments throughout and deck your floor with paper confetti or tinsel! And can we talk about how obsessed we are over these adorable artificial white LED trees from West Elm {that are on sale right now}?! The added layers and textures really make for a complete package!
We’re definitely feelin’ the holiday spirit after our gift wrapping marathon! We’ll be back later this week for a few more wrapping tips, including how to tie a ribbon without any cuts or twists! We swear it’s not magic- well, kinda. But for now, we wanna know: which theme might you deck the halls in this year?
PS: Last year’s color-blocked gift wrap tutorial is right here!
original photography for apartment 34 by Emily Scott // art direction + styling by for apartment 34 by Bianca Sotelo
This post is in partnership with Zazzle.com. All thoughts and opinions are 100% our own. Thanks for supporting collaboartions we’re excited about and that help keep Apartment 34’s doors open!
