How To Wrap Oddly Shaped Gifts, According To Experts

The tree is trimmed, the presents are purchased, and now it's time to wrap gifts so they're ready for Christmas morning. Whether you wrap your presents right away, or procrastinate until the last minute (like me), you're probably going to have at least one hard-to-wrap gift in your pile. So, how do you wrap oddly shaped gifts so they are both pretty and their contents stay a secret until the big day? Fortunately, there are plenty of expert ideas to guide us less creative moms, so we can move on to our holiday celebrations with gorgeous gifts in tow.

Greeting card company Papyrusonline.com offers quite a few strategies for wrapping even the largest or most awkwardly shaped gift. The easiest of which is simply making your own custom-sized gift bag out of sturdy paper. According to Lifehacker, one easy way to wrap something oddly shaped is to use fabric to wrap your gift, instead of wrapping paper, which is both more forgiving and sturdier than traditional paper, and makes for a pretty package. If your gift is something distinctive, like a basketball or soccer ball, you may want to forgo wrapping your gift entirely and instead incorporate it into a fun display, as Amy Goodman suggests on the TODAY Show's website. If you are determined to wrap an odd-shaped present, read on for some ideas that might just do the trick.

Greeting card company Papyrusonline.com suggests that the easiest way to wrap a large or awkwardly-shaped gift is often to custom-make your own gift bag out of sturdy wrapping paper. Other ideas the company shares includes using wrapping paper and folding, creasing, and taping along awkward edges, essentially following the shape of your present. If all else fails, you can always place items in a box before wrapping, or skip wrapping altogether and use a pretty bow to adorn a large gift. This might seem like an easy way out, but honestly, there's no shame in finding ways to make your life easier during the holiday season.

Lifehacker also offers several ideas for wrapping over-sized and odd-shaped gifts that won't fit in a standard-sized gift bag. One cool idea discussed is using pretty fabric to "lotus wrap" your gifts, which basically means to tie opposite ends so that the end result looks like a lotus flower. This Korean style of wrapping is also called Bojagi, after the silk cloths that are traditionally used to wrap and carry items.

As Lifestyle expert Amy Goodman told TODAY, if you are gifting something distinctive, like a ball, you might not want to wrap your gift at all. Instead, you can incorporate it into a fun holiday display. A ball can easily become a Santa Claus head. Simply wrap your ball in tissue paper, and balance it on a weighted paper cup. You can even add a face and Santa hat. If you have small items, like necklaces or bracelets, to wrap, but they didn't come with a box to make your task easy, Goodman suggests using a toilet paper roll to create a cylinder shape to wrap or use a wine bottle as a vessel for a beautiful, unique presentation, telling TODAY the following:

Find an empty bottle of wine and undamaged cork. As a first step, soak the bottle in hot water and take the label off of the bottle. Using a push pin, secure the top back of necklace (where the clasp is located) to the bottom of the cork. Delicately place the necklace into bottle so it dangles the length of bottle, and then secure the cork. Decorate with ribbon around body of the bottle for a fun, mod look.

Remember, if you try everything and can't seem to make wrapping work, you can always slap a bow on your gift, or pick up a gift bag from the store. No matter how you wrap it, it's what's inside that matters, and the person who receives the oddly-shaped gift will love it regardless.

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