How to wrap a gift

Wrapping is not about costly paper. It is about clean folds and one small finishing touch. Ten minutes and a flat table are enough.

What you need

• Paper: gift paper, brown paper or even a clean newspaper page.
• Scissors and tape.
• String, ribbon or a strip of cloth.
• A tag or a small card.

Wrapping a box, step by step

1. Remove the price tag from the gift.
2. Place the box face down on the paper. Cut the paper so that it wraps around the box with about 3 cm to spare, and so that each open end has paper a little more than half the height of the box.
3. Pull one side of the paper over the box and tape it at the middle of the back.
4. Fold a neat 1 cm hem on the other edge, pull it over tightly and tape it along the hem. The hem hides the cut edge.
5. At one end, push the top flap down against the box. This makes two triangular wings at the sides.
6. Fold the two wings in towards the centre and crease them.
7. Fold the bottom flap up, with a small hem at its edge, and tape it.
8. Stand the box on that end and repeat on the other end.
9. Run your fingers along every edge to sharpen the creases.
10. Tie the string or ribbon, and slip the tag under the knot.

Odd shapes

• Bottles and jars: roll them in paper like a toffee, with extra paper at both ends, and tie each end with string.
• Soft things such as clothes: fold them flat inside a shirt box or between two cards first.
• Very awkward shapes: make a paper bag. Wrap paper around a box of the right size, tape one end closed, slide the box out, put the gift in and fold the top over twice.

Wrapping with cloth

A scarf, a dupatta or a square of printed cotton makes a wrapping that is itself a second gift. Lay the cloth as a diamond, place the gift in the centre, bring two opposite corners over it and tuck them, then tie the other two corners in a knot on top. A small potli with a drawstring does the same for jewellery, sweets and coins.

Low-waste ideas

• Brown paper with jute string and a leaf or a dried flower under the knot.
• Newspaper in another language, or the comics page for a child.
• A steel dabba, a basket or a glass jar as the container. It gets used again.
• Save ribbons, bags and boxes from the gifts you receive.

The tag

Always say who it is from. At weddings and big parties, gifts are opened days later, and an unnamed gift cannot be thanked. For words to write, see gift messages.

Guides

• Shagun: giving moneyThe envelope, the extra rupee and how to decide the amount.
• Gifting etiquetteGiving, receiving, regifting and gifts to avoid.
• Return giftsIdeas for birthdays, weddings, pujas and housewarmings.
• Gift messagesShort lines to write on a tag or card, to copy.
• Secret Santa name drawerPair everyone for a gift exchange on one phone.