Best Christmas wrappers to make your presents shine (gift wrapping tips included)

You’ve probably started Christmas shopping, or should — doll up your presents for your loved ones in this season’s loveliest wrappers

What’s prettier than a Christmas tree with presents piled up at the base? Imagine if the boxes and hampers were all clothed in the prettiest wrapping in town.

What a welcoming sight that would be on Christmas morning.

We surveyed departmental stores, malls and craft stores, and reveal the top wrapping available for your presents this merry season. Hurry, get it wrapped up!

FOR THE MINIMALIST

Kikki K.

Monochrome turns merry with Kikki K’s Black and White Christmas Three-Pack, featuring copper foil detail.

Scandinavian stationery store Kikki K. continues to entice us with its clean yet cute craft designs. Its Christmas wrappers this year are peppered with repeated motifs of pine trees, complemented by mini-dots or sleek stripes. They come in three different colour sets of three wrappers each.

My personal favourite is the crisp white wrapper with mini gold-foil trees. This design is sold separately as a 2m roll.

Kikki K Christmas Wrapping Paper Three-Pack sets are available from $19.90, and Christmas Wrapping Paper Roll (2m) for $9.90.

FOR THE KIDS

Metro

Let the kids try their hand at wrapping their own gifts with Metro’s in-store bear gift-wrapping booth.

Here’s a playful idea: Instead of kids only tearing the wrapping paper off their presents, they can help to wrap gifts too.

From now until Dec 24, simply purchase any item at Metro Centrepoint and your child can wrap it into an adorable and customised bear package in store, under the guidance of a Metro staff member. Materials will be provided, and the cute wrapping can be done in no time, for any number of gifts.

Metro bear gift wrap available with any purchase at Metro Centrepoint.

FOR THE TRADITIONAL

IKEA

The rich reds of IKEA’s Vinter 2015 wraps are balanced out by lighthearted prints of snowmen and Santa Claus.

If you’d prefer to package your yuletide gifts in richer and more traditional colours, head to IKEA for its Winter Holiday Collection. The warm red, brown and cream colours of its Vinter 2015 gift wraps will make your presents look right at home under your tree, while playful prints on the wrapping papers balance out the cosy hues.

The Vinter gift wraps come in an assortment of sizes, colour themes and prints, from red with white Santa Claus prints to brown with green Christmas tree patterns. You can also add a personal touch with Vinter’s striped ribbon twine.

IKEA Gift Wrap Roll available from $1.90 and Ribbon for $7.90.

FOR THE CREATIVE SPIRIT

Papermarket

Mix and match wrapping paper, belly bands and ribbons with help from the creative Papermarket staff.

For those with nifty fingers and an abundance of inspiration, Papermarket’s Christmas collection will give you the perfect tools to craft with. The shop has rolled out a host of Christmas-themed material, complete with seasonal wrap-ping paper, stamps, tissue tapes and more.

If you’d like a more expert touch, you can bring your gifts to any Papermarket store for help. Choose from an assortment of gift wraps, with accompanying belly bands and ribbons to match, and let the Papermarket staff do the rest of the work.

The wraps in the store aren’t explicitly Christmas-themed, which makes them great choices for more subtle styling.

Papermarket gift wraps are available for $5.80/m and come with belly bands and ribbon of choice. Wrapping service is available at $5 for gifts smaller than A4 size and $10 for larger gifts.

FOR THE BUSY BEES

Robinsons

So you’ve got your hands full, but you don’t want to compromise on that joyous finish. Look no further than Robinsons’ simple yet splendid gift wrap — nothing says Christmas like the sprinkle of gold glitter, and in a trendy ombre, no less.

It’s a one-stop shop: You can do all your Christmas shopping at Robinsons and have the staff wrap it for you.

The gift-wrapping service is free for purchases over $50. The accompanying tag is a lovely minimalist cherry on top of a fantastically fuss-free wrap. This is truly the gift of joy.

Top tricks for festive wrapping

Here are some tips we gleaned from watching the creative staff of Papermarket and Robinsons work their wrapping magic.

1. Add dimension to your packages by folding back the middle of your gift wraps about two to three times. Use your index finger as a gauge for the width of each fold.
2. Don’t throw out the scraps just yet! Play with leftover strips of paper to create contrasting belly bands for your presents.
3. Edge the wrapping paper as close against the item as possible in order to ensure clean lines.
4. Fold in normal tape to create your own double-sided tape, which you can use on outer folds to avoid messy packaging.

By Pamela Chow