Few things are more fun than watching kids gleefully open presents during the holidays, but being the person tasked with gift-wrapping those presents is a different story. If you’ve ever found yourself staring at a pile of holiday gifts with far too many weird angles and wondering if it’d be OK to just throw everything in a trash bag with a bow, the parents and DIY lovers of TikTok are here to help.
In preparation for the holiday season (and any other gift-giving occasion), crafty TikTokkers have been posting clever how-to videos that show step-by-step instructions for gift-wrapping everything from Squishmallows and basketballs to wrapping those oddly-shaped cardboard toy packages. These gift-wrapping hacks will make holidays and birthdays a million times easier.
Gift-wrapping hacks
1. How to wrap odd-shaped gifts
The folks at Fisher Price know firsthand how many kids’ toys come in strange and incongruent packaging, so they provided their own TikTok tutorial for wrapping oddly-shaped gifts. The key is strategic scissor-work, tissue paper and some pretty ribbon.
2. How to wrap a stuffed animal (and other soft gifts)
Wondering how to wrap that Squishmallow? TikTok user Clipper City House has you covered. In this stuffed animal wrapping tutorial, she offers a step-by-step guide for creating simple paper pouches to wrap stuffed animals, plush toys and other soft gifts.
3. How to wrap a cylindrical gift
TikTok crafter Mama Mila has some tips for wrapping cylindrical gifts, like slime, TinkerToys and anything else that comes in a tube or tin. Paper folds provide an elegant closure to the wrapping, and even though it looks gorgeous, it’s so easy to do.
4. How to wrap a Stanley with a handle
There’s a good chance some on your list is getting a Stanley this year. Instead of putting it in a bag and calling it a day, Lennia MC demonstrates how to wrap a Stanley with a handle — and the receiver will actually have no idea what’s coming!
5. How to wrap big presents
Struggling to wrap an oversized package? Follow this guide on how to wrap big presents from TikTok blogger Glow As You Go. All you need is some scissors, tape and your favorite wrapping paper. You might use most of the roll, so make sure you have extra!
6. How to wrap gifts with cardboard hangers
Tracie Garrett, a pro gift-wrapper who goes by Bee And Blooms on TikToK, uses her account to answer questions from her followers about their biggest gift wrap challenges. In this video, she comes to the rescue for parents who aren’t quite sure how to wrap hanging toy packages that have extra cardboard or plastic hangers along the top.
7. How to wrap a round gift
Again, Lennia MC gives advice — this time on how to wrap a ball or round gift. Rather than trying to haphazardly fold paper around a basketball, she recommends an easy-to-fold wrapping paper pouch that has dozens of uses.
8. How to wrap gift cards
Even gift cards can look beautiful, thanks to this gift card-wrapping tutorial from TikTokker Wrappin Queen. She uses a photo frame to create a convenient and pretty holder to dress up the gift cards for any holiday celebration.
9. How to wrap toys with open-front boxes
What do toymakers have against neat, rectangular boxes? We’ll never know, but the Bee And Blooms TikTok is here to help wrap those stranger, partially exposed toy packages as well. To wrap a toy with an open-front box, it’s all about creating clean lines around the bottom of the package and letting the top stay loose.
10. Creative ways to wrap rectangular toys
If you want to dress up a standard rectangular box, try this other wrapping hack for toys from Lennia MC. She uses a few simple cuts to dress up the wrapping for a Funko Pop doll. The best part? The added frill will make it harder for kids to guess what’s inside the wrapping paper.
11. How to fix a wrapping paper measurement mishap
If measuring wrapping paper to fit around boxes isn’t your strong suit, TikTok user Samira Jasmine can help. Here, she demonstrates how rotating boxes diagonally can fix wrapping paper mistakes and help the paper fit correctly, even if you’ve happened to cut it slightly too short.
12. How to make gift wrap more eco-friendly
Reusable gift wrap? Yes, it’s a thing. TikTokker Bonnie Monnier recommends wrapping gifts in cloth to make celebrations more eco-friendly and easier to clean up. You can easily customize fabric for each person, it works for any size or shape gift and it can be used and cherished for years to come.
13. How to keep gift snoopers guessing
Once you’ve put all that effort into wrapping gorgeous presents, the last thing you want is to have the kids shaking them over and over again, right? The helpful people on TikTok even have a hack for that. If you’re wrapping Christmas presents for multiple kids or family members, says user Jamie Lynn, choose a different style of wrapping paper for each person, and don’t tell them which paper is theirs.
“That way when you put them under the tree, there’s no tags, and no one knows who the presents belong to,” she explains. “Put a piece of the wrapping paper in the bottom of their stockings so on Christmas morning they know which one is theirs.”
14. How to wrap a dog
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OK, so the odds of you really doing this are slim, but! If you do find yourself wrapping a puppy this holiday season, check out this dog-wrapping video from Huxley the Panda Puppy. In fact, check it out even if you have no intentions of getting a dog.
The bottom line on wrapping holiday gifts
Some people excel in the art of wrapping gifts, but not all of us were born with the creative instincts of Martha Stewart. In a perfect world, toymakers would get on the same page and package their wares in easily wrappable boxes. Until then, these gift-wrapping hacks might just offer the solutions you need to keep your holiday gift pile from looking like it got run over by an actual reindeer.
