Make your gift to be the hottest commodity at the White Elephant gift exchange.
These quick and creative wrapping hacks are perfect for making your gifts stand out — and a box isn’t required.
That’s right, even if you’re providing a cheap bottle of rosé or a candle snagged last-minute from Target, it doesn’t have to be lazily thrown in a holiday bag topped with tissue paper. In fact, TikTokers are sharing the best and easiest ways to wrap presents — even if they’re oddly shaped.
Tracee Garrett, better known as @beeandblooms, is TikTok’s reigning queen of gift wrapping, boasting her unorthodox strategies on the platform.
There’s seemingly nothing the 37-year-old can’t wrap, from a leaf blower or umbrella, to jewelry or gift cards.
“The most difficult present I’ve wrapped has to be a bike with training wheels,” she told Media Drum World.
“In terms of the largest odd-shaped object this would have to be a vacuum which was also out of the box.”
Accidentally cut the paper too small for the gift? No problem.
Garrett’s quick fix involves turning the rectangular object, such as a book, diagonal with the edges of the book facing the corners of the paper, then folding in the corners of the paper.
“I mainly wrap odd-shaped items, things people generally have trouble wrapping because it doesn’t come in a box,” the Detroit TikToker said, boasting a record wrapping time of 16 seconds.
“I make my videos to help people who need it, who never were taught how to wrap, and for people who just need a little creative inspiration.”
Meanwhile, content creator Lindsay Roggenbuck shared a clever way to wrap a simple box: Leaving more paper on one end of the box, wrap the opposite end as you normally would, folding in the signs and taping the point down.
On the end with excess paper, she folds paper over a gold ribbon multiple times until it meets the edge of the box, then ties it to create a handle, making a bucket-esque shape.
Lennia, dubbed the “Folding Queen” on TikTok, demonstrated how to spruce up a plain rectangular box by transforming it into a piece of candy.
First, she measured how much paper would be necessary to encompass the entire gift, then folded it to make four even, vertical sections before folding in the shorter ends and cutting the corners. Unfolding the paper, she placed the box inside the paper cylinder she created and fastened the ends with ribbon tied in a bow.
The end product resembled something like a Tootsie roll.
While some of Garrett’s viewers claimed they lacked the patience necessary to masterfully wrap each present and would prefer to settle for a gift bag, other users argued that the time and “love” put into meticulously wrapping a gift is more thoughtful.
“Gift bags say I’m not going to spend time making this look good for you. You’re not worth it,” one person argued in the comments of one video of Garrett’s.
So, if you’ve got a wine bottle, mug or pair of socks that need to be gifted, here are the most creative ways to wrap their unorthodox silhouettes.
In her most recent clip, Garrett begins by measuring how much paper is needed to cover the circumference of a tin box and begins by rolling paper around the sides of the short, flat cylinder.
After securing it in place, she then starts in on the top and bottom of the present, beginning with the pointed corner of the piece of wrapping paper and making pleats around the edge of the tin.
When wrapping a candle — namely, one without a lid — she first wraps it delicately in white tissue paper, leaving a tuft of paper at the top of the sconce and securing it with a ribbon. To add a pop of color, she rolls the base in festive wrapping paper.
For Starbucks or Stanley tumblers, the accompanying straws can making wrapping cumbersome, but Garrett’s method makes it easy as pie.
After measuring for size, she folds one side of the paper diagonally along the tapered shape of the cup — which is first wrapped in white tissue paper left open on the same side with the straw — then wraps the tumbler in the paper filled with extra tissue paper.
The top, which is left open and the paper unfolded and tufted, is tied with a holiday ribbon.
Whether it’s a tennis ball for your dog or a basketball for a sports fanatic, Garrett can wrap a sphere by making an envelope out of wrapping paper.
First, she folds the paper in half and secures it with double-sided tape before focusing on one of the open ends, which she folds in, creating a bag-like shape.
After placing the sphere into the DIY bag, so to speak, she then fastens the open of the bag perpendicular to the other, creating a topsy-turvy, almost triangular silhouette that is more visually interesting and conceals the shape of the ball inside.
While Garrett creates a DIY envelope out of paper to package clothing items, another TikToker known as @clippercityhouse demonstrated the best way to wrap a Squishmallow using a similar tactic.
After measuring how much paper she would need, she taped the longer edges of the paper together before moving onto what would become the bottom of the present.
To create a flat surface for the “bottom” of the gift, she made a diamond shape with the paper and folded the two loose corners into the middle of the crease. Then, she stood the makeshift bag upright and slid the plushy inside, closing the other end by folding it over like you would a brown paper bag.
“The key to wrapping really is to always make sure you’re enjoying doing it and it will show,” Garrett said.