How to disguise and hide the real gift
By Cazzy Lewchuk, Staff Writer
Out of all the fun holiday activities there are to do throughout December, gift exchanges are one of the most common and exciting. The thrill of watching someone unwrap a gift you gave is almost as much fun as unwrapping one for yourself.
Whether your gift-wrapping abilities are on par with Martha Stewart or Mr. Bean, it’s done for one purpose—to hide the actual present. This retains an element of surprise and mystery to the gift exchange; who hasn’t felt the thrill of shaking a present trying to figure out what’s inside? The trouble is, a lot of wrap jobs are obvious, taking away all of the suspense. The rectangular presents are books. The round ones are mugs. The bottle-shaped ones that feel like glass are clearly a bottle of the finest pop the liquor store had to offer.
Disguising the shape and size of a gift can add an additional element of fun to the unboxing. It serves a greater surprise to the receiver, and it’s an easy way to improve your skills if you’re the type who has a 1:1 ratio of gift wrap rolls to presents. There are many different styles.
Size manipulation involves hiding the size of the gift. It’s better to go all out for this one. Use a large microwave box stuffed with newspaper or bubble wrap to house a gift card. Of course, the actual size of box to gift ratio can be adjusted depending on how much you want to save on wrapping paper and/or the environment, but it’s an easy way to hide that book or toy.
Symbolic presents mean wrapping something that isn’t actually the gift itself, but a representation or symbol of it. You could wrap a picture of the thing itself, or an accessory of it (a cell phone charger, for example). This works great when the gift is more than just a physical item, such as tickets or a gift certificate. For an outing or trip, you could wrap a seashell, plastic figurine, bottle of sand from a beach—use your imagination! It beats simply telling the giftee about your present, or putting it inside a card.
Not-so-obvious wrapping. We already know that if it’s wrapped like a bottle, it’s probably a bottle. That’s why it’s fun to place a real gift inside an obvious gift. Take an empty Playstation 4 box and fill it with chocolates. It can work as a great prank (the Other Press accepts no responsibilities for lost friendships). If you’re really feeling creative, cut up a bottle and put an article of clothing or gift card inside it and glue it back together. That wrapped bottle of Scotch they’re eyeing is actually a T-shirt.
Tricks are great on April 1, but they’re also fantastic year-round. Inject some fun and mystery into your holiday season by cleverly concealing your real gift: give the gift of humour!
