It’s Christmas Eve, just one more sleep until Christmas. And instead of kicking back with a can of Guinness or  a glass of spiced cider, you’re engaging in a flimsy battle with a roll of sellotape. No-body’s winning and you’re just going round in cirlces. Literally.

Why is it that we choose to leave our Christmas gift wrapping until the very last minute, of the very last hour? Are we such thrill seekers that we even have to make the art of gift wrap a crazy whirlwind of emotions? Gift wrapping is possibly the most engaged physical activity of every Christmas Eve past and present. Nothing ever changes…

Here are some special gift wrapping tips from the folk here at Directory of Birmingham. We recently did an office secret santa (thanks for my novelty thong, whoever got me that!) and it’s almost as though we’ve just come out of gift-wrap school. So we thought we’d pass on a few creative tips:

1. Glitter it up – if you hate those fussy little gift tags that just seem to get in the way, you can choose a plain paper and use PVA glue to write the recipient’s name on the finished article. Then simply sprinkle and dust with potted glitter. Then blow…(you may need to hoover after)

2. Use a touch of nature – if you want a traditional looking present, wrap with traditional colours (red/gold) and decorate with glittered pinecones, holly and ivy, mistletoe or cinammon sticks. Dried orange slices also look very authentic.

3. Make your own wrapping paper – use stamps, stencils, printing, whatever resources and tools you have available. The home-made look is ever so chic these days…