Christmas Gift Wrapping Tips for Odd, Round, and Awkward Shapes

Eve Cale
Dec 10
3 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

There’s something magical about handing over a beautifully wrapped gift at Christmas, that moment when someone realises you’ve taken that extra bit of care. But wrapping at this time of year can also feel fiddly, repetitive, or downright baffling when you’re staring at an awkwardly shaped present and wondering where to even begin.

Have you ever found yourself asking:

“How on earth do I wrap a bottle without just sticking it in a bag?”
“Can you actually wrap a ball?
“How do I get that neat bow you see on jewellery boxes?”
“Why does wrapping get boring after the first three gifts?”

…then you’re in exactly the right place.

Let's have a look at a few of the most common festive wrapping dilemmas.

How do I wrap a bottle?

Of course the simplest way to wrap a bottle is to reach for a bottle bag! From an eco-friendly point of view, bottle bags that are passsed on an re-used multiple times are a great choice. However they do lack the 'wow-factor' so here's a simple idea as an alternative.

Place the bottle in the centre of a sheet of tissue paper.
Hold the neck of the bottle with your less-dominant hand and use your dominant hand to pull the paper up to create pleats.
Tie the top with ribbon or twine and for an extra flourish add a tissue paper flower.

How to wrap a bottle without a bag (or tape!)

Is it actually possible to wrap a ball?

Yes — and without resorting to a gift bag!

The secret is the sweetie-wrapper method which is similar to the bottle wrap method above.

Lay the ball in the centre of your paper.
Gather the paper up and around it.
Twist and tie at the top like an oversized sweet.

Wrapping a ball can be easier than you think!

How do I tie a bow like the ones on Tiffany boxes?

Those crisp, perfectly centred ribbons with the bow sitting neatly on top… they look complicated, but the technique is surprisingly simple once you’ve learned the steps.

Start in the centre of the box.
Wrap the ribbon so it crosses underneath the box, not on top.
Keep the ribbon flat, not twisted, all the way through.

The cross-over bow is a great skill to master

How do I stop wrapping getting boring?

A recent survey found that Brits get frustrtaed with wrapping Christmas gifts after just 16 minutes! It’s easy to start with enthusiasm and then lose patience so here are my top tips to help you see your Christmas wrapping through:

A few ideas:

Plan time to wrap in small chunks rather than doing it all in one sitting
Use a firm surface to wrap; if your dining table isn't an option then how about a desk, kitchen worktop or your ironing board!
Invest in a tape dispenser - I love this bamboo one.

I also recommend that you brush up your skills so you have a few quick wrapping techniques to cover the basic shapes. My bitesize wrapping tutorials are designed exactly for this — giving you easy ideas in small chunks.