The Art of Wrapping Gifts!

These last two weeks have been filled with lots of wrapping of presents.  While, I loath this part of Christmas, it did bring up some very interesting questions for me.  What exactly is the art of wrapping paper and who started this?  

I read on the do-it-yourself website that "...according to the Japanese, who are masters at gift wrapping, it is a ritual with great meaning."  Really, what is the meaning?  I guess I will have to go look this up, as it has peaked my interest.

Japanese gift wrapping is called tsutsumi.  They use both paper and cloth for creating these simple and elegant wrapped gifts. The large piece of cloth that is used is referred to as Furoshiki.  This type of gift wrapping is used by the Japanese for birthday, holiday, and wedding gifts.  They even use this type of wrapping when shopping.    You can even support and promote recycling by using this specific type of wrapping technique.  So, all you conservationists looking for a new idea for wrapping presents this year should definitely look into this.


Read more about Japanese Gift Wrapping here.

Also, don't forget to always have at your side the relevant tools necessary to wrap a present including scissors, one-sided and double-sided tape, paper cutter, wrapping paper, ribbon, and bows. 

Here is an awesome article on the history of wrapping gifts. 

Off to read the article and maybe get enlightened on this strange tradition!