DIY Lifestyle

Christmas gift wrapping hacks with M&S and video tutorials.

Christmas-gift-wrapping-ideasCan you believe that we are now 6 weeks away from Christmas?

Does Christmas gift wrapping fill you with dread, or do you look forward to it?

Either way, I thought I’d share with you some fun and easy creative ways to present your gifts here.

I hope you will find my tips fun to recreate and hopefully impress your friends with the finished product.

I have included the written step by step guide, but the M&S video I did showing these steps will be available here by end of November 2016, so do pop back to take a peek.ms-2017-diary-photo-by-little-big-bellHave you seen Marks and Spencer’s homewares department? I only went in to buy gift wrap but I came out with bags full of goodies.

Check out this beautiful diary and rose gold pen that I bought.
marks-and-spencer-christmas-decoration-little-big-bellI decided to wrap the diary in this pretty Green and gold winter foliage paper from M&S. I then added a few curled ribbons and a matching card in one corner.christmas-tree-decoration-for-gift-wrapping-photo-by-little-big-bellIn the other corner, I placed a 3 dimensional gold Christmas tree sticker.christmas-gift-wrapping-ideas-by-geraldine-tan-little-big-bellA few simple embellishments makes a difference don’t you think ?pastel-tea-set-marks-and-spencer-christmas-photo-by-little-big-bellAs mentioned earlier, I was drawn to the homewares department of M&S. How could I not be, with their amazing new Christmas collections in store?

Look at these pretty pastel coloured, gold rimmed teacups and saucers. It was no surprise that they made it into my shopping basket.

In the background, you can see a beautiful M&S pink and gold marbled wrapping paper, that I thought complimented the set well.pink-and-gold-gift-wrap-marks-and-spencer-little-big-bellLuckily, the tea set came in a simple box, making gift wrapping easy.

I decided to use a pleated gift wrap technique and then finished with a gold rosette bow. Here are the steps to creating the pleat effect:

1.Place paper with pattern side facing down.

2. Fold paper around 1.5-2 inches up the length of the paper. 5-7 folds depending on the number of  pleats you want.

3. Turn paper round and unfold the folds

4. Fold the creases towards yourself to create the pleats, to approximately the half way point.

5. Turn over and secure the pleats with tape.

6. Place gift on paper.

7. Use double sided tape on pleated side and tape paper together.

8. Wrap as normal.

gift-wrapping-for-christmas-photo-by-little-big-bellHere they are together. What do you think?pleated-gift-wrap-ideas-little-big-bellHow about wrapping that awkward shaped gift? No worries, I got that covered too.

Imagine having to wrap a woolly jumper or a teddy bear, where there are no simple right angle corners to fold down against and secure easily with tape.

The solution is to make a gift wrap bag. You can create bags of all sizes, depending on your gift. I have added some pleats to my bag and created holes for a bow to secure the bag closed.

Here are the instructions for creating a simple gift bag (without pleats):

1.Place gift on paper to estimate size of paper needed.

2. Fold one side of paper over gift and the other side over with an approximate 0.5 to 1 inch overlap over the first sheet to ensure no gaps at the fold.

3. Tape this fold down on the top, middle and bottom.

4.Fold the bottom end of paper over to make the bag base. Width of fold dependent on how big you want your bag to be.

5. Open up this bottom fold and press the triangular shapes down on either end making sure centre fold lined up with middle.

6. Fold flaps either end to slightly over centre .

7.Secure with tape.

8.Open bag up and place gift inside. Fold top over to seal, punch holes and tie bow.gift-wrap-ideas-little-big-bellHere’s all three together.christmas-gift-wrapping-ideas-pocket-for-card-photo-by-little-big-bellLast but not least, do you find it frustrating when the card comes off your gift and you can’t tell who it’s from? Makes it tricky when writing that thank you note doesn’t it?

This card pocket gift wrap idea could be the answer to lost cards.

If you are using some plain gift wrap, then a pretty Christmas card slotted into the pocket could give the gift an instant festive look too.

Here are the instructions:

1. Cut paper with width enough to wrap gift but length needs to be longer than would be usually needed for the size of that gift.

2. With the pattern side of paper facing up, fold it around three quarters of way up, roughly an inch away from the end.

3. Fold back the paper to create the pocket. Around an inch or more for the pocket depending on your card size.

4. Turn over, place gift where you want the fold to be and wrap as usual.

mark-and-spencers-mince-pie-photo-by-little-big-bellHope you’ve enjoyed my creative gift wrapping. These step by step Christmas gift wrapping hacks will be easier to follow on VIDEO , due out at the end of November 2016, so do pop back to have a look.

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead.

( All photography and styling are by Geraldine Tan, editor of Little Big Bell. This is a sponsored collaboration with M&S. All views are my own).

11 Comments

  1. Beautiful ideas here. Love the pleated wrapping. I shall try that this year. Oh and those tea cups look vintage. Nice choice!x

  2. I actually love wrapping as long as I’ve enough time to do it!

  3. They look beautiful, Geraldine! Have a gorgeous weekend. x

  4. Lovely ideas G. Might have to get me some of that green and gold paper.

  5. Wrapping is definitely not my forte so I will have to try out some of these ideas – they look great! x

  6. Stephanie

    Hi there, i just wondered if you were selling the marks and spencer vintage pastel tea cup and saucer set? I cannot get this anywhere!

    • littlebigbell

      Hi Stephanie, perhaps they have discontinued it. Keep an eye on my shop @littlebigbellshop on Instagram. I will be listing it soon.

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