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How to Wrap a Gift Without a Box? 10 helpful tips

Gift-giving and gift wrapping are a huge part of any occasion. Whether it is for a person’s birthday or Christmas, people spend so much time and money on finding the perfect present and the best-looking gift wrappers. Objects that come in boxes are so much easier to wrap. However, some gifts don’t come in boxes. How do you wrap a gift without a box?

Items that do not come in boxes can be placed in different containers like a jar or a bucket. You can then decorate these containers to make them look nicer. The present can also be folded and wrapped neatly with gift-wrapping paper. If you are in a hurry, you can also place the item in a nicely decorated gift bag.

There are many different ways of wrapping a gift without a box. It is a little more challenging because the surface will tend to be irregular. However, if done right, you can still come up with a beautifully wrapped present that will show how much thought you’ve put into your loved one’s gift. This handy guide will give you a few ideas for how to wrap a box-less present and offer some tips on gift-wrapping oddly shaped objects.

How to wrap a gift without a box

Admittedly, wrapping something that doesn’t have a box can be extra difficult, especially if you’re not good at crafts. The irregular surface makes it more difficult to lay the wrapping paper flat. That is why you need to be a little more creative when you buy a present that does not come in a square or rectangular container. 

It is good to remember that a gift need not be wrapped in paper. There are other materials and containers that you can use in place of a colorful gift wrapper. You can use scrap fabrics, colored cellophane, or festive foils.

You can use these materials to make a small bag for the item or use them the same way you would a paper wrapper. After wrapping the object with the fabric, cellophane, or foil, ad securing the material with tape, you can add gift embellishments like ribbons, dried flowers, and colorful tags.

If you don’t have the time or the skill to neatly wrap your gift, you can also opt to put it in nicely decorated containers. There are many gift containers that you can buy. However, making one yourself is also pretty easy. 

What can I use instead of gift wrapping?

If there are alternatives to putting gifts in a box, there are also numerous choices for alternatives to gift wrapping papers. These are great suggestions if you find yourself with a gift but forgot to buy any wrapping paper. 

Scrap wallpaper

If you have any leftover wallpaper from a room makeover, this is a good alternative. While solid colors work well, you can also use patterned wallpapers and complement that with a plain ribbon. 

For a holiday present, you can use metallic ribbons such as silver or gold. You can also use cute embellishments like special tags, glass buttons, fabric bows, stickers, and more. Just look for accessories that would match the material and design of the scrap wallpaper.

Wallpapers are much sturdier than regular wrapping paper. This material will not easily rip or crumple so it’s perfect as a wrapper for soft gift items like clothes or towels. You can either use the wallpaper to construct a tube or bag-shaped container for your gift or lay the material on the item and use it like a regular gift wrapper. 

Old newspaper and magazine pages

Old newspapers are also great alternatives to gift wrappers. You can stick with the black and grey theme by using black ribbons and solid-colored accents. You can also use a brightly colored gift tag to provide a contrast for the newspaper. 

You can also use the multi-colored comic section if you want something more playful. You can also pick out beautifully designed pages of an old magazine and tape those together to use as the wrapper for your gift. 

Used gift wrapping tissues, maps, or brown paper bags

If you ever receive gifts wrapped in colorful tissue paper, do not throw them away. These fillers can be repurposed as gift wrappers. If you have stamps at home, you can use those to stamp patterns on tissue paper to give it a more personalized look.

Do the same for brown grocery bags. Be careful in unloading your groceries so you don’t crumple the paper too much. The brown paper will look great against a brightly colored or metallic ribbon. You can even stamp or draw designs on this material to make it a little more festive.

For a well-traveled friend or loved one, an old map will look great as wrapping paper for the gift. You can also use this to wrap a going-away present for your office mate. There are some great-looking travel-related stickers and stamps that you can use to decorate an old map.

What is the most environmentally friendly wrapping paper?

Have you heard of the Japanese tradition called “furoshiki”? This is the practice of wrapping items in fabric. It is so easy to do, and irregularly shaped items are easier to wrap with fabric because the material naturally hugs the object. 

By following this tradition, the recipient of your gift will not only receive your present, he or she will also have a wrapper that can be used over and over again. Choosing an organic fabric is also good for the environment. That is why this type of wrapping is on the top of the list for environmentally friendly wrappers.

Any material that is reused keeps it from ending up in the landfill. So, reusing different products as gift wrappers is also a gift to the planet. Old dust bags of products that you bought can be painted and repurposed as a wrapping material. The same goes for old magazines and boxes.

Keeping ribbons and twine from old gifts is also a great practice. You get to decorate your gifts without producing more waste. If the items are wrinkled, you can easily iron them out. Spray the ribbon or fabric with water and use the lightest setting on your iron to remove kinks and wrinkles on the materials. 

One thing that you might not have thought of is that the packaging of potato chips and other food products can be washed and turned inside out. If you do this, you will have a premade, silver-colored gift wrapper that you only need to tape on one end to seal. It may not be exactly environmentally friendly but at least the wrapper isn’t going to end up in the ocean any time soon.

How do you trick wrap a present?

Part of receiving gifts is guessing what’s inside and being surprised with what you find. Do you remember the excitement that you felt when you spot a giant gift under the tree with your name on it? How many hours did you spend imagining what was inside and figuring out what you were going to do with it?

So, to add joy and mystery to gift-giving a lot of people are inventing new ways to trick-wrap their gifts. Other people call this practice decoy wrapping. There is no limit to what shape you can use to disguise your gifts. 

Hundreds of examples of decoy or trick-wrapped gifts can be found online. A good one that you can copy is a set of cocktail shakers and recipe books made to look like a teddy bear.

The gift-givers even added metal pieces to the gift to mimic the weight of the power tool. Imagine the surprise of your recipient, assuming that he or she will be getting a drill and finding out that it was a different gadget altogether. 

The first step to this type of wrapping is to create the mold of the fake gift. Choose an item that has a weird shape. Sticking to a box or cylinder shape will defeat the purpose. 

Base the decoy on something that your gift recipient would not like. A stuffed toy, an electric fan, or even a chair are great examples. See how your loved one would look at the gift, thinking that it was a fan, then wait for the change in reaction when he or she realizes that it’s something that he or she liked instead.

Get a sample of the item that you want to base the gift’s shape on. Cover it with cling wrap to avoid getting it dirty. Make a paper mache pulp using used paper and watered-down glue. Rip the papers into small strips and dip them in the glue.

Cover the entire object with sticky paper. Make sure to stick the paper randomly to make a thick and strong cover. After you’ve applied a few layers of this on the base, leave it to dry overnight. 

Make sure that the layers are dry before using a sharp craft knife to cut a seam along the middle part. Cut all around the object and slowly peel the mold off the object that you used. This will be the paper shell that will be the container of your gift.

Place the present inside the shell and use tape to put the two pieces back together. You can also use hot glue if you have it at home. Add some cardboard reinforcements to your shell to make sure that it doesn’t lose its shape after wrapping it.

Finally, wrap the present using wrapping paper or any of the alternatives that were mentioned above. Make sure to stick closely to the decoy’s shape. Once you are done wrapping the object, double-check to see if any of the paper mache is exposed. 

3 ways how 

Let’s look at three ways that you can wrap a gift without using a box. 

Use a mason jar

Mason jars are perfect containers for small gifts. They are very easy to decorate and are very sturdy. You can fill them with a variety of things, including baked goods, candies, and other food items.

An amazing idea to decorate a mason jar filled with Christmas treats is to make it look like a reindeer. You can do this what just a few items, namely some brown paper, googly eyes, red pompoms, and some brown pipe cleaners. You can also add red or green ribbons, colorful strings, and a printed gift tag.

Start by covering the middle part of the jar with a thick strip of brown paper. Secure the strip with glue or tape. Create the face of the reindeer using googly eyes and a red pompom for the nose.

Cut two small pieces of the pipe cleaner and stick these to the longer piece of brown pipe cleaner to construct the antlers of the reindeer. Make a pair and attach them to the lid of the jar using hot glue. You can cover the glued part with brown paper to make the lid look neater.

Now, you can go wild and add the rest of your embellishments. Try not to go overboard so you don’t cover the cute design that you created. Make sure that you seal the lid properly if you are using the jar as a container for food items. 

You can use the same technique in using other jars or plastic gift canisters as a container for your gifts. 

Sew a fabric gift bag 

Gift bags are great options for wrapping an irregularly shaped present. They are quite easy to make. Plus, you don’t have to buy new fabric for this project. You can use any old piece of clothing, or pillow cover. 

Grab the scrap fabric that you have at home and cut it into two rectangles. The sections should big enough to cover the gift item plus have some extra space for padding, if necessary. Make the two right sides face each other and iron the two pieces to remove the wrinkles.

Pin the pieces together and stitch the sides and bottom together. Once done, turn the bag right side out. It is now ready to be used as a gift container. 

Place some padding material around your present before putting it inside the bag. Secure the top of the bag with ribbons and add embellishments. Now, you have a reusable gift wrapper that your recipient can use for his or her own gifts.  

Use a basket

If you like making kits for your loved ones, using a basket as a container would be perfect. Instead of hiding the items in a box, covered with wrapping paper, you can showcase the items by placing them in a basket. 

Yard sales and thrift shops carry a variety of baskets, so they are pretty easy to find. Choose one that is just right for the number of items that you will be putting inside it. You don’t want to buy a basket that is too big because it will look too empty if you are only placing a couple of products in it.

Clean the basket before packing it with your gift items. A few swipes with a disinfecting wipe will do. Don’t wash the basket as it will grow molds if it doesn’t dry properly.

Put a few pages of old newspaper or any other used paper at the bottom of the basket. This will raise the items that you want to put in it and help you display them better. Prepare some paper shreds to fill in the gaps between the items to make the basket look fuller.

You can cut colored tissue to make the paper shred. You can also old magazine or newspaper pages, brown bags, or old gift-wrapping papers that you can’t reuse anymore. Using a paper shredder will make the process easier, but you can always use a pair of scissors for this step.

After placing all the gift items in the basket, you can opt to use a transparent wrap for the entire thing. Plastic cling wrap will also work perfectly. The cellophane cover will protect the items inside the basket and keep them in place.

Once you have covered the basket with transparent wrap, you can secure the gather with tape. Cover that with a strip of ribbon then add all the embellishments that you want to use.

References

https://www.morestylethancash.com/make-inexpensive-gift-baskets.html

https://tiphero.com/alternative-gift-wrapping-tips

https://www.instructables.com/Decoy-Gift-Wrapping/

How to Wrap a Gift Without a Box? 10 helpful tips
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