Hi there beloved reader! Remember me? Ha, sorry I haven't been around here too much in the last week! Believe it or not, I have been super busy prepping for the holiday. In the last week I have cooked/baked the following recipes to give out as gifts or bring to holiday parties:
Pomegranate Orange Syrup (perfect for adding to seltzer)
Bourbon Sea Salt Caramels (tasty and impressive looking!)
The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie (voted best chocolate chip cookie recipe by the NYTimes; I concur! These things are deadly delicious . . . )
Pfeffernussen (so festive!)
Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies (a holiday favorite in our house)
Besides that I spent hours and hours wrapping presents. Everyone in my family thinks I am crazy for creating such elaborate packaging but I think it's fun and the perfect way to get in the holiday spirit.
Here are some my creations, in case you are curious (forgive the inconsistent pictures, the light in my apartment is no bueno):
But doesn't our tree look lovely?
Anywho, if you are crazy like me and looking for a creative outlet re: christmas wrapping this year, here are some tips, scroll all the way to the top of the page and check out my round up of wrapping tips!
one | Go monochrome! I love wrapping my presents in red paper because it really pops under the Christmas tree and there are lots of great red patterned papers out there.
two | Get your doodle on! Use plain butcher paper or kraft paper and doodle a design or two (snowflakes, pine trees, bows, etc.) in silver, red, white ink or whatever your heart desires! You can even do it on plain printer paper, as long as you have a tiny gift or two to wrap!
three | Mini Eco has this brilliant idea to make "confetti" paper. You simply wrap the gift in white paper and then loosely wrap it in clear sheets of cellophane (you can buy this at the container store or craft stores). I did my own version with holly confetti that I bought on Amazon (see second photo of my gifts above) but the possibilities are endless!
four | Make a duct tape bow. This is super easy and makes a great sculptural impact on top of your present. I used gold and red duct tape, but standard silver would look cool too!
five | Use materials you have around the house. This is a picture of the gifts I wrapped a couple years ago relying heavily on rolls of crepe paper streamers I happened to have on hand. They work great as a cheap and graphic alternative to ribbon. I also made paper snowflakes to top the gifts with a couple of random sheets of colorful origami paper I had on hand.
six | Use office supplies! This is one of my favorite presents I have ever wrapped because it is so colorful and fun. I had a label I printed out from Martha Stewart and added a spray of colorful marking dots from Staples to emphasize the festive label design. White paper with a bunch of these dots (sans label) or reinforcements or stickers would also look great!
seven | Remember what I said about number one? You can also run in the opposite direction and go color crazy! If you stick with basic patterns and bold colors any package will really look fabulous under the tree? Who says every gift has to have Santa on it?
I hope you have a wonderful holiday and happy new year! I will be back here in 2014 and until then sending lots of love . . .
