Can you believe it is already November? November for me signals getting my holiday plans in order. I start making and buying holiday gifts as early as June, and when November approaches I like to think I am pretty well organized. One thing I take stock in as soon as November hits is my holiday wrapping. Traditionally, I like to wrap everything on Thanksgiving weekend – so that means when November rolls around I need to have all my wrapping necessities in order! Working full time makes being organized, particularly around the holidays, a must! While everyone else is shopping the day after Thanksgiving, I am enjoying my wrapping (I love wrapping gifts!)

Then I can spend the height of the holiday season soaking in the season and working on handcrafted items and decorations instead of stressing!

I thought I would share with you the three organizing tips I find most important to prepare for holiday gift wrapping. They have worked so well for me.

The first thing I do is organize my ribbons. I like to use a hanger to keep all the ribbons in order and I organize by color families. I always use natural tones in my wrapping. It makes it much easier if you limit yourself to a color family…that way, you can buy pretty ribbons you may see any time during the year, knowing they will play into your theme. I have been collecting coastal themed ornaments my whole life and I always decorate with whites and natural tones. Each year I may pick an accent color – like turquoise, burgandy, or lime green – and add some accents, just to change things up a little. Brown kraft paper is always a staple for me as are brown kraft handled gift bags that may be painted or decorated in some way, and assorted shells and natural items.

The second thing I do is to put any package tie-ons, gift cards, shells, etc. into a hanging shoe holder with clear pockets. This makes it really easy to see what I have that I can use or what I may need to pick up. Having everything laid out in front of me makes it so much easier when I start my wrapping.

The third, and definitely the most important organizing tip for me for holiday wrapping, is to color-code the gifts for my family. I pick a color scheme for each person and wrap all their corresponding gifts appropriately. Even little items inside the Christmas stockings are wrapped in the appropriate color scheme. This makes things so easy. Items can be wrapped the second they are purchased (to prevent snooping!) and there is never any question as to who the package belongs to. When it comes time to put the gifts by our tree, I simply group them by the wrapping and add some last minute embellishments…each person has their own decor! You can choose a favorite color, school colors, etc. This system really works great. Because I have been using this system for so many years, I usually pick the color or theme for each family member the year before when I find an inspirational wrapping item I really love on an after-holiday sale rack.

I hope you enjoyed these three quick and easy ways to get your holiday gift wrapping items organized.

Let the wrapping begin!

Thanks for visiting, Jackie