Wrapping Giant Gifts:At my friend Karen's house I noticed a giant box clearly labeled playhouse next to the tree with a couple squares of gift wrap on it.
I must have looked perplexed because Karen said, "All you have to do is cover all the pictures."
That's right- our toddlers can't read yet! Pure genius!
Plus, it minimizes paper use/waste.
If your box is covered with photos, or you want full coverage merely for aesthetics- wrap the oversized box or item in a tablecloth, blanket, or bed sheet and secure it with ribbon, yarn, string, and/or safety pins.
Wrapping Very Small Gifts:Back in the olden days, my brother and I (heavily financed by Mom) bought Dad a pricey video club membership.
If you're saying "Bought a video membership?" you have forfeited your right to sing along with Time-Life commercials relating to the 80s.It was essentially a paper business card with my Dad's name written on it- by hand. It entitled us to rent any of their 50 or so videos at additional cost. We were soooo proud of our gift- it was a shame that it was so small that it could even get lost in his stocking.
So we put it in a wooden caboose Dad built for our train set. And we wrapped that in a big box. And we wrapped that big box in a giant box filled with wadded up newspaper from the recycling shelf. And that- we could wrap with a sheet.
And as a holiday gift to everyone, we'd like to share a favorite (and timely) Jones household word:
scurryfunge (we heard it attributed to New England, but have no idea if this is accurate)- a hasty tidying of the house between the time you see a neighbor coming and the time she knocks on the door. (
Informal English)
We tend to use this word to describe the frantic last minute cleaning I'm avoiding right now.
Happy Holidays!
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