Festive lights are beginning to pop up all around town, Christmas trees are being decorated, Hanukkah candles have been lit—it’s the most wonderful time of the year! With the onset of the festive season comes festive preparations and with that a spike in demand for gift wrapping tasks, which you can receive through the Personal Assistance category.
But who says that the festive season is the only time to showcase your wrapping talents? Gift wrapping is still an in-demand skill year-round, so if you’re a lover of a well-wrapped package, don’t miss out on the opportunity for success that this category provides! To get in the celebratory spirit, consider updating your Personal Assistance Skills & Experience pitches to reflect your gift wrapping prowess. Below is an example:
“I have two kids, so my family’s celebration of Hanukkah every year has made me a total pro at wrapping gifts!”
To brush up on your gift wrapping skills and learn tips from some of our top Taskers in the Personal Assistance category, read on below.
Communication
- Start every task by scoping it with your client to find out what is expected.
- For gift wrapping tasks, ask the client if they have any preference for wrapping style (see below) or method to make sure you’re on the right track.
- Also ask if the client has all the wrapping materials ready at their home, or if they need you to bring them.
Wrapping a box
- Start with the right sized wrapping paper. It should come up a little more than halfway on the sides, and front to back wrap all the way around with an inch (3 cm) of overlap.
- Use double-sided sticky tape for secure, flat edges. Don’t skimp on the tape—longer pieces will make your life easier.
- Create creases at the corners of the gift with the wrapping paper to make folding them smoothly easier.
Wrapping with a gift bag
- Wrap the gift in a piece of tissue paper to start. Place it in the middle of the tissue paper, then wrap as you would a normal gift (above), minus the tape and place it in the bag.
- Lay a second piece of tissue paper down, then grab it from the centre and twist a few times so that you can hold the twisted middle easily in your hand, while the rest of the tissue sheet fans out nicely above the wrapped gift.
- If you have two colours of tissue paper available, place them at opposing angles when laying them flat before you grab from the middle—this will create a multi-dimensional fan effect.
Wrapping oddly shaped gifts
- First, wrap the unboxed gift in tissue paper to smooth out the shape as much as possible. Wrap tightly in the tissue paper as you would a box and secure it with tape.
- Roll out wrapping paper, and make sure you leave yourself extra room on two ends to create a ‘bon bon’ finish.
- Roll the tissue-wrapped gift into the wrapping paper in a cylindrical fashion, and secure with tape along the seam.
- Gently gather the extra paper on the two ends, and twist to tighten. *Note: if wrapping a wine bottle, you should only do this on the top end.
- Tie with a ribbon to secure each end.
Ribbon tips
- To tie a simple ribbon bow, do a rough measure around the gift twice to measure the length, then cut a length of ribbon.
- Start with the centre of the ribbon on the top of the present (seam side at the bottom), then place the equal halves around the gift, crossing them over on the seam side of the gift, then bring the two halves up on the opposite side of the gift to which they’ve already been.
- Tie a knot at the top, ensuring you pull it as tight as possible before securing a second knot.
- Cut some extra pieces of ribbon, feed them under the centre knot, centre them, then double knot them to secure them to the gift.
- For plastic ribbon only: grab a pair of scissors and carefully, holding the base knot, drag the side of the scissors up the dull side of the ribbon. Copy this for all the pieces of ribbon and you should see a beautifully curled centrepiece on your gift!
With new gift wrapping techniques at your fingertips, you’ll be certain to spread extra delight to the recipient, not to mention the client who’ll pass off the perfectly-packaged surprise!
