who says it's too late to talk about presents?

I'll be honest, I'm on the fence about wrapping paper. On one hand, it's pretty for a minute, then breeds in big bunches on the floor. But when it's done right, wrapping paper can make something really gorgeous, and the anticipation of opening it can be as nice as the gift itself.

Can you have the pretty without all the throwing away*? Perhaps.

I got this for Christmas, from H's sister:

A lovely shade of green, too.

Inside:

A handmade (!) wreath

And it came with these:

Handcrafted ornaments

Close-up:

They were addressed to both H and I, so the gifts are nestling comfortably at the top of my closet until we get around to living in the same state. But because she wrapped the lid and the box separately, I didn't have to tear the paper--I can still enjoy looking at the pretty box when I'm struggling to choose an outfit, and I'll never forget what's inside so it won't accidentally get crushed. The box may not last forever, but it'll keep things nice and safe for a good while.

I was inspired. Why not wrap more gifts this way? It'd save paper and your handiwork could live on for a little bit longer. So this Sunday, I'll be bringing a lid-and-box-wrapped-separately gift to the holiday brunch with my girls from college. ANY OF YOU ANGELS READING, PLEASE AVERT YOUR EYES. I even included a cheesy tag; it's a secret white elephant gift exchange, so we're not supposed to reveal who brought what and I wouldn't want someone to start ripping and defeat the whole purpose. Thankfully, this is a group of people with whom I have been my most ridiculous, so I'm betting they wouldn't mock me to my face.

Whether somebody enjoys the box or not, I feel better about it. Now I just hope the gift is not the one that gets rejected and passed around like a hot potato. Maybe I'll just focus more on the mimosas instead.


* You can definitely have the pretty without all the throwing away when you make the wrapping part of the gift, like putting it in an awesome duffel bag, like the one I got from cc.