1. Forget perfection. If you have children, let them help. Even if there's ones they DON'T help out on, you can always blame shoddy work on them. I certainly do.
2. One Christmas, I bought my sister the soundtrack to Sister Act on cassette. Or maybe it was Roxette. Anyway, I wrapped it in a huge appliance box, surrounded by newspaper, and then stuck some bricks in for extra heft and anticipation. It took forever to unwrap, and the final unveiling was dictionary definition of Russian doll anticlimactic. Hilarious to no one except me, and everyone else there.
3. Why buy? Comic books, newspapers, burlap, duct tape, paper bags, old books, string, twenty dollar bills...the possibilities for an inimitable and memorable wrapping job are infinite.
4. My family is a very giving family, and has always looked for excuses to pile up as many presents as possible under the tree. Even when that means wrapping up someone's old dirty shoes and gifting them to a loved one. Sometimes, it's what's on the outside that counts.
5. One of my favourite memories is witnessing the exultation of my brother Jamey when he unwrapped a terribly-wrapped gift to find a brand-new laptop inside. It was a present from our brother Jeremy. Jamey's exultation was short-lived, as it turned out that Jeremy had found (other brother) Jonny's laptop laying around, appropriated it, and re-gifted it to Jamey. Truly from the heart.
(Note: I do not recall which brothers were involved precisely. It was some combination of the above, I think. Could have been any one of them. Might have been Josh. Regardless of the details: brilliant.)
Happy wrapping, and make a mess!
Oh the memories! love this!
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