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21 CREAVTIVE CHRISTMAS GIFT WRAPPING IDEAS

Your Christmas décor theme isn’t complete without carrying it through to the smallest details—like the gifts under the tree. These presents, waiting to be unwrapped, are a key element of your home’s holiday look and deserve just as much attention as the tree topper.

Draw inspiration from jewel tones, embrace natural beauty with fresh winter foliage, or add a whimsical touch with playful miniature bells. Looking for more creative ideas? Regardless of the gift’s size or wrapping challenges, you can make your presents stand out with these favorite Christmas gift-wrapping ideas, tips, and tricks. They’ll look so beautiful, they might just outshine the excitement of opening them!

Wow With A Wreath

Skip the traditional bow and add a charming, unexpected touch to your packages with outdoor elements like a twig wreath tied with a festive plaid ribbon. Not only does this make your gift stand out, but it also gives the recipient a lovely wreath to take home and use to decorate for the holidays.

Opt For Pastels

Pastels bring a fun retro vibe, especially when paired with a vintage Christmas tree. Soft sea greens and pinks blend seamlessly into a beachy home, adding a unique and fresh touch to your holiday décor.

Add Dried Fruit

Dried fruit is an often-overlooked yet charming holiday decoration, perfect for adding a natural, rustic touch to your gift wrapping. Designer Maggie Dillon elevates her presents by tucking slices of dried oranges beneath the ribbon, creating a simple yet eye-catching embellishment that feels both unique and festive.

Shine With Gold And Silver

Skip the traditional tree skirt and embrace soft metallic glamour for your Christmas presents. The shiny wrapping will reflect the shimmering lights and ornaments on the tree, adding a gleaming finishing touch to your holiday décor.

Craft Custom Crackers

Thorpe orders cracker snaps and repurposes bath tissue rolls to create her own handmade Christmas crackers. She fills them with special gifts, making the Christmas Eve celebration even more exciting as everyone opens their personalized crackers.

Paint Your Wrap By Hand

One of the best ways to make your gift wrap truly unique is by painting it yourself. Designer Julie Neill and her daughter have turned this into a holiday tradition, hand-painting the wrapping paper for their gifts. This personal touch adds a special, heartfelt element to each present, making them even more memorable this season.

Embellish Packages With Rosemary

Rosemary, rich in Christmas legend as the herb of love and remembrance, makes a thoughtful addition to your gift wrapping. Tuck a handful of fresh sprigs beneath the ribbon just before delivering your packages. The sprigs can then be placed in a vase for a lovely holiday touch or dried for use in festive cooking.

Use Textures And Accents From Nature

Go all out with a nature-inspired wrapping palette, focusing on earthy greens and browns. Add a personal touch with Southern elements from your local florist, nursery, or even your own backyard—such as a single cotton boll, eucalyptus flowers, or glossy Elaeagnus leaves. These natural accents bring a rustic, charming elegance to your holiday gifts.

Tie Ornaments On Packages

Instead of using stockings, incorporate ornaments directly into your holiday gift wrapping. Tie sparkly baubles and stars onto packages with ribbon for a festive and eye-catching flourish that adds extra charm to your gifts.

Bring in Blue

Introduce a beautiful winter blue into your traditional color scheme for a fresh, seasonal touch. Use it in snowflake or snowman-themed wrapping paper, and carry the color throughout your other packaging with coordinating bows and gift tags. This adds a cool, wintry vibe to your holiday gifts while maintaining a cohesive look.

Create A Golden Glow

For a touch of elegance, opt for gold. Metallic gift wrap combined with a wide wired ribbon that you can fluff up creates a stunning and refined look, making your presents stand out with sophistication and charm.

Keep it Simple

Choose a primary color for your wrapping paper and a secondary one for the ribbon to create a polished, cohesive look. For a refined touch, try pairing bold red wrapping paper with a simple white ribbon. The subtle contrast adds just the right amount of detail, making each gift feel thoughtfully wrapped.

Keep Them Guessing with Gift Wrap

“This sprang from my own laziness!” says Birmingham designer Iris Thorpe, explaining her clever approach to gift wrapping. She assigns a specific color of paper to each family member and uses it to wrap all their gifts. The personalized paper is then revealed at Christmas Eve dinner, when everyone receives a homemade Christmas cracker made from “their” paper, adding a fun and thoughtful twist to the holiday celebration.

Take Inspiration From The Coast

Instead of buying gift tags, get creative and forage for unique materials. Here, oyster shells serve as charming gift tags that evoke a coastal theme. Use a metallic marker to outline the edge of the shell and write the recipient’s name, adding a personalized and natural touch to your holiday wrapping.

Match Your Home’s Color Scheme

Wrapping paper doesn’t have to stick to the traditional red and green. Kristin Gish of Austin, Texas, wraps her gifts in paper that complements her living room’s color scheme, creating a harmonious look. Sprigs of fresh greenery are added to bring life and a lovely aroma, making the wrapping as delightful as the gifts inside.

Use A Pine Sprig

Solid-colored paper, paired with a bright ribbon and bell trim, makes for a festive and holiday-ready gift wrap. For an extra touch of cheer, add clippings from a tree or garland into the bow, creating a merry and natural accent for your presents.

Mix and Match

Embrace the magic of the season by playing with paper that brings classic, cozy holiday symbols to life. Layer colorful bows and create a delightful stack of presents, each one more exciting than the last. All that’s left is to enjoy the festive anticipation!

Make Gift Tags With Magnolia Leaves

For a simple yet elegant touch, use a silver or gold paint pen to write someone’s name on a magnolia leaf and attach it to a present with double-sided tape. This delicate detail adds a sophisticated charm, especially when paired with an all-white color scheme.

Make Them Merry and Bright

Preppy and playful pops of green and red pair beautifully with less traditional colors, like pink, for a fun and fresh twist. Once you’ve nailed down your color palette, mixing complementary patterns becomes a breeze, adding a stylish, personalized touch to your holiday gifts.

Line The Steps With Christmas Gifts

Scatter packages along the staircase to build excitement for the holiday season. Add festive accents like silver jingle bells and satiny ribbons to each gift. By repeating variations of the same colors and patterns, you can create a coordinated and visually appealing gift display that enhances the holiday ambiance.

Coordinate Your Colors

Gift wraps in different patterns can look perfectly coordinated when they share the same color palette. A complementary color scheme allows you to mix plaids, patterns, and solid prints seamlessly, creating a visually cohesive and stylish presentation for your presents.

Conclusion

No matter your style, there are countless creative ways to elevate your holiday gift wrapping this season. From natural elements and metallic accents to bold colors and personal touches, each detail can enhance the festive spirit and make your presents truly memorable. Let your wrapping reflect the warmth and joy of the season, and add a personal, thoughtful touch that will delight everyone who receives them.

HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN BATH BOMS

Discover how to make bath bombs with this easy and fun recipe. Create vibrant, spa-like experiences right at home with these colorful homemade bath bombs!

DIY Bath Bombs

Bath bombs are a simple and enjoyable way to indulge in self-care. When you drop these fizzing “bombs” into your bath, they dissolve and release ingredients that relax muscles (Epsom salts), detoxify the body and soothe itchy skin (baking soda), hydrate the skin (almond oil), and promote relaxation (essential oils).

For our bath bombs, we selected a fresh grapefruit scent, but feel free to use calming lavender for a nighttime bath or orange blossom to ease anxiety. You can create single-color bombs or go for a fun multi-colored effect like we did, or even skip the color for a classic white bomb.

Homemade bath bombs also make thoughtful gifts. Simply place a few in a cellophane bag and tie it with a ribbon. Making bath bombs is a fun and easy activity for both adults and kids (with supervision).

Here’s what you’ll need:

You can find the full printable instructions at the end of this post, but here’s a list of similar products available on Amazon and Target that you can use for making bath bombs:

  • Baking Soda
  • Citric Acid
  • Epsom Salt
  • Cornstarch
  • Mica powder
  • Sweet Almond Oil
  • Essential oil
  • Bath bomb molds

Where can I buy supplies to make DIY bath bombs?

You can find citric acid in grocery stores, typically in the canning or baking section. Epsom salt is commonly available at pharmacies or Walmart in the bath and body aisle.

Bath bomb molds and mica powder are sold at Michaels or other craft stores. Essential oils can be found in the home decor section of Walmart, while sweet almond oil is available in pharmacies or Walmart in the beauty or hair care aisles.

And, of course, Amazon is a great one-stop shop for all of these items!

Can you make bath bombs without a mold?

While bath bomb molds are the most straightforward way to shape your bath bombs, there are plenty of creative alternatives you can try! With a little imagination, you can make bath bombs without molds and still get great results.

There are many items you can use to make bath bombs without traditional molds. Try muffin tins, silicone baking molds, silicone muffin liners, ice cube trays, candy molds, measuring cups, plastic Easter eggs, or even cookie cutters—the possibilities are endless!

If you’re looking for a quick and simple method, you can also press the bath bomb mixture tightly in your hands. While it may not be as perfectly shaped, it will still work beautifully in the bath!

What if I don’t have sweet almond oil?

In our bath bomb recipe, sweet almond oil serves both as a moisturizer and a binder for the dry ingredients. However, you can substitute it with almost any oil, such as olive oil or canola oil.

Other great options include jojoba oil, avocado oil, rosehip oil, baby oil, or sunflower oil. You can even use melted coconut oil, shea butter, or cocoa butter for a more luxurious touch.

How do I colour my homemade bath bombs?

We used mica powder to color our bath bombs. Mica is a natural mineral with a metallic sheen, commonly used in cosmetics and soap for its vibrant hues.

Alternatively, you can use a water-soluble liquid colorant to add color to your bath bombs. These dyes, often used for bath bombs and soaps, are skin-safe and won’t stain your bathtub, making them a great choice for a colorful touch without the mess.

Bath Bomb Recipe

Learn how to make bath bombs with this super easy recipe! Pamper yourself with bath bombs that not only look beautiful but smell incredible too.

MATERIALS:

  • 1 cup Baking soda
  • 1/2 cup Citric acid
  • 1/2 cup Epsom salt
  • 3/4 cup Cornstarch
  • 3 tablespoons Sweet almond oil
  • 10-20 drops Essential oils 
  • 1/2 teaspoon Mica powder 

EQUIPMENT:

  • Mixing bowl(s)
  • Spoon
  • Bath bomb mold

INSTRUCTION:

Step 1: Make the Bath Bomb Mixture
Add all the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir them together until well combined.

Slowly pour in the sweet almond oil, mixing continuously to ensure it’s evenly incorporated into the dry ingredients.

Add the drops of essential oil to the mixture, stirring well to evenly distribute the fragrance throughout.

Stir the mixture thoroughly, breaking up any clumps to ensure it’s smooth and evenly combined.

The mixture may look dry, but when you pick it up and squeeze it together, it should hold its shape and stick together.

Step 2: Add Color
If you want to create bath bombs with multiple colors, divide the mixture into several smaller bowls. Add your chosen mica powder color to each bowl and mix well until no white streaks remain.

We divided the mixture into four portions and added just 1/8 teaspoon of mica powder to each. The more mica powder you add, the more vibrant the color of your bath bombs will be.

Step 3: Form the Bath Bombs
Spoon the mixture into one half of the mold. You can use one color or combine several. Press the mixture firmly into the mold using the back of a spoon or your fingers to pack it tightly.

Once the mold is full, press down on the mixture to pack it in tightly, ensuring it’s compact and holds its shape.

Add another scoop of the mixture on top of the packed layer, letting it mound over the top of the mold without packing it down.

Repeat the process with the second half of the mold, adding the mixture and pressing it down lightly, then mounding it up without packing it.

Repeat the process with the second half of the mold, adding the mixture and pressing it down lightly, then mounding it up without packing it.

Carefully pull the molds apart. If the bath bomb doesn’t come out easily, gently tap the outside of the mold with a spoon to help loosen it.

Unmold the second half of the bath bomb in the same way, gently pulling the mold apart and tapping it with a spoon if needed to release the bath bomb.

Place the bath bomb on a baking tray or another dry surface and let it dry overnight to harden.

Your homemade bath bomb is now complete! Enjoy your relaxing, fizzy creation in the bath!

Helpful Tip:

Troubleshooting

  • Bath bombs won’t come out of the molds: This usually means the mixture is too wet. Try adding a little more cornstarch to the mixture. Remember, this recipe does NOT require any water.
  • Bath bombs crumble after coming out of the mold: This happens if the mixture is too dry or wasn’t packed tightly enough. Try pressing the mixture into the mold more firmly. Overflow the molds with extra mixture and press the sides together tightly. If that doesn’t work, add a few more drops of oil to the mixture to help it bind better.

Learning how to make a bath bomb at home is a fun and creative activity! Drop your DIY bath bomb into the water and enjoy the bubbles and fizz as you unwind with a relaxing soak from the bath bomb you made yourself!

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, making your own bath bombs is a simple, enjoyable, and rewarding activity that allows you to personalize your bath time experience. With just a few ingredients, you can create colorful, fragrant bath bombs that not only look great but also offer relaxation and skincare benefits. Whether you’re treating yourself or gifting them to others, homemade bath bombs add a special touch to any self-care routine. Enjoy the fizzy fun and the satisfaction of using something you’ve crafted yourself!