12.14.2012

Holiday Gift Wrapping Party



Ahh the holidays!  That magical season when we take time to stop and appreciate our family and friends.

Except at some point we decided to express our appreciation with gifts.

And with food.

And with fabulous, Pinterest-inspired displays on every horizontal surface in the house.

And suddenly we no longer had any time to appreciate the people we originally wanted to appreciate with all of our shows of appreciation.

You know you've been there:  it's Christmastime and you're invited to (another) event.  Sure you want to see people and socialize but you've got things to do.

It's this sense of rush, rush, rush that's prevented me from throwing Christmas parties in the past.

That is until I had an idea:

What if I threw a party where my friends could socialize and get things done all at the same time?  I suspected that I was on to something.

And thus my first (and soon to be annual) holiday gift wrapping party came to pass.

It started with a simple invitation:

Join me for an afternoon of gift wrapping.  
Bring any gifts that need wrapping and a roll of paper to share.  
I will provide tags, ribbons, embellishments and refreshments.   

And I have to tell you:

they came...
they wrapped...
they socialized...

It was truly a huge success.

There were two tables filled with anything one could possibly need for wrapping...


like stamps...




...and stickers & tags...

and paint chips and craft punches and fancy pens...

tape and scissors and ribbon of all kinds...





boxes and tissue...

and lots and lots of gift wrap!

Of course there was also food...


(Because all work and no food makes for a dull party.)


I wanted to make one of these in honor of the occasion but due to time constraints I purchased the ones below....

And these are my grandmother's snail cookies.  Recipe found here.  (No snails were harmed in the making of these cookies.)
When the eating was done, there was more wrapping.

Suddenly this task, which many of my guests said they typically abhor, became a fun, creative and communal venture.

And the proof is in the pudding.  Check out these beautifully wrapped gifts:


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28 comments

  1. Looks like such a fun wrapping party!! Everything is so pretty!!! :) Hope you have a great weekend!
    Christmas Wishes! xo Holly

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  2. Everything looks perfect. That is the best idea.

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    1. Thanks, Elisabeth. I have to say it was very well received. My friends kept leaving, getting more gifts, and coming back. It lasted for hours and everyone was so glad to get their wrapping done.

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  3. What a fun party idea! Next year, we're definitely having a wrapping party. Thanks for posting!

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  4. Elena - how awesome you are! I want to be just like you when I grow up! This is such a great idea!

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  5. This is such a great idea! A wonderful way to spend time with friends at a time of year when life is way too busy. Thank you for linking up to the Better Late Than Never Christmas Inspirations bloghop.

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  6. Look at you all organized and prepared and ready to wrap! Those treats look pretty awesome, too.

    Great idea and sweet layout!

    Have an awesome day :)

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  7. Well how fun is that! You had a great idea and you set it up beautifully!

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  8. What an incredible party. I think, next year, I'll fly in for this fabulous party. You certainly had every detail thought of. Wrapping is my least favorite thing to do, but among friends, with such pretty embellishments...and the food...I could start to enjoy this. And, I loved seeing a glimpse of Beyonce as well :)

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  9. If I were invited to something like this, I'd be all over it. What an awesome idea! And gorgeously wrapped presents.

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  10. So sorry I had to miss it! Everything looked amazing! Next year I will make absolutely certain to get a babysitter that day!!

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  11. Wow - what a great idea. You really went all out - it must've been a great party.
    Love all the details you had - looks beautiful!
    :)
    C

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  12. This is a great idea!! I will love putting together a party next year. Thanks so much for sharing at my Our Favorite Things Link Party.

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  13. Elena, that's such a sweet idea, and so generous of you to provide all the trimmings and food. I'm sure it was lots of fun. Your friends are lucky to have you!

    Debbie

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  14. What a great idea for a party! I think wrapping would be so much fun done this way - I'm going to try this next year! Thanks for the inspiration!

    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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  15. Oh how I wish you still lived here in Chicago! I would've been there with bells on and a wine bottle in hand! And love the crudite presentation -- adorable -- so I'm pinning!

    :) Linda

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  16. I shared your post at my link party this week. Thank you for sharing your posts and have a great week.
    http://mylifesatreasure.blogspot.com/2012/12/our-favorite-things-link-party-28.html

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  17. Happy Holidays! Thank you for sharing your fun sounding party with us on A Crafty Soiree. I'm Katie and I co-host with Malia from Yesterday on Tuesday. I've featured your project in this week's newest one. It's up now, please come by when you get a chance to see it and have a Happy New Year!

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  18. Super-fun! What a great idea! Fun and helpful :)

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  19. What a great idea. How fun. Thanks so much for sharing at Wednesday's Adorned From Above Blog Hop. Today’s party is live. Here is the link.
    http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2013/01/week-in-review-and-wednesdays-adorned.html
    Debi and Charly @ Adorned From Above

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  20. This is such a fun idea! I love it! What a great way to get the wrapping done.

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  21. Great idea....I love having another reason to have a party! Thanks for sharing this!!

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  22. You are TOTALLY ready for Christmas! These ideas are super cool. Do you know it takes me HOURS and HOURS to wrap??? A new follower, A

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  23. Excellent idea. I did something similar years ago when I was pregnant with God knows which kid, but had my older daughter and her friends come wrap for me. I fed them and made a party for them.
    Bliss

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  24. Beautiful! I had never thought about doing it this way. Normally, it's just me, sitting in the floor with 10 rolls of dollar store wrapping paper and tape scattered around me. These are so pretty, they are basically art. What a creative idea though!
    The Mama, www.allforhimblog.com

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Melissa! I am just about to send out the invites for the third annual wrapping party. It's become one of my favorite holiday traditions!

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