Ever feel guilty that you always seem to leave it until the last minute to prepare a gift for that Kris Kringle work colleague, inevitably finding yourself nervously scrunching a brown paper bag over the said object and stitching it together with gaffe to make it look sort of wrapped 10 minutes before the opening begins?

Well, we’re here to expound you of such guilt, with the theory that maybe you’ve just sub-consciously avoided the task because wrapping up the gifts was such a pain in the arse (buying can be tricky too – but we’ve got you covered).

Wrapping presents is the true grinch of Christmas, the ultimate party-pooper and over-all mood killer when it comes to festiveness and frivolity.

Thankfully, we’ve heard the frustrated cries of well-meaning Australians and have provided a step-by-step guide to getting the perfect gift expertly wrapped. Read on for life-changing advice.

Hack 1 – How to create infinite paper

You’ve got a set of…something packaged for you in a nice rectangular box. You cut the paper out, and find that you don’t have enough to fully cover the box. Do you throw out the paper and start again? NO! Simply place the box diagonally across the paper and you’ll find you can cover your entire gift incredibly easily.

Hack 2 – Use double-stick tape

Ever thought that all the tape holding your gift together makes the entire thing look like it’s about to fall apart. Try using double-stick tape (sticky on both sides). Doing so means that just a small amount of tape on the seam of the paper will to the trick that a long piece would usually be needed for, and it also means that the tape itself can be tucked nicely away. and hidden from the recipient.

Hack 3 – How to DIY your own bow

There’s something magical about retail workers that so fearlessly run the scissor up the side of a piece of ribbon, making it curl up in the perfect spiral bow. Thankfully, the same can be done with wrapping paper. Simply fold a bit of paper in half twice into a square, cut strips up to the edge of the fold, curl each strip with your scissors and then fold each strip in on itself and….viola! You have your own, DIY bow that saved you 50 cents.

Check out some more wrapping tips in the instructional below!

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