When do you wrap?

[Ceepa]

There are some super organized holiday BBB parents here. I am not one of them.

Every year I say I'm not going to wait until Christmas Eve to wrap everything, but then there we are with a movie on TV, and paper and tape and a marathon wrapping session.

Part of the reason is because that night I'm still deciding whether we should hold back some gifts for later in the year or a birthday. It helps me to spread it all out and I don't get around to it until Christmas Eve.

Do you wait or wrap as you buy?

[smiles33]

I wrap as I buy but then I inevitably end up pulling some gifts depending on the number/'scale" of what the grandparents have done. I probably should wait to wrap as I now have gifts in my gift closet that are wrapped in Christmas paper and have to be re-wrapped for birthday gifts!

[brittone2]

In the past I've taken advantage of my parents taking the kids off my hands. When we were living nearby, they would often take them one afternoon a week or so. I would use that time to wrap gifts and stash them away again, or sometimes they'd watch them one evening and DH and I would hang out at home and wrap. We'd also take time to assemble some toys, etc. with the kids safely out of the house.

I have not been wrapping as I go this year because they aren't nearby currently and we don't have a sitter yet.

I really like assembling things in advance because I hate rushing around on Christmas Eve, and there's nothing worse than discovering at the last minute that you have broken/missing pieces, etc. with little to no time to get it resolved. I don't think we have a lot of items requiring assembly this year, however.

[mommylamb]

I probably won't wrap until close to the end (in fact, I have Hanukkah presents I need to wrap for tonight). One of my cats eats all things plastic/paper, so she will chew on wrapped gifts-- oh the allure of tape-- if I wrap them and leave them out under the tree.

[Tammy]

I love to wrap. I did a bunch of shopping yesterday afternoon and after DD went to bed last night I went ahead and wrapped everything I got and put it under the tree. DD was so excited this morning when she saw the presents. I still have things hidden for DD though that need wrapped and will do it at night when I feel like it. The Santa presents won't go under the tree until Christmas Eve though. I wouldn't say I'm overly organized either...just like to wrap!

[buddyleebaby]

I wrap Santa gifts on the 23rd. The wrapping would not be so pretty after suffering a month in the back of my closet.

Non-Santa gifts I wrap and put under the tree once it's up, so mid December.

[momof2girls]

I wrap in spurts whenever I have time without the kids poking in (usually when they are in bed or at school). I am about half done, but, then again, I am not done shopping yet.

[edurnemk]

For Xmas gifts I wrap as I buy, usually, or within a few days of doing so.

Santa gifts I wrap pretty close to Xmas eve.

[elephantmeg]

I wrap the week before at the earliest. Mostly the night before. Otherwise the paper gets torn, the kids get into them...

[Seitvonzu]

i was just thinking of this last night. we mail lots of presents (even last year when we were with my family, we mailed the presents ahead, since went by air)-- so i have to be an eensy bit organized to get everything to everyone on time. this year, my parents are going to be at my brothers-- so i can send their gifts all in one BIG box!!!

last night i wrapped FOURTEEN gifts. it was alot for me :( i love wrapping, picking out the perfect bow/tag, etc. we had a birthday party to go to...so i had the supplies out anyhow-- i wrapped 2 birthday gifts, all my neices and nephews gifts (except for the one i found at the last minute, and the one we still need to buy for the inlaw exchange), a gift for my sister in law , a couple for dh and one for my mom. i'm glad i got a good hop on everything-- i haven't even TOUCHED dd's gifts...and her birthday is two days before christmas. ack!

i do get sad when bows get crushed...but that's just a minor down side to living away from family.. sometimes i send bows separate on the top and ask SIL or my mom to "pretty" everything up :) wire bows work well for this because you can fluff them when they get crushed!

you guys have a more industrious santa than us... (or a more organized one!) -- ours doesn't wrap... the best he can manange is a bow here and there -- and assembled things :) however, this does put the pressure on santa to produce something "impressive" sans wrapping :)

[hellokitty]

I'm so over gift wrapping right now. I was once a wrapping nut and thoroughly enjoyed it, but now that I have kids, forget it. It's one other thing to add to my list of things to do. I have a lot of duvets, and this yr, I am designated a duvet for each child and his, "sack" will be filled with unwrapped gifts. Easier for me and I highly doubt they will care about the lack of wrapping paper and bows.

[boolady]

The last two years, I was doing it either the night before Christmas Eve, or even worse, on Christmas Eve itself, after our dinner guests left. Yuck. It is not happening this year. I am going with the "wrap as I go along method" and am wrapping things a bit at a time.

[Corie]

I am also a Christmas Eve gift wrapper! I always say that I'm not
going to procrastinate but I do.

[KrisM]

I always end up wrapping on Christmas Eve and I hate it. I am nearly done shopping and while the Santa lists are still being tweaked, I think I can get a good start on the wrapping, if only I had the time.

[LarsMal]

I don't wrap as I buy, but can't wait until the last minute to do it. If we're with my family for Christmas I'm up until at least midnight helping my mom wrap *her* gifts, so I need to have mine done! If we're at the ILs I have to have everything wrapped before Christmas Eve, since they open everything that night.

I'll start wrapping in the next week. I need to make piles first and take inventory, make sure I have everything I need and then I'll start. The kids like to help wrap the gifts they picked out for each other, cousins, friends, us, etc. so I have to do it in stages. DH helps, too, which is nice.