I'm a wrapping procrastinator. It started when I was in high school. One year after I was old enough to handle my gift shopping on own, I stayed up very late on Christmas Eve after my family was all asleep and wrapped all my gifts. I've always been a night owl and I enjoyed the peace and quiet with the remains of the fire my father had built and the Christmas lights still burning. Since then, I have almost always done all my wrapping on Christmas Eve after my kids have gone to bed. Santa does not wrap the "big" gifts - the ONE big thing that my kids really want - but then my kids each usually get three more wrapped gifts from dh and me (symbolizes the gifts from the 3 Wise Men). After the kids go to bed, I haul everything out of my closet, then dh and I sit with a bottle of wine in front of the fire and fill stockings and wrap gifts (and when my kids were younger, put together all those awful gifts that needed to be assembled!).

Another reason I don't like to wrap anything ahead is because I occasionally pull everything out to see how much I have for each kid. Even though I have a list, sometimes pulling it out, I find things I may have forgotten about, or it appears that someone has more than others - the three gifts sometimes have more than one thing inside. Anyway, this method works for me, but I realize it's not the most efficient!

In terms of organizing everything, I have a 3-ring binder in which I keep most of my Christmas lists - recipes, decorations, receipts, to do list, Christmas card list, etc. I have an Excel spreadsheet that I keep on my computer (password protected so my kids can't open it!) - there I keep a list of everything each of my kids have asked for (I don't get them everything but helps me remember), with columns for purchased, ordered, received and cost. I have a formula in the cost column that keeps a running tab of how much I have spent on each child. I also have a separate list for my parents b/c my mom either asks me for ideas or I buy the gifts for her and she gives me money. She has a set amount that she spends on them, so I keep the same running total for her.

As for storage, I do not have space to have a whole room set aside for gift wrapping. In my dreams maybe, LOL. We have an extra storage closet in our bedroom, as well as under our stairs. I keep all of my decorations in labeled boxes in both places. I keep gift wrap in a gift wrap holder I got from Lillian Vernon years ago and then keep bows and gift bags in a separate container. And I save all the bows and gift bags for re-use! I don't usually use gift bags for my kids unless it's something difficult to wrap but do use them for family and friends sometimes.

While I consider myself pretty organized WRT Christmas, I bow down to you! I'm not sure you could find any better way to organize - my oh my, sitting down after Christmas and writing down everything that worked and didn't? That's amazing!

Oh, one other thing I have is a file of pictures on my computer of my Christmas decorations. Sometimes I will do something different, or find an arrangement that works much better than in previous years, so I take pictures so that I can actually see what I did.

OMG. I am ashamed! My lists are in my head (barely). My decorations are in plastic boxes in the basement. My wrapping paper has been in a hall closet since last Christmas.

I generally start wrapping about 2 hr before I am expected to arrive at the Christmas Eve celebration.. but I have been known to steal a niece from the party to help me finish wrapping.

When we were remodeling and adding-on, I suddenly had a lightbulb go off before it was too late. The LR we built is big enough for a double door closet in the back. I had the cabinet/trimmer man measure my Christmas tree in the box, which is large, and he built a space just for it.

The bottom shelf of the closet is high enough to slide one of those big plastic ornament boxes under. Christmas wrapping paper is in it's own container scooted in front of the tree box. He left me a good two feet of open closet space, thank goodness! The rest of the closet is used for junk.

We have a table in the back of the room a few feet from the closet so that's where I wrap my gifts. But the table is always a mess! I get so tired I don't want to clean up. lol.

We do Christmas at my son's house, so I stack the presents to the side of the room in large bags ready to go.

Great advice here! I'm taking notes!

I keep all my Christmas stuff together in one closet. I have really pared it down, so it's simple to keep it organized. I make myself not buy new Christmas decorations, even if I love them, and if I do I get rid of an old one.

As for my gifts, I have a notebook where I keep pages for each person I buy for. I write down the gift as soon as I buy it, along with the price. I know how much I will spend on each person, so I just keep adding it up until I'm done. I have a big baggie stapled in there to keep all the receipts together. I don't have kids at home, and I like to wrap while watching TV. I try to wrap a few every day.

We celebrate Christmas with family out-of-state. I used to wrap all of my gifts during the Thanksgiving weekend, box them up and ship them on the Monday following the holiday. I do much more online shopping now, so I have the items sent directly to my parent's house. When we arrive there, I have to unbox everything and wrap. It usually takes me about two days. We set up a gift wrapping station in one of the secondary bedrooms. All of the wrap and bows and boxes are stored in the closet of that room. It makes for easy access, but I do have do get everything wrapped and the room tidied up before guests arrive to stay.

Historically, I've always kept a list in a small binder with sizes, ages and gifts. This year is a free-for-all. I am completely disorganized. I don't know where all the gifts are. Some have been sent directly to my parents, but a few I had delivered to my house because I bought them from eBay and I needed to ensure that they weren't broken. Since I haven't been keep my list updated, I have no idea what I've purchased. I guess I'll be combing through my eBay history to check. I also imagine that I will be doing some emergency shopping once we arrive at our destination. I guess I'm just having a less-than-stellar energy/attitude year this year.

Wow. My method is much like FunkyArt's. I think I might have Christmas wrap in the attic, not entirely sure. I guess at some point I'll need to go check.

The few gifts I've bought so far are stashed in a cabinet in my bedroom. If my kids wanted to snoop, they could, easily. Once I buy a few more, though, I start storing them in a large Rubbermaid box that I put on a high shelf in my bedroom closet. DD could never reach it, and if the older guys wanted to, they could, but I'm sure they don't even realize it's there. That's for the kids' gifts. Other gifts get piled up on the guest room bed, typically. I wrap those sometime the week before Christmas.

For the kids, even though I am sure my youngest does not believe in Santa any more, I still play the game. Santa uses a different wrapping paper for their gifts. No names, just an initial written on the outside of the package with a Sharpie. A few days before Christmas, I hide all their wrapped gifts in a back room off the basement in big trash bags. Then on Christmas Eve after everyone is in bed, I go down and piled them up in the middle of the playroom floor. (Santa has always delivered gifts to the basement playroom instead of under the tree upstairs, because he knows that's where kids like to play with their toys. LOL. Okay, this was my policy when the kids were little and it still works for me!)

Santa leaves stockings upstairs by the front door, though -- the kids grab them whenever they wake up and bring them to their rooms. Buys us a little more time before they're wanting to go down and open the other gifts!

I find the whole thing EXHAUSTING to tell you the truth. DH is a great guy but has never helped with this stuff. I do all the buying, the wrapping, the plotting, etc. As a result, I am usually cranky and resentful by Christmas Eve. Oh, but that's a topic for another day...

People have systems?!

Thank you, Sue.. I feel soooo much better! I don't have children but I do all I can to keep some fun and magic in Christmas-- not just for the kids (none of which are my own) but for my siblings, parents and grandparents. It IS exhausting.. and even more so this year because I am not working and trying to be very mindful of budget (years past, I'd say things like "I have more money than time.. I'll take two!"). I watch all the sales.. read all the eblast promos.. and I am trying to keep the gifts as special and meaningful as always on half the budget. Add to that a sprinkling of family drama, a divorce (not mine) and a death (not mine either lol).. well, I'll just say that I am really struggling to muster the Christmas spirit. Maybe it would be more fun if I were more organized.

Jeez, I dont even have my baking supplies organized. Perhaps that will be one of my moving prep tasks this weekend--organize and clear out-- and then bake :) I have to get Chanukah baklava in the mail anyhow so it's good timing.

Sorry, way off the mark for those looking for organizational tips. I am sorry to say my best tip is stock up on wine and/or xanax and enjoy!

A few years ago, I went to a color theme for all my Xmas gifts. I only use red, black, white, and a r-b-w plaid. It looks so pretty and it also identifies a gift from me. For any other gift giving occasion, I use white with a colorful bow or tissue paper as the accent. I keep all the wrapping stuff in an upstairs closet.

I don't give many gifts, never have, and I'm a wrap as I buy it person. No kids, so no worries about needing to hide gifts. The last few years when the whole family has been here for Xmas & the house gets crowded, I keep any gifts in my bedroom until Xmas eve.

I set up a temporary wrapping area in my husband's office for any family members that need to wrap. I have 1 or 2 rolls of Xmas themed paper for them to use. When they run out I don't plan to buy any more, the family member who comes without their own paper will have to use colorful tissue paper since it's all I still buy.

I keep a list in my purse of the current ideas & what was purchased but I don't keep track from year to year.

I think I am related to sueb20 and funkyart!

It sounds like some of you have some great systems though. I keep wrap all in the same tub...until I buy a roll of wrap that is longer than the others and doesn't fit in the tub, and then it starts getting messy and unorganized as usual and I give up. I love the look of wrapped gifts with bows, but really have gone away from the bow thing, because they get smooshed when we stack the gifts or travel, and then they look worse than if I just leave them off altogether. Our cats eat any kind of ribbon, and also like to sit under the tree and occasionally vomit on the gifts, so I can't even put my gifts under the tree when they are wrapped! Or a tree skirt for that matter. To stay on Lynn's topic though, I do like to wrap all of my gifts at once if I can, because I sit on the living room floor and do it. I prefer boxes to gift bags because I do really love the act of wrapping a box with wrapping paper and challenging myself seeing how perfect I can get the creases and folds LOL.

We have a walk-up attic that is great for storing all of the decorations, but I do not have them organized at all. The only thing that does not work about storing things up there is that it is not temp-controlled and some types of decorations tend to crack from the extreme heat and cold.

That dedicated gift-wrapping room does sound like a dream!

We have a walk in closet that is the repository for select Christmas decorations and wrapping supplies, non-Christmas holiday decorations and wrapping supplies, photos, and gifts. It's called "The Gift Closet" and children aren't allowed to enter it without permission and an escort. At this time of year they don't even bother asking!

The day after Thanksgiving or thereabouts, the Christmas wrapping supplies that live in the basement(the ones that are used over and over each year) take up their temporary Gift Closet quarters. My husband and I have three or four Wine & Wrap dates in the weeks leading up to December. We bring the wrapping supplies and gifts into our bedroom and work at a big table after the children go to sleep. I do all the shopping, so this is often my husband's first look at things. We enjoy spending this quiet, private time together in the midst of the busy season.

I have heard that for reasons unknown, at some houses, Santa leaves his unwrapped gifts in a Gift Closet. They are usually sealed in an unrelated box. An elf must come and wrap them with his special paper on Christmas eve, because on Christmas morning, there they are under the tree, and the cover up boxes are nowhere to be found. Of course, I have never personally experienced this- Santa's presents just appear under the tree- and some years I think I hear the reindeer hooves on the roof;)

I used to keep my gift and supply lists in a notebook, then in Xcel, and now I have an app called "Xmas Organizer." I can see at a glance what I have, what I've ordered, what's wrapped, what I need to buy. As I put Christmas things away, I make notes and take inventory so I don't run out of, say, angel chime candles, and don't buy more than I need. I used to track the predominant color of the wrapped packages for balance, but in a fit of wild spontaneity several years ago, I started just trusting my eye! Now I don't really care; the children do quite a bit of wrapping and if they have a favorite wrap they use it heavily.

I like my lists because it saves me from trying to keep track of things in my head (simply not possible for me), and from doing everything at the last minute, which I find draining. My lists free me to concentrate on the people I love and the joy of the season.

I send all of my unwrapped gifts to Aimee. She has been my gift wrapper for years. She used to wrap her own gifts that came in store boxes. I'd just tape them closed so she couldn't open them.

Aimee makes my gifts look like a work of art. Lucky me. Lol.

I am not organized at all for Christmas, but getting better as I get older and have a little more time. My lists are usually sticky notes or scraps of paper I have shoved into my wallet. I do have my paper and accessories organized in a tote.

During the Thanksgiving break the kids were talking about what a struggle I have always had at Christmas. They reminded me of the Christmas that I didn't wrap anything - just got up during the night and put them under the tree. And of course, there was the year I FORGOT to stuff the stockings. When they were younger, I had a very demanding job with very little time off, usually just Christmas Day, and had very little shopping and prep time. Bless their hearts!

But I do better now :).

Goldie your Aimee sounds like my Brandy - she wraps the most beautiful packages. Sam's Club ribbon is awesome and is $8.00 a roll so she usually buys one or two new rolls a year and it is a nice wired ribbon. She laughs at me because I can't tie a pretty bow and I salvage her's after gifts are opened and reuse the next year. Not because I am cheap - just not creative. She is proud of me because I have learned to tie a shoe-string bow and a "sash" bow.

It's good to hear how others handle the holidays. As much as I'm considered a super organized person, I'm also a bit of a procrastinator, as well . . . sometimes more than a bit (LOL). There have been a number of Christmases where I was still wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve. Years when I was still out Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve morning. The year that I'd put off getting the house cleaned and prepped for our big Christmas Day dinner party until the morning of the 24th did it for me, though. I was so tired Christmas Eve from cleaning,stressing out and stressing out my family that I could barely eat, let alone enjoy, the special dinner we always have. I'd been grumpy and bah-hum buggy for days and after everyone went to bed that night I sat there by myself feeling like the most horrible wife and mom in the world. I wrote myself a detailed letter about how I'd made my family miserable at this most special time of the year and swore I'd never do that again. I keep that letter on the front page of my Christmas Notebook and reread it several times each Christmas Season. It's been getting easier every year since then, but I still have to work at it. The book and the many lists help me a lot. So, I'm not trying to be some holier-than-thou-superwoman, I'm just really working hard to keep the holiday season as happy, peaceful and as stress-free as I can make it . . . for my family and for myself, too.

Love reading everyone's experiences and thoughts--and it reminds me once again how very much time and energy we expend to make these special memories for those we love!

I guess I'm on the organized end of the spectrum. Here is my VERY LONG LIST of my holiday systems:

I have a theme-tropical/ocean-which makes sense for a Floridian I think. Our (real) tree is decorated with ornaments that reflect that, collected over almost 30 years. So, lots of seashells, mermaids, and unique items--Santa in a ship's bottle, Santa wearing a Hawaiian shirt, etc. This does make it easy for me to decorate and by now I have all the ornaments I'll ever need so I don't worry about that.

I also have a color theme of white, silver, glass and sparing bits of gold. And I stick religiously to that, no exceptions meaning EVERY ornament, gift, house decoration and light falls into my color theme. I love the look because I never have cared for red and green. Plus for a tropical theme it just feels cooler and calmer to me.

I keep all my holiday items in color coded red and green plastic storage bins which stay in our garage loft. They are in one specific section and the red/green also makes it easy to both store it in the right section and find it when it's time to bring down. I have each bin numbered with the same number on a label at each end and on the box top so no matter which direction we store it we know what box it is. I keep a corresponding master list of what is in each box. That list is set up so the box number is next to an itemized roster of what is stored there. Actually I keep 2 copies of the master list: one on my desk and one in a plastic sleeve in the loft. This makes it incredibly easy to get everything set up. When I am ready to decorate the tree and the house I tell my husband to get down boxes 1,4, 6 and 8 for example which hold the items needed for that. Since I"m not yet ready for wrapping at that point I leave boxes with those materials up in the loft.

As I set out my holiday decor items, I put anything that is displaced into the corresponding now empty plastic bin, which goes back up into the loft. So the non holiday decor items are safely stored and it's easy to get everything switched back after the holidays.

I keep gift wrapping paper in one of those special long plastic stand up gift wrapping boxes. I also have a set of stackable small bins with a handle that contain ribbon, tags, tape, scissors and ultra fine point sharpies which I find are the best for labeling gift tags. When I'm ready I get out my wrap, my trim and my miscellaneous bin of wine totes, gift card boxes, silver bows etc and go at it. I usually do a few marathon sessions using my dining room table. How I envy those who have dedicated closets...tables...rooms(!) to gift wrap. Alas in my fab 50s rancher that has never been the case. Maybe some day if my kids ever move out I can commandeer a bedroom.

Santa always left unwrapped gifts under the tree and the kids also got some wrapped presents. When they were young I wrapped each one's gifts in the same paper-so for example my son knew that gifts in snowman paper were for him and my daughter had hers in reindeer wrap.

I use an Excel file to keep track of my shopping. Have a list of everyone I buy for--we've got a very large extended family who are all local so my list is pretty long (30 plus people). I write down my gift ideas, then when I get the gift I put the price. I also have a column of 'from' so that I can know that for multiple gifts to the same person I don't put the same giver--although it's all me really because nobody else organizes the holiday! My Excel files for years past stay in my holiday folder online, and thus I can refer back to be sure I'm not giving someone the same thing I did last year. Or conversely I can check back to remind myself of gifts I gave that went over well and then try to shoot for something similar.

I also send tropical themed holiday cards, and keep those in a drawer inside the house where it is cooler than the loft. I have a pre printed list of names and addresses online which is formatted to print onto any Avery sheet of 30 labels/page. So I just use a sheet of holiday theme address labels, print and I'm ready to go. I usually like my cards ready to go out by the first week of December; I'm going to work on those tomorrow.

When I host for the holiday dinners, which is most years, I use an Excel file on which I have the menu, along with columns for what servingware I need both cutlery and plates/serving dishes. I also have a column for names of those who are bringing specific items. I usually print that out and post it in the kitchen to help me keep track of what's going on. As mentioned we have a big family so usually those parties have between 15-30 guests. My list helps keep me calm and collected in the midst of the crowd.

Everything is getting much easier now that my kids are grown. Back in the days when I was trying hard to make perfect holidays while also working and volunteering for the PTA, life was much more stressful. And too, as I get older I find myself much less interested in the shopping/buying/getting of 'stuff' and more focused on the search for peace, for feeling grateful for what we have and appreciative for those in our lives we love.

But I still count on my lists and master files :).

Ann

For over twenty years I sat on the floor of the guest room of whatever house we were living in and constantly lost the tape.

Two years ago I had my farm table converted into a gift wrapping island with custom cabinets and drawers, and an entire end houses a pull out large vertical gift wrapping
carousel. Ribbon is in deep drawers and gift bags hang on
peg board behind cabinet doors.

Right now it's not organized, but I use it year round to wrap gifts and occasionally fold a load of laundry on the table top!

Best thing I ever did--no more hauling out wrapping paper, tissue paper, ribbon, tape, scissors, and looking for a large surface and then having a mess on my dining table or on the floor of the guest room!

Wow..I'm impressed! When my kids were small, I kept the Christmas list in my head. I had to get creative on places to hide the gifts. We used to have a classic car we were restoring, so I used it to hide gifts (it was kept under a cover), or at DH's shop, but that was a pain! I didn't wrap until Christmas Eve...long after the kids were asleep. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep. At the time, I was working FT 8-5, and we did Holiday craft shows on weekends, so I didn't have much time to do much. I didn't sleep a lot back then.

Santa had special paper, that was another reason to wait. I'd let the kids help me wrap gifts for other people, and they got a kick out of that. My Dad used to have me wrap the gifts he bought, then when I lived out of state, he had my sister do it. I think that was the hardest part of losing him...not wrapping Dad gifts.

Anyway, now I have freedom and organization! Not nearly as organized as many of you. I will borrow a couple of your tips however.

I still keep lists in my head, and throughout the year I pick up gifts and put them in the closet in my craft room or in a linen closet. Christmas gifts are usually wrapped on Christmas Eve-still! I can't put them under the tree because the animals will play with them. So I will wrap them just before the kids come over.

I, too, have bins for bows, ribbon, tags, etc. I learned to keep extra rolls of tape, pens and scissors in those bins too. I also have a bin for gift bags, and these bins are stored in a dedicated closet. I also store non-Christmas bags, ribbon, etc, also with tape & scissors in that closet. It's made gift giving SO much easier! Paper is kept in a paper organizer I keep in the attic. I do my wrapping on our dining table.

Christmas decor is in plastic bins, each sorted by content, and numbered, 1 of 9, 2 of 9, etc. I keep a master list of the general contents, that way if I want just garlands I can tell DH to get me that box. The tree and wreathes (all in seperate containers) are also stored up there. Now, as I say this about a master list, this is where I am messed up... we didn't decorate last year (I refused to celebrate any holiday till DS was freed), so I totally forgot about the list. Last week I found a binder with lists, but now I'm not sure if it's the past year, or an old list. I recall the last time I packed up, I *think* I sorted by color/theme...AACK!

This year I'm in charge of decorating for my Division's Christmas buffet on Tuesday], so I'm going to have the boxes taken down this weekend. I'm going to do a binder and date it! this year.

Late to this thread. Have been sitting around wondering where to look this year for the wrapping paper, bows, bags, decorations, lights...

I know they are here somewhere. Not all together...not even all on the same floor. I do know they aren't in the attic. Some may be in the garage. I love a good treasure/scavenger hunt. ;)

Ann,
Your post made me tired just reading it! I host Christmas. I plan for 35 people. That number takes into account for little kids who eat very little and an extra person collected by a relative last minute.

I love red and green and my tastes in ornaments are vintage/traditional/crazy. I store my decorations in tubs, kept in the basement. I don't have a list but I know what is inside each tub because it is written on the outside.

The tubs are nice because I store regular decor inside while my Christmas decor is displayed. My house turns into Christmas. Lol

Funny how the ornaments my kids made went from being at the bottom of the tree to the top. Prized ornaments protected from toddlers and young pets. I turn precious clutter into tree art. The Christmas broach my Mother wore, the crystal prism I didn't know what to do with but love. I turn things like this into ornaments. Every thing on my tree holds significant memories and symbolizes my life.

I have started using the Notes on my I Phone throughout the year to keep a running list of gift ideas. This comes in very hand when it's finally time for Christmas shopping..

If I see something that someone wants, or read about something in a magazine, etc. I just add it on the list. Then you can easily go...oh, she wanted the Ugg slippers, brown, size 9 and if you are out and see a sale or something the info is right with you.

Golddust, our tree is like that, too! We call it our "Story of Us Tree". I've even turned the animals on the crib mobile I used for both our kids into ornaments for it. Such sweet memories! Each year we buy an ornament from a special trip we take. Every ornament DS or DD made us is on that tree and each is as cherished as the vintage family ornaments we've inherited. Our tree holds many, many special memories. It would never win any contest for best tree but, to us, it's the most beautiful tree in the world.
Lynn

Ann, I agree, your organizing skills are amazing! I've gotten several new ideas already. Thanks! BTW, your tree sounds gorgeous! If you get a chance will you post a few pics of it here for us to see?
Lynn

I hide my kids Christmas presents in our bedroom - mostly in our walk-in closet. I keep a notebook in there too to keep track of what I've bought for them and how much I've spent. I keep wrapping paper, ect. in my coat closet by the front door. The paper is in a tall plastic (clean) waste can with bows and ribbons in those clear zip up bags that bedding comes in. Gift bags are separated into two boxes: one for Christmas and one for everything else. I use gift bags but really don't like them. Only for oddly shaped things. I think it's more fun to rip open the packages and make a big mess.:)
I love the "story of us" tree. That's what we do but we didn't have a name for it (until now!) All of our ornaments are meaningful; home-made one's from the kids, "baby's first ornaments" with their pictures in them, some ornaments from my childhood, a special ornament I had made to remember our son that was stillborn, ect. It is special to put up our tree and I cry when I unwrap special ornaments.
Oh and I almost forgot. I'm a huge procrastinator when it comes to wrapping. I wrap gifts for extended family the day before we load the car to visit them on the dining room table. And I wrap my kids presents usually on Christmas Eve, in my closet. I'm going to try and do better this year.

Our tree is pretty personal, too. I have a tradition where every year I buy each of my 3 kids a Hallmark ornament that symbolizes something about them, whether it's an activity they were into that year or a character (eg Disney) they liked a lot. The intention is that when they grow up and move out, they can take their collection of ornaments with them. Those darn Hallmark ornaments are not cheap, though! This year I decided 20 years per kid is enough, so I have just bought the last ornament for my 20 year old. This year the oldest is getting a Nightmare Before Christmas ornament (one of his all time favorite movies), middle DS is getting a car ornament because this is the year he learned to drive, and DD gets a baking themed ornament because that's one of her favorite activities. When the kids all leave eventually, our tree will be almost bare! We do have others, though -- the kids' home made ones, and I try to buy an ornament when we travel to a new destination (when I can find one).

For the record, I still have not bought wrapping paper. I did find a pile of gift bags in the attic, though!

I shove the gifts in gift bags. I also try to get them back and reuse them each year. SO far my Christmas prep consists of putting a wreath on the front door.

You all are crazy -- in the nicest way, of course.

sueb20-those Hallmark ornaments can be VERY collectible. My sister has bought one for my mother every year for the last 30 or so years and some of the ornaments are worth several hundred according to the collector books. Who'da thunk it?

I like to wait until I'm in the mood to wrap which usually happens a few weeks before Christmas. I make sure and either watch or listen to something Christmasy while I'm doing anything Christmas related. I usually end up wrapping a few gifts last min. which I don't enjoy by that point. I normally will have 2-3 sessions of wrapping.

The wrapping paper is in the attic in a large garbage bag and I keep all the bows, ribbons, tags, etc. in a large tupperware container also in the attic.

I use any type of box (old or new) that works. I have store bought ones and ones that had items shipped. Some things are put in gift bags because it works better or it's that last min. wrap job I'm not in the mood for. I'll use old or new gift bags but I always take the tags off and never give the same bag back to someone who gave it to me. I just don't forget that. Of course, I also make sure the used boxes and gift bags are in good shape.

I just dropped in to read responses. I decided that I love us.

Sueb, I do something similar for my kids. Each year, I let them pick out their own ornament (not necessarily Hallmark, but sometimes I will get them one of those) and then I pick out another that they receive in their stocking, something that is relevant to their interests and current events. Every year, I label each ornament with their name and the year. When we store the ornaments, they each have their own plastic tub, because when we decorate our tree the following year, they like to put their own ornaments on the tree. When they move out as adults, I will give them their ornaments. MIL did this with her five kids and after dh and I got married, she shipped them all to us. Our tree is therefore pretty eclectic, but the ornaments are so meaningful and give us something to reflect on as we decorate the tree.

blfenton, LOL!

Our system: You buy-a the gift, you wrap-a the gift. Gift wrapping/giving in our household is a comedy contest, anyway. We don't need "stuff" anymore, it's more about the good humor & fun. The fun is the pun or funny drawing on the package from the giver to the receiver.

I love reading these posts! Funny stories. Sweet stories. Good organizing ideas. Crazy non-organizing ideas (LOL)! I've discovered this weekend, that despite my trying so hard to stay organized, I've lost a special gift I'd had made for DD! I hid it when she came home for Thanksgiving. Hid it so well that I can't find it now!

Lynn, I give you points for at least remembering that you have the gift for her somewhere! I have discovered gifts in secret hiding places WAY (months and years) after Christmas, because I didn't even remember I bought them. In fact, I found one lego kit after my son was well past the age for it, and a pair of nice fuzzy socks for my daughter...by the time I found those, they weren't her size! Obviously, I really need to pay attention to some of these organizational systems.

I really hope you find it since it is a special one!! Let us know!

excel spreadsheets? lists? rooms dedicated to wrapping? Sheesh that's far too organized for me. I thought just getting the ornaments organized by tree was a HUGE undertaking!

For wrapping I use the desperately rushed, christmas is in 4 hours, need a bottle of wine approach. I spread out the entire mess of crap with a hole in the middle for me and the wine, and begin digging my way out carefully :p

I actually am organized when it comes to the decorations though. I have one attic for trees, one for ornaments that go on the trees that are on the 3rd and 4th floor as well as the decoration, and then I store the decorations and ornaments for the first floor and second floor are kept on the second floor. Less hauling down (and up) stairs that way :) I also label the boxes for the appropriate tree which is helpful when distributing boxes around the house. WHile I can obviously see what's vintage and what's traditional as well as all the other themes of a tree through the plastic boxes, I don't know how many vintage go to each tree unless I put them in separate boxes.

THat leaves me just enough ornaments for each tree without taxing my little brain.

I wish I could apply that kind of organization to presents LOL I do actually wrap all but the Santa ones in advance (so that's the 23rd verses the 24th btw) and those can go out under the main tree. I have been known to buy the same thing more than once...perhaps that list idea is a good one LOL

Gad a room dedicated to wrapping and holiday storage...well I'm a bit nutso over christmas (major santa barf is in EVERY room) so that would have to be a big big big room! But it's a lovely fantasy!

I haven't read any of the replies because I don't need any Christmas guilt :-) So, I will just answer your question. I have two methods:

1. Order gift online. Check box next to "This is a gift." $4.95 later it's no longer a problem.

2. Buy gift bag that comes with enough tissue to look convincing. Insert gift into bag. Arrange supplied tissue artfully over top of gift for illusion of secrecy.

Those are the two main methods. One notable Christmas when we were moving house in December, I bought a huge holiday trash bag (probably for disposing of a live tree) printed with festive pictures. One for each child. I put all their gifts in the bag, no wrapping, no taking out of box, didn't even remove the price stickers. We tossed a variety of batteries into each bag as needed. Tied the bag with a twist tie and a ribbon. Christmas morning each child had an enormous bag with his or her name on it. We kept up the anticipation by making the kids close their eyes while feeling around in the bag and bringing out one gift at a time. They had to unpack, set up and/or get the toy working with batteries and throw the packaging away before they could put a hand back in their bags for another. Christmas lasted three times as long as usual, and---surprise---each child was perfectly happy after two or three gifts, and got tired of pulling more stuff out! We are not overly generous at Christmas, either--- I do.'t think anyone has ever received more than six or seven presents on Christmas in our family. That year was an eye opener for us!