One of my fondest Christmas memories was when our family would get together with another family at the holidays, have dinner and exchange gifts.

I remember my mom’s friend, Judy, arriving with a big basket filled with beautifully wrapped packages. We’d all sit around the fire after dinner in our living room calling out names and swapping these little packages.

What I recall most wasn’t what was under the festive wrapping paper, but just the gorgeous wrapping itself. Between my mom and Judy, I was destined to carry the {take the gift wrapping to the next level} gene.

Over the years the gift bag has gained popularity and, don’t get me wrong, I use those babies like they’re going out of style. I recycle them and often times eye some super cute ones at the dollar store and throw a few in the cart. But, I love wrapping gifts the old-fashioned way with a nice roll of wrapping paper, some Scotch tape and some twine or ribbon of some sort ~ getting the corners all tucked in just so before adding a little piece of tape to secure it.

Secret: if the gift is a weird shape, I’ll throw it in a gift bag with some tissue and call it a day!

At Christmas, I like to acknowledge the special people and friends in our life with a little token to show them that we’re thinking about them at this special time of year. It doesn’t have to be much…in fact I pick up little things that I come across in my travels and tuck them away in my secret compartment in the months leading up to Christmas. Then, I wrap them up with lots of love and deliver to sweet recipients. I also like to have little tokens and goodies on-hand that I can grab at the last minute for hostess gifts and such. I most certainly like to shop and choose gifts for specific people, but it is nice to have a few neutral things waiting in the wings for last minute situations.

1. Lilly Pulitzer message board

2. Small blank journal

3. Simple pair of earrings

4. Mrs. Meyer’s soy candles {Target clearance}

5. Blank notecards

6. Wine charms

7. Scarf

These are all little things that I picked up at Target, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx or Ross for next to nothing. Always check the clearance sections first!

Other little things you can keep on hand for little gifts are…

Wine {Trader Joe’s has bottles of good wine for as low as $3.99}

Pound of holiday blend coffee

Box of holiday tea {I love TJ’s candy cane green tea & cinnamon vanilla black tea}

Statement rings for the girly girls in your life {they have cute ones at Target and Kohl’s}

Little bottle of hand soap in holiday scent for the kitchen or bathroom

Dish towels

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I like to use blank manila shipping labels for gift tags and doctor them up with stamps, the kids’ little drawings or washi tape. Add a “to” and a “from” and you’re done! I found mine at Office Max, but they came with a string instead of the wire which makes it a breeze to tie on packages.

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I have most of my fun finds ready to wrap up and give this Christmas…trying to get a head start with the gifts so I can focus on baking in a couple weeks. Plus, we never have very many wrapped gifts under our tree until Christmas Eve!

Just for old time’s sake, I may just have to find a big basket to hold all my little packages until they are ready for delivery.

Happy shopping & wrapping!