Just Hear Me Out: Everyone Should Stop Wrapping Xmas Presents

Every year, as instructed by the bulk of society/greeting cards/my weird neighbour, I try my hardest to have a merry Christmas.

However, as Christmas is a time for giving, I repeatedly find I’m at odds with the mode for giving that has the most mainstream appeal: gift-wrapped presents. Wrapping is such a goddamn chore. Isn’t the holiday season supposed to be driven by joy? That’s what Mariah Carey sings in (the only good cover of) ‘Joy To The World’.

Is Mariah wrong? I’d argue such sentiments are pure blasphemy at Christmas time.

Here’s a thought: what about bags? Like, give gifts in a big bag!

I’m aware some families heroes have probably adopted gift bags long before I penned this silly little Xmas take. Christmas bags do exist but there’s no denying that wrapped presents still dominate the holiday season.

Here are a few reasons why everyone should stop wrapping presents and embrace gift bags instead:

1. Gift bags have more wow-factor.

Who doesn’t like being given a big bag? In what situation would anyone say no to being handed a large bag filled with mystery? It wouldn’t happen.

Bags have wow-factor. To borrow from Emily Paris, they have je ne sais quoi. Whereas a handful of poorly wrapped presents? Absolutely zero wows being had by anyone.

2. Gift bags are the great equaliser.

Picture this: your sister walks in the room with a handful of presents and plops them down at your feet. You’re left with a feeling of disappointment that there isn’t more, as while she gave you two small and one medium sized gift, you gave her one large, one medium, and THREE small. A travesty! An injustice! Alert the Ambassador for Human Rights!

Gift bags hide all that and ignorance truly is bliss at Christmas time.

3. Unwrapping presents is stressful.

Unwrapping presents is as much a performance for everyone around you than it is about you finding out what’s inside. And most people (me, hello!) suffer from performance anxiety. Under the pressure of prying eyes, I literally forget how to use my hands when unwrapping presents.

The sticky tape holding the present in tact becomes the enemy: I don’t know how it manages to defeat me time and time again. Between the awkward unfurling of tape, or if you’re a true rebel, the ripping of paper, it’s an embarrassing spectacle that only serves the giver and not the receiver.

4. Gift bags allow you to keep your dignity.

After the presents are unwrapped, what do you do with them all? Did y’all think about that? You’re sitting there under the Christmas tree with a pile of random objects and then you need to carry them somewhere. It’s impossible to keep one’s dignity while wobbling through the living room with presents tumbling out your hands.

A gift bag is the perfect solution: the gifts return to the bag after you’ve pulled them out, providing a dignified way to get through Christmas morning.

5. The planet will thank you later.

The other obvious appeal of gift bags is they are reusable. I’d hazard a guess that every family home has a random closet filled with gift bags that are recycled every year while holding out hope they don’t give a bag back to the person it came from. This can get dicey but we all do it.

Wrapping paper is impossible to reuse unless you live with a family of psychopaths who avoid ripping the paper, remove the sticky tape, and somehow roll the paper back up. Christmas is stressful enough without the added pressure of avoiding ripping while unwrapping. It’s impossible! Absolutely not!

Most people bin the wrapping paper and buy new paper each year which just sounds like a silly/expensive/unsustainable cycle to repeat until the end of time when gift bags are RIGHT THERE.

Do yourself a favour this Christmas and bag yourself a gift bag.

FYI: This post is not sponsored by any gift bag company, I just have a lot of feelings.

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Header via @christmas.present.s on TikTok.