The art of wrapping
A story, a song and a seasonal wrap-up.
The spark of an idea for this piece came whilst I was wrapping Christmas presents for the children in my life, kids of my family and friends, who make my life so much better, by bringing joy and happiness.
I have helped my mum wrap presents for as long as I can remember, with Christmastime being the zenith of our wrapping sessions. We dedicate time to wrap, designate a room to sit in and get stuck in, surrounded by dozens of rolls of wrapping paper, tags, Sellotape and gifts.
We use wrapping paper that we have had for years. In the run-up to Christmas we re-buy ones that are our favourites and seek out new designs and colours.
The smell of Christmas wrapping paper is horribly nostalgic for me, and I always feel a rush of warmth and memories when I take the rolls of paper out of the drawer.
Each year we play a Christmas movie whilst we wrap, our favourite being While You Were Sleeping, starring Sandra Bullock. Once the movie starts playing, we go into autopilot, wrapping presents with a choreography that only we know, passing paper, presents, scissors and Sellotape to each other wordlessly. Only pausing to chat to work out how to wrap the gifts that are unusually large or awkwardly shaped.
Small things like bags of chocolate coins and stocking fillers all get painstakingly wrapped, no stuffing them in with a bigger gift to make it easier to wrap. Some gifts are disguised with boxes or tissue paper, especially if they are a surprise, so the receiver has no idea what they are getting. The immense pleasure of seeing someone’s face light up when they open a surprise gift is magical. I love those moments so much as they crank up the festive feels to a hundred.
The act of giving, big or small, feels like an expression of love for me. And I feel very privileged that I get to experience the wrapping sessions with my Mum, as I know that in years to come these memories will be cherished forever.
A festive song
Before I sign off, I wanted to share one of my favourite Christmas songs, from one of my favourite Christmas movies, The Muppets Christmas Carol. This film gets played every year without fail on Christmas Eve, and this song ‘One more sleep ‘till Christmas’ makes me feel totally immersed in the magic and spirit of Christmas.
Happy Listening! :)
And finally…
I want to wish every single reader a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope you have a wonderful, restful, restorative and fun festive break.
I greatly appreciate your continued support and readership, as I feel the latter half of this year I have been largely absent whilst I have adjusted to my new job and routine.
However, I know in my heart that Bloom and Grow remains an important part of me and I can't wait to see where my writing journey takes me in the New Year.
See you in 2025!
Much love, Emma <3
