How to Wrap and Disguise Christmas Gift Cards

Let's face it: Most of the people in your life would prefer to receive Christmas gift cards and purchase what they really want, versus what you choose for them. I still belong to the old school of enjoying surprises in oddly shaped boxes, but for those in your life who want Christmas gift cards, the anticipation of opening presents might have waned considerably. That is why you need to know how to wrap and disguise them.

If you hand a friend or relative a plain white envelope, they are going to know that a Christmas gift card awaits them inside of it. No mystery there, no magic at all, so how do you spice things up? I'd never thought of this before, but my mother's new husband is the King of wrapping and disguising Christmas gift cards, and some of his ideas are simply ingenious. Last year, none of the nieces and nephews and cousins knew what they were getting.

First, you have to consider the shape of the present you want to wrap. Obviously, you can stick a gift card inside a small padded box, and although the recipient might not know what's inside, where's the fun in that? It's much better to have fun with this task and get a little creative. Think of the shapes that might be strange as far as opening presents on Christmas morning: cylindrical tubes, long rectangles, soft wrapping, etc.

For example, one way in which you can wrap and disguise a Christmas gift card is by inserting the card in a tube, such as what you would find at the end of a roll of paper towels. It might be difficult to find one that is large enough in diameter, but I've found that the tubes in which maps are stored work perfectly. Not only will the recipient not know what on earth is inside of the tube, but he or she will have a heck of a time extracting it from its hiding spot.

You can also purchase an ornament that opens or has a slit in the back. Just stick the Christmas gift card inside the ornament, then wrap it. This is the perfect disguise because it might take a while for the recipient to realize that there is more to the gift than just an ornament. For example, we used to get round ornaments as kids with tiny stuffed animals shut inside - a snowman or a tiny Santa. Those would work perfectly.