What's underneath is just as important....

I am a true believer that your Christmas wrapping should be just as beautiful as the rest of your holiday decor. Here are a few steps that are guaranteed to make an impression under your tree.

Step 1:
Make space in your home for a holiday wrapping station that will double as a craft space all year long. It's easy, efficient, and pretty!
Step 2:
Next, pick a theme – usually this will coordinate with your holiday décor….and don’t forget about the little ones. A good place to start is on your Christmas tree and in your other holiday decorations. Something is sure to stand out, whether it is a color, animal, children’s character or holiday character.

I set up two Christmas tree’s in the house – one for the family in our living room (which is more traditional) and a smaller tree for my daughter in her play room (this one is more whimsical and fun).

Here are some traditional and fun themes to consider!
Step 3:
Look for wrapping paper that highlights the main theme of your Christmas decorations. For example, if you have a tree covered in Disney characters, look for Disney wrapping paper. The same goes for Santa Claus, snowmen, candy canes or gingerbread men. Highlight a rustic home décor scheme with similarly fashioned paper. Modern decorators can use geometric patterns, stripes or circles on wrapping paper to accent their taste. And remember – you don’t always have to use holiday specific paper – anything goes what it comes to matching your theme!

Step 4:
Choose two accent papers to go with the main paper selection. These should be a lot quieter than the main patterned paper. An illustration of this would be using a plain metallic paper in gold, a simple diamond pattern in gold, red and green and a paper with gold holiday ornaments.
Step 5:
Gift bags make excellent choices for wrapping oddly shaped gifts. Look for ones that match any of the paper chosen or pick out a plain accent color. Accent your bags with tissue paper and a little sparkle!

Step 6:
Pick out curling ribbon in one or two colors that are in the papers and a fancy over sized ribbon! I like to add a portion of the gift to the outside of the box – if I am giving a friend a luxurious bath set I may add a soft bath pouf in place of a bow!
Step 7
After wrapping the presents, arrange them artfully beneath the tree. Christmas trees by walls or in corners can have large presents in the back with smaller presents in the front. Trees that can be viewed from all angles can be arranged with the largest presents beneath the branches and smaller ones fanning out below.

So take some time to plan what's underneath your tree - your gifts with dazzle!