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Oct 31, 2024

This Old Hallmark Video is a Treasure Trove of Gift Wrap Hacks

Finally, an actually GOOD way to wrap that weirdly shaped stuff! Country Living editors select each product featured. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Why Trust Us? For all practical

Finally, an actually GOOD way to wrap that weirdly shaped stuff!

Country Living editors select each product featured. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Why Trust Us?

For all practical intents and purposes, the modern wrapping paper industry was born in 1917 in Kansas City, Missouri. One day during the holiday rush, a fellow named J.C. Hall and his brothers ran out of red, white, and green tissue paper—then the de rigeur way for parceling up presents—at their popular downtown card and stationery store. In a pinch, a few pieces of fancy decorative envelope liner were brought over from the brothers’ factory to sell in its place.

The liners sold out. And then they sold out again! And it was then that J.C. Hall (who went on to found Hallmark—yes the Hallmark Channel Hallmark—by the way) knew he had a big idea on his hands. The then-fledgling company introduced its first non-greeting card product soon after, and the rest, as they say, is history.

So that’s where we got wrapping paper. But how did we get from there to snowman-shaped orbs, ribbon lattice overlays, and bows with more loops than the Indy 500? The answer to that question lies with a crafting maven that, in my humble opinion, deserves a seat at the same marble-topped kitchen island as HRH Martha Stewart herself.

As consumerism boomed in the post-war 1950s, so, too, did the push to market increasingly embellished ways to give and receive goods. Hallmark got into the game with a 1958 featurette entitled “The Art of Gift Wrapping,” which featured the elaborate present adornment ideas of a stylist dubbed Kaye King. Clad in a sensible lavender scoop neck and a perfectly coiffed soft bob, she leads us through everything from the proper way to form a crease to the most creative ways to wrap unusually shaped gifts.

The company then enlisted 20 women to travel to department stores and women’s conventions—all using the name “Kaye King”—to teach the techniques featured in the film. They also released an accompanying book with even more gift wrap ideas (still available on eBay for as little as $5!), so, yeah, you could say Hallmark really dug its heels in on this. But, you could also say that if you’ve ever received a present disguised as a bell or adorned with a rocket ribbon bow, you just may have one of these “Kayes” to thank.

Anyhoo, you can watch the full featurette film in all its glory above, and please trust me when I say it is 21 minutes and 20 seconds NOT wasted. (Even if you, like me, are going to put most of your presents in gift bags anyway.) Would you rather scroll through a screenshot-by-screenshot synopsis? Keep reading for my 10 top takeaways from the film.

This seems so obvious I can’t believe I didn’t think of it, but, hey, I didn’t think of it! This tip might not work with modern-day rolls, but fans of vintage wrapping paper know that it’s usually sold in sheets that could more easily be stored this way.

Silly me, I’ve been pressing with my finger pads this entire time.

Sorry, but you’re just gonna have to watch the video to fully appreciate the incredibly satisfying way she pleats the gift wrap for the body of the cylinder, and then covers each end with a circle. (The segment starts at 2:52.) If there’s such a thing as gift wrap ASMR (there must be, right?), this has to qualify.

All it takes is a cardboard circle and some foil wrap, and you can turn the gift into a bell. So easy and still so cute! Mind = blown.

Granted, with all the time undoubtedly involved, the gift is probably more so the clown than the skillet.

Add buttons and a collar to the box and all of a sudden it kind of becomes a fun meta-y thing, I think?

Giving His & Hers towels for a wedding present? Gift wrap them as His & Hers figurines.

The knotless bow. The circle bow. The loop and twist bow. The tailored bow. Who knew!?

Roses, lilies, even poinsettias! These can’t be as easy as Kaye makes them seem, but that’s not gonna stop me from trying.

All it takes is some newspaper padding and a level of craftiness to produce a carrot nose and top hat and, voila! You’ve got a very adorable snowman hiding a Peppa Pig sailboat.

Sarah Zlotnick is the Lifestyle Director at Country Living, where she covers a little bit of everything—small towns, life in the country, and, her favorite, antiques. A research buff at heart, she loves a deep dive into the history of vintage finds and uncovering the reasons behind old-as-time traditions.

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