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Need to wrap a present but have no tape? Follow these steps for a perfectly-wrapped gift.

Joe Difazio
USA TODAY

It's the holiday season, and things can get hectic. There are parties to attend and gift shopping to do. And, of course, there's no let-up in daily life. With everything going on, you may be caught flat-footed when the time comes to wrap a present. Perhaps you forgot to buy wrapping tape, or maybe the tape ran out. Well, fear not; there is a way you can get all your presents wrapped without tape. 

Watch the video to learn how to hand-wrap presents without tape.

Folding and cutting 

To start the process, take the box you're wrapping and place it against the edge of the wrapping paper. Then turn the box over three times toward the wrapping paper roll, then cut the paper a few inches away from the box, closest to the roll. 

Now take a corner of the cut piece of wrapping paper and fold it over to the opposite side to make a square folded in half. Next, cut the excess wrapping paper that's outside the square. However, leave a little bit of extra wrapping paper. 

Now take your box and put it upside down on your square piece of wrapping paper at a 45-degree angle. 

Pull one corner of the wrapping paper over the edge of the box until it meets both corners. Then lay the corner back down. 

Take the opposite corner of the paper and pull it over the box. The corner should go over the edge of the box. Hold it in place with one hand, and draw a crease with your other hand on the inside edge of the wrapping paper that juts out on either side of the box.

Next, take the middle of the top of one of the wrapping paper triangles on either side and fold it in to meet the middle of the box. Then take the crease you made and fold it up to meet the outside edge of the box, with the excess paper coming on top of the box. Run your fingers along the crease and the box. 

Holding the wrapping paper that came onto the top of the box, repeat the fold with the triangle on the other side. After this, a triangular wrapping paper pocket should be on top of the box. 

Smooth all the wrapping paper edges on the box and ensure everything is tight. 

On the remaining side of the box, run your finger along the bottom edge of either side of the wrapping paper to make creases. Now tuck the sides of the wrapping paper into the last remaining side of the box and fold the excess over the top of the box. 

There should be a triangle flap that you will tuck into the wrapping paper pocket on top of the box. Tuck in the flap as deeply as possible, and crease the remaining edge to seal. 

Reviewed-approved holiday recommendations

Purchases you make through our links may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.

Reviewed helps you find the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of experts test everything from Christmas tree stands to holiday candles and gingerbread house kits so you can shop for the best of the best. 

  1. Top-rated Christmas tree stand: Jack-Post Welded Steel Christmas Tree Stand
  2. Gingerbread house: Candy Land Holiday House Gingerbread Cookie Kit
  3. Festive candle: Nest New York Holiday Classic Candle
  4. Holiday lights: Wintergreen Lighting C9 OptiCore Heavy Duty String Lights
  5. Pretty stockings: Kunyida Burgundy and Ivory White Knit Christmas Stockings
  6. Stylish Christmas tree skirt: AOGU 48-Inch Faux Fur Christmas Tree Skirt
  7. Shatterproof ornaments: Every Day is Christmas 35-Count Christmas Ornaments

Wrapping paper history 

The idea of wrapping gifts goes back centuries, with ancient cultures using different materials. The rise of the modern gift wrap market, however, is credited to the Hallmark company. 

J.C. and Rollie Hall were brothers that owned a stationary store in Kansas City, Missouri that would later become Hallmark. During the Christmas season of 1917 business was booming, and the store ran out of tissue paper, which was what people typically wrapped gifts in at the time. 

The brothers decided to begin selling sheets of fancy French paper that was typically used to line envelopes with as wrapping paper. 

More problems, solved

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