10 things you didn't know about wrapping

1. my dad is thee best Christmas present wrapper ever.
2. he actually measures - with a ruler. and he cuts - not like a knife, but with a knife. perfectly clean edges!
3. he makes his bows. he went into hallmark one year and pretty much gave them a tutorial. not sure how much they appreciated it, but he did it anyway.
4. he uses things from nature - even before nature was cool. things like bits of bark and berries and dried queen anne's lace. he used dried orange peel once, along with some cinnamon sticks. i'm not sure that present ever got opened cuz we were all too busy oohing and ahhing over dad's creation.
5. every now and then, he'll let the store wrap a gift. he always chooses the fanciest, most elegant wrap theme. stuff like foil and big, glossy bows. it is the diametric opposite of how he wraps his own gifts and i always look forward to it. it gives me a little insight into how my dear old dad ticks.
6. he avoids gift bags. not enough creativity, he says. and he's right. gift bags are easy, but they're not creative. you know that rule of thumb about what makes a good children's toy? the rule of thumb is, if 99% of the play is in the toy, it's a bad toy, whereas, if 99% of the play is in the kid, it's a good one. well, that's what my dad thinks about gift bags......99% of the creativity is in the bag, not in the bagger. actually, it's more like 100%.
7. my dad loves to hide his gifts in places that go along with what the gift is. the year i got my easy bake oven, he hid it in........what else.......the oven! only problem with that was, after cleaning up all the mess from opening up Christmas gifts, he still had an easy bake oven to assemble!
8. my dad, who has always loved trains, proposed to my mom on Christmas. he told her that he had intended to buy her an engagement ring but he ended up spending all of his money on a lionel train that he simply couldn't resist. was she mad? oh, yeah, baby........until she discovered a diamond in the coal car.  :)
9. if you think my dad is a good Christmas present wrapper, you should see how he decorates the tree.
10. which reminds me.......abby and eli's Christmas card this year says, "if you think our hands are full, you should see our hearts."