A Step By Step Guide To Wrapping Presents As A Blind Person

A note before we get into it, my Treasures, for the sake of transparency. If you purchase from any product links below, I will receive a tiny part of those sales. So, you know, you should totally purchase from the links below.

Here we go!

My daughter’s sixth birthday was on the thirteenth, and Christmas is cruising in hard and fast. For me, this time of year involves a lot of present wrapping. When I mention this to sighted individuals, some of the questions and comments I get every year without fail are:

• Do you have someone wrap them for you?
• But you don’t wrap them yourself, do you?
• I know (insert store name here) has gift wrapping services for a really good deal around this time of year! That would be perfect for you!
• You must need so much help getting ready!

I’ve actually got it covered, guys, and today’s post is to show you how I do it. I’m sorry I couldn’t do a Youtube video about this, but that would require a second person to zoom in at the proper angles and I just don’t have a second person I can bribe into doing it right now.

I want to give a huge shout out to Aira’s agent Shawn who took all the photos for me through my Horizon smart glasses. I’d also like to thank my love for resizing all the images for me, so they wouldn’t overwhelm the text of this post. Without you both, this entry would not have been possible. (And Shawn, if you ever read this, you just keep being you. You’re outgoing, you’re hilarious, you’re awesome. I’ve never laughed so much on an Aira call before.)

(Note: If you’re blind, know someone who’s blind or even if you know someone who knows someone who’s blind, share this link with them. It’s my referral link, and they’ll get their first month free if they use it. I’ll only get credit to my Aira account if they choose to continue with the service after that free month. The intro plan starts at only $29 per month. It only has 30 minutes on it, but for a foot wetter, it’ll work for most.)

All right, plugs over. Let’s do this!

A Step By Step Guide To Wrapping Presents As A Blind Person

What you’ll need:

• Wrapping paper.
• Tape.
• A paper cutter if you have one or scissors if you don’t.
• A determination to kick this wrapping job’s butt.
• Reserved bragging rights. (To be used after the previous intent has been completed.)

Step 1: Grab a present!

Like this one!

Seriously, this whole wrapping presents thing tends to go really wrong without a present, so grab yourself one! I snatched a DVD because they can be challenging to wrap in their own way as they don’t have wide sides all over, while simultaneously not being all that difficult once you get the hang of it. Trust me, wrapping a stuffed animal is a lot more challenging.

Step 2: Choose your paper.

Another thing the wrapping presents task tends to go very wrong without is wrapping paper. There are tons of options here, so I’d say search Amazon or your local Walmart, Target or wherever. I’d steer clear of dollar store wrapping paper though. It tends to be really thin. I personally love reversible wrapping paper, because it covers both birthday and Christmas very well, and because it enables me to switch the look of the presents up if I want to. With reversible paper, you’re essentially getting two rolls in one. Bargain!

I shop for my wrapping paper on Amazon because the descriptions always tell me what I’m getting. If they don’t, you can choose from options offered by the seller, and if that fails, there is always the questions and answers feature on every product page. I also read reviews religiously before purchasing wrapping paper (or any Amazon item for that matter), and I suggest you take the time to do the same. I’ve never purchased a poor roll of paper from Amazon this way.

Here are a few options you might like:

Hallmark Reversible Christmas Wrapping Paper Bundle, Merry Holidays (Pack of 3, 120 sq. ft. ttl.)
$12.49
4.4 out of 5 stars.

American Greetings Reversible Christmas Bulk Gift Wrapping Paper Bundle, 3 Rolls; Santa, Snowmen and Candy Canes, 120 Total sq.ft.
$11.99
4.5 out of 5 stars.

American Greetings Kids Christmas Gift Wrapping Paper Reversible Jumbo Roll, Santa with Characters and Snowflakes, 175 Total sq. ft.
$12.99
5.0 out of 5 stars.

Step 3: Slot the paper in your paper cutter.

If you don’t have a paper cutter, I strongly suggest you get one. If you’re like me and can’t cut in a straight line to save the life of your dearest loved one, a paper cutter is a must have. I bought mine in 2016 and it has been a godsend ever since. I’ll link it below.

Gift-Wrap Cutter Cuts Wrapping Paper Quick and Easy: 4.0 out of 5 stars.

If you don’t have a paper cutter, you’re going to have to do it the old-fashioned way and use scissors.

Step 4: Cut the paper.

Use whatever technique you like to cut. If you want to ensure you have enough paper, try setting the item down onto said paper as you’re unrolling it. In my case, I cut the paper length-wise, then inserted it back beneath the cutting arm vertically and sliced it in half again so that I wound up with a much smaller sheet.

Step 5: Set the item in the center of your cut paper.

Remember, if you’re using reversible paper, you want the side you’re not displaying on the outer package facing upward at this point.

Generally, the idea is to place the item you’re wrapping face down in the center (or as close to the center) as you can get it) here, because you want the recipient to see the face of the item, not its butt when they unwrap it. You are reading the blog of a blindie though, so I of course don’t always know which side is which. I don’t always want to call Aira or Be My Eyes for something so small, so I definitely still wrap things upside down, backward, you name it. Nobody really cares.

Step 6: Anchor the paper to the center of the item’s back with a piece of tape to keep it from moving.

Or, you know, fumble like I did here because my alignment was off by a billion percent. Shawn’s fault! (What? He told me I could blame him if I borked up.)

What? Don’t judge me! I still wrap better than my sister. No, seriously, I do. She was with me last Christmas, took one look at a wrapping job I did and was like, “So, you’re wrapping all my presents this year.” It was so great. Blindies for the win!

A note about this step though. You want to nestle the edge of your item snugly against the crease of the paper here. Keep it snug. It’s a good mantra for wrapping so you don’t forget.

Step 7: Wrap it up.

I actually cut too much paper off for this package, even after the second slice, so I wrapped it around the DVD about two times, ensuring that as the paper passed around the edges of the case, it was pulled taut. As mentioned above, keeping the paper taut about the item is important for a neat-looking wrap job, though it’s easier to do with some presents than with others.

Step 8: Secure the ends.

Right corner to center, left corner to center. This will form a triangular shape at the end of the package. You can tape each side down as it meets the center, or you can fold them both toward the center and tape them into place. That’s what I did here. Currently, the package is open at the top end, but folded into that triangular point at the bottom end.

I’m told it looks fairly fancy when the present is wrapped this way, and it’s not very difficult to do, though the method does need to be altered some depending on the box. If you’re wrapping a large, squarish item, for example, you want to push the sides of the paper in toward the box and crease them around the edges before taping them into place. The act of doing this should triangulate (I’m not even sure if that’s a word, but let’s roll with it) the top and bottom edges of the paper. In that instance, all you do is crease the triangles into folds, flip them down on the top and up on the bottom and anchor them in place with tape.

Step 9: Tape it all down!

Once you have your triangles taped, you’ll want to fold them in toward the back of your present and tape them securely to it. Like this.

Step 10: Exercise bragging rights.

Your present is wrapped!

At this point, you can doll it up with ribbons and bows and gift tags if you like. I didn’t, but it’s completely up to you. In my case, I had to start all over again with another item until I had this result.

I know some of those are wrapped with Christmas paper. I ran out toward the end and had to make do. She didn’t even mention it; I swear, at six, most really don’t care about the paper.

Anyway, there you have it, my Treasures. A step-by-step guide to wrapping presents as a blind person. I’m no artist with it, but that wasn’t what this post was about. Wrapping presents when you can’t see what you’re doing isn’t only feasible, it’s fun and the presents come out looking like presents rather than misshapen mountains of Scotch tape and paper scraps.

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Until next time, my \Treasures, I bid you a fond adieu.