There are so many clever ways of giving gifts. It used to be that you would find a box that a gift would fit in and then use wrapping paper to wrap the box, but now there are many different ideas for presenting a gift. I remember when gift bags first became available. They were very expensive and there were only a few to choose from. It did not take long before they were available in many sizes and shapes. The price for the gift bags also went down. Today at most gatherings that include gifts there is a wide assortment of gift bags.

We were invited to the birthday party of our three tear old grandson. We had bought him a puzzle with huge pieces that can be put together on the floor or outdoors. Once the puzzle is put together it is a race track for cars. The puzzle came in a sturdy square box. Because the box was so easy to wrap I bought wrapping paper and decorated the present with curing ribbons. I tied a small car that could be used on the race track into the ribbons. This looked really cute because the wrapping paper that I bought had race cars on it. When we arrived at the party I placed his present by the others that guests had brought. We visited and had dinner then cake and ice cream. After dinner it was time to open presents. All the other presents were in gift bags. When it came time to open our gift our grandson was excited about the car that was tied on the ribbon. Our daughter helped him untie this. He played with the car and then reached for the next gift bag. My daughter explained that he should see what was inside of the rest of our gift. He did not understand that you needed to rip open the paper to find your present. He tore open the paper and liked the puzzle race track that was in the box. His other grandmother and I were amazed that he had never been exposed to wrapping paper before.

I have noticed that wrapping paper is more expensive than buying the gift bags. Gift bags are more practical because they are reusable. One of the gift shops by my home has gift bags that have lines to write on that tells who the gift is to and who it was from and what date it was given. This way you can track the number on times the bag is used and who has passed it on. The owner and I were talking about the number of times we have received a gift bag back from the person that we had given it to. With wrapping paper most people do not reuse the paper and it creates quite a mess after several presents have been opened.