I don't want to show up with a plastic bag in my hand. What are some creative ways to wrap last minute gifts?

Take any piece of very pretty print or solid fabric, use a pair of craft scissors (that have a design when you cut with them) and cut out a piece of material as you would wrapping paper. Pull all the edges up around the gift and tie a piece of ribbon around the eges and tie a bow.

You can also take a piece of plain brown or white paper and decorate it with ink stampers, paints or markers, let it dry and then cut as for wrapping paper.

If you have the time but no extra money here is an idea that I have used: Cut a lot of ribbon into one length. At a table secure half of the ribbons at the ends with scotch tape so that they are all laying side by side. Then, coming in from the side of the lengths of ribbon, weave the others through the secured lengths of ribbon, making a basket weave design, just like making a lattice top pie crust, so that you have a woven piece of mat made of ribbon. Glue or tape a length of ribbon to all the sides to secure them and VOILA! You have home-made "wrapping paper". (This sounds harder than it is)

1) The comics: colored is best.

2) I once got a present wrapped in sheets of paper with the giver's name just typed in colums all over: from word processor.

3) cloth napkins.

4) Brown shopping bags and then let your kids get at it with their art kits, stickers and stuff. Even better, ask your butcher for a length of white butcher paper.

A simple and inexpensive method is to keep a few gift bags on hand. Gift bags don't need to be fancy or expensive and a fairly good selection can be found even at a dollar store. The great thing about gift bags is that you just drop the gift in and you're ready to go. Since they are not torn open by the recipient, they can be used over and over again. Save the ones you receive and reuse them for gifts you give in the future. My wife always keeps several gift bags of different sizes on hand.

If the gift is somewhat ranging from the small to the average size, you might as well wrap it in the most resourceful yet technically creative way possible. However, if it is that big a gift, then you should try considering spending some time and money just to have it wrapped by a department store's Gift Wrapping Attendant.

As for the "resourceful yet creative" way that I was talking about a few moments earlier, I believe it would be best to use the best colorful kinds of paper around you without having to spend your money buying a gift wrapper. You can use your magazines and newspapers as your substitute gift wrappers, and wrap your gifts the usual way. As for the ribbons, you might as well try creating your own style by using those thicker leaflets that's usually being given for free by companies which advertise their products thru these stuffs. This would be all good for you then; but make sure that you're not in a hurry because it will really take some time considering that you have to beautify your entire package knowing that some of the papers you'll be using might be somewhat folded or crampled already. This means then that you have to see to it that the wrapping must be at its techincal best - unlike of course, if it was a shiny & new gift wrapper (no need for worries then)....

However, if you're in an absolute hurry, then you should try doing it not in the "boxed" style but thru the "candy" one. Yes, I mean it. I can very well prove that because I've tried it several times. You just need to get some used papers and wrap them around your gift until it resembles like a ball. When it does so, that's the time that you make the "final polishing"; you must then wrap it all up with the most beautiful "recycled" (mag or news) paper that you have and wrap it like the way how confectionery companies would do their candies. Your gift then would look like a BIG candy. That way, you won't be having much hassles..... Yet then again, these suggestions would only be applicable to gifts which range around the small and average sizes....

Well, that's it. I hope I've helped you there. Be always creative and resourceful. God bless you all......

Whenever I buy cd's as gifts, I usually buy from independent stores and I ask them if they have any old posters that they want to sell cheap or just get rid of. I have gotten some cool posters for free or sometimes they'll sell them for as little as a dollar a piece. Either way, they're great and very interesting wrap for music gifts!! (Also, posters super cool tied up with black shoe-laces instead of bows).

Well other than bags, which is really quick, if you're looking for last minute idea rather than creative, just wrap it! it takes under 5mins.

i would say the brown paper bag technique and just tape a simple bow/ decorative piece on top of the gift.. something like a piece of garland, a nice flower/nice fresh leaf/leaves..

or if its for someone you know well, you can put even a symbolic thing of something that means something to them..

you can make it funny even by printing a picture of something online (google images!) and pasting it on the gift for a personal touch. an inside joke kind of thing..;)

newspaper with ribbon, or just newspaper. you could get kids (if u own any) to put painted handprints onto the newspaper too!

Gift bags with some colored tissue in it is quick, and inexpensive!

If it is for a child you can wrap it with the comics section of the newspaper.

Or funky large old calender pages...

another thing you can do for small and medium size gifts is go to the 99 cent store and buy a couple of dollars worth of bandana's and for the small stuff get some of those hankerkiefs and experiment with different ways to wrap packages with them its like getting two gifts in one