How to Wrap a Hard to Wrap Gift

Place the gift in a large gift bag or paper sack. Oddly shaped items that don't come with their own box can easily be placed in sack padded with tissue paper and closed at the top with a ribbon. If using a plain paper bag, such as a brown paper lunch sack, decorate the bag with ink stamps, stenciled drawings or with stickers. Fold the top of the bag over and punch two holes with a hole punch. Sting the holes with a ribbon to keep the sack shut.

Wrap the gift inside linens and tie off the top with a ribbon. An eco-friendly wrapping method to use for wrapping oddly shaped gifts is to use reusable wrapping such as a new square of linen, dish towel, cloth place mat, cloth napkin or any type of cloth available at a home and kitchen store. Place the item in the center of the clothe and bring the corners together at the top. Scrunch the neck of the now cloth sack and tighten securely with ribbon, yarn or raffia.

Wrap in aluminum foil to avoid excessive taping. Though it may seem a cheap option, wrapping an oddly shaped gift in aluminium kitchen foil is both practical as well as attractive. Without boxes, wrapping hard-to-wrap items in paper is difficult and usually requires a lot of tape. To avoid a crumpled tape mess, wrap the item in foil. Finish the foil wrapping with a gold or silver colored bow and ribbon.

Place the gift in a basket and wrap. Like bags, baskets are great for disguising odd shapes. Baskets can be filled with multiple items or simply with tissue paper and the single gift. Tie the handle of the basket with a bow and give as is, or wrap the entire basket in clear or opaque cellophane and tie with a ribbon.

Hide the gift in a large box. Boxes are the easiest of shapes to wrap. If you have access to a large box that fits the hard to wrap item, surround the item with padding such as tissue paper or bubble wrap and wrap the box as any other gift box.

Tie a ribbon around the gift. Sometimes wrapping is simply impossible or would result in a lumpy unattractive presentation. In such cases, as with a wine bottle or other bottle gift when a paper wine bag cannot be found, simply tie a ribbon around the neck of the bottle. Ribbon and bow wrapping also works for items such as baseball bats, tennis rackets, out of the box dolls and individual kitchen tools.

Give a "where to find card." If a gift cannot be wrapped but you still desire an element of surprise, give the recipient a card or note telling them where to go to find their gift. If the gift is a drum set, write in the note to look in the garage, or if the gift is a car to look in the driveway, or for a barbecue look on the back porch.