Creative gift wrap

As a child, I perfected the art of peeking at presents under the Christmas tree. I learned how to carefully peel back the tape, slide off the ribbon and pull out the gift without leaving a trace.

I will never forget the year I got my Barbie. When Mom and Dad were at work, I'd fish the present from under the tree, slip off the gift-wrap and set Barbie free from her box. Barbie and I played for hours. Then, minutes before Mom and Dad were due home from work, I'd lay her back in the box, rewrap the gift and tuck it back under the tree. By the time I unwrapped Barbie on Christmas morning, the wrapping paper was so worn, it practically disintegrated in my hands.

I'm still the worst at keeping Christmas secrets. Like a little child, I'm practically jumping out of my skin because I'm so excited to tell people what I got them. More often than not, I give my gifts early because I can't keep my lips zipped until Christmas.

That's one of the reasons you won't find my tree lined with gifts weeks before Christmas. Another reason is I'm a last-minute gal, putting off gift-wrapping until the last possible minute. To accommodate my tendency toward procrastination, I've learned how to wrap a gorgeous gift in nothing flat. Here are a few of my secrets.

Creative containers

Cheat a little by presenting gifts in beautiful or unusual containers you don't have to wrap. Go crazy at your local antique mall picking out pieces that can double as gift boxes, like hatboxes, cigar boxes, canisters or even small suitcases.

For instance, put your 3-year-old nephew's gift in a bright plastic sand pail. Fill a vintage sewing box with gifts for the seamstress in your life. For your favorite gardener, assemble gardening tools in a beautiful old urn that can be used for delightful container gardens in the spring.

Or, if vintage goods aren't for you, find new home accent pieces you can fill with smaller gifts. For example, if you want to give a friend a set of ornaments, present them in a hurricane or an apothecary jar. If you have a chef on your list, give him or her kitchen gadgets in a beautiful tart pan. I guarantee your loved ones will be as thrilled with the packaging as they are with the gifts inside.

Brown paper packages

It's been years since I've wrapped gifts in traditional gift-wrap. Instead, I use simple brown craft paper tied up with a killer bow of sensuous satin, organza or velvet. (You can achieve the same effect by using brown paper craft boxes, which you don't have to wrap at all.)

Brown paper packages look perfect plain, but if you're feeling crafty, grab the children and pull out the stamps, stickers or paint pens and have a blast as you give each sheet of homemade wrap loads of personality and pizazz.

One-of-a-kind wrap

Antique stores are filled with inexpensive vintage magazines and books that would make the most wonderful gift-wrap. Cover gifts for your girlfriends in pages torn from old fashion magazines. Use old sheet music to wrap a gift for the songbird in your life. Or do like my friend Teri's husband does: Wrap all the children's' gifts in the newspaper comics pages, then tie them up with a rainbow of brightly colored bows.

Favor fabric

Who says gifts need to be wrapped in paper? Package those hard-to-wrap gifts in a beautiful fabric remnant. Or use a cloth bag designed for wine bottles for any vertical gift, like a candlestick or finial. I also love the small draw-stringed bags available now. They're perfect for jewelry or knickknacks like porcelain boxes or saltcellars.

Finish with flair

To give your gifts panache, tuck a treat into the bow, like an evergreen pick or a cluster of tiny pinecones. Tie in a small tree ornament, prism, costume jewelry pin or a string of vintage buttons. Then, add a gift tag that's out of the ordinary. Write the recipient's name on a tiny chalkboard or a fresh holly leaf. Or slip your loved one's photo into a small picture frame used as a card.

~Mary Carol Garrity is the proprietor of three successful home furnishings stores in Atchison, Kan., and the author of several best-selling books on home decorating.