Wrapping up

So although life in America is full of conveniences, there is one thing that salespeople don't do for you. They will not wrap your presents. They will let you use the restroom, use their phone, order parts, give you discounts, open the store earlier or stay open later, just for you, but if you tell them something you've bought is a present they will exclaim, "Oh cool! Who's it for?", but don't count on them reaching for a roll of wrapping paper and scissors.

I'm sure that most people here don't care. Husband-dear explained to me that wrapping presents together is just a typical American expression, and I guess that means that most Americans not only like wrapping gifts, they're good at it too. And therein lies the problem. I, you see, positively suck at wrapping gifts. I've really tried to get better at it, I have, honestly. But anytime I see wrapping paper and tape, my hands go into this nervous tango, and I end up with paper that's too small, tape that gets stuck in the wrong place, and paper that is wadded up around the corners. If I'm really lucky, I even get some wrapping paper stuck to my person. There's quite nothing like going out to dinner, and finding you have a long narrow strip of little Santas dangling from your skirt. One time, when I went to high school in New England, we were asked to volunteer at the mall wrapping center as part of a fund raising activity. I think the poor man in charge explained how to wrap a bow around a box at least three times, and I still did not get it. After truly mangling three people's packages, I was thus quickly relegated to sorting bows by color.

So, yes, wrapping gifts is not exactly my favorite thing in the world. I will actually put husband-dear's presents in plain boxes left over from something else, and then ask him to wrap his own presents. And in Europe, I would love taking advantage of the "we have no manners or care for service, but we will wrap your presents for you" policy, and I used to marvel at the tricks and ornaments some stores would pull out. Moving to the US, although enlightening in terms of free refills, free parking, and positively gushing customer service has thus been somewhat of a cold shower when it came to gift wrapping.

But America would not be America if some ingenious entrepreneur did not come up with a solution for the wrapping-challenged like me. You see, there is a whole market of gift bags and gift boxes that make even the most unable wrappers seem like true creative spirits. And I have wholeheartedly embraced it, buying and reusing boxes and bags like they are going out of style. And the coolest part? No one even cares, and in fact, especially my European friends and family love the bags and boxes I use, thus completely eliminating the need to wrapping anxiety altogether. So am I ready for Christmas? You betcha!