An online survey by one of the UK’s leading discount voucher code websites has revealed the majority of British shoppers intend to splash out on gifts this Mother’s Day, with 76% of respondents sa…

Originally posted from This Year’s Most Wanted Mother’s Day Gift? A Box of Chocolates and Breakfast in Bed

Show your mum just how much she means to you this Mother’s Day with a FlashBangBook personalised photo book.

FlashBangBook create photo books and calendars that are beautiful both inside and out. …

Originally posted from Creating memories that last for Mother’s Day with FlashBangBook

Every year people worldwide spend countless hours searching for unique, unusual and meaningful gifts. It can often be a difficult and time consuming task to find the perfect presents for family and friends. To most, the cost of the gift is not important. Meaningful gifts are directly proportional to the amount of time and thought put into them.

Gift wrap is an often overlooked aspect of  when giving presents. Most gifts are bundled in hastily purchased, generic gift wrap or stuffed into oh so familiar recycled gift bags.

Personalised wrapping paper can solve many of the issues plaguing gifts in the modern day. It shows thought, originality, and will be remembered for years to come; unlike the gift cards we so often see stuffed in meaningless greeting cards with a quick signature.

I will now walk you through the steps of how to make your very own gift wrapping paper…

1) Decide who the present is for. With many different styles and designs to choose from, you want to make sure that the recipient is accurately represented in the style of wrap that you choose. For a child, a spaceship or fire truck design is perfect. For your wife, a slightly more elegant design would be suitable.

2) Decide if you want to personalize the wrapping paper with a single picture repeated, multiple pictures, or no picture at all. Most personalized wrapping paper styles are designed to accommodate one of these choices. Once again, depending on the recipient, one may be more appropriate.

3) Decide what you want to say. Is this going to be funny? Or is it sweet? Reminiscent? Or sentimental? There are many different avenues options to choose. If you will be giving multiple presents, it might be a good idea to make a few different rolls.

4) Get a list of all the people who you will be giving birthday gifts to this year. Make and order all your rolls in one shot. This will save you money on shipping and will also bring the price per roll lower. If you are making your own rolls at home, you do not have to worry about this.

5) Find your wrap! There are a number of online retailers that offer this service. Or you could make your own at home with a printer and some decent photo shop skills. Doing it yourself makes it even more personal and can save you money.

6) Give your presents and be prepared for the questions. Where did you get this? How did you do this? How did you think of something so amazing!? Why are you so smart, thoughtful, and wonderful!?

7) Give yourself a pat on the back for thinking of such a good idea!

Here are a couple closing facts – Over half of the paper used in the U.S. is in the form of gift wrap. Instead of creating more trash, pollution, and cutting down of trees why not make your own paper? The “scraps” from your photo gift wrap are great for “scrapbooking” and can even be used for some other neat crafts, such as thank you cards. These make great keepsakes. Personalized wrapping paper will make your presents more unique and cut down on unnecessary waste, what are you waiting for?

C. Wise is a father of 2 wonderful boys and lives in Florida. He designs personalized wrapping paper, Bar Mitzvah invitations, and First Communion cards for Expressionables.com and all of their niche boutiques.