Gift wrapping...a history

[azsigman]

This is the time of year when we think back to the very first
Christmas, when the Three Wise Men -- Gaspar, Balthazar, and Herb --
went to see the baby Jesus and, according to the Book of Matthew,
"presented unto Him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

These are simple words, but if we analyze them carefully, we discover
an important, yet often overlooked, theological fact: there is no
mention of wrapping paper.

If there had been wrapping paper, Matthew would have said so: "And lo,
the gifts were inside 600 square cubits of paper. And the paper was
festooned with pictures of Frosty the Snowman. And Joseph was going to
throweth it away, but Mary saideth unto him, she saideth, 'Holdeth it!
That is nice paper! Saveth it for next year!' And Joseph did rolleth
his eyeballs. And the baby Jesus was more interested in the paper than
the frankincense."

But these words do not appear in the Bible, which means that the very
first Christmas gifts were NOT wrapped. This is because the people
giving those gifts had two important characteristics:

1. They were wise.
2. They were men.

Men are not big gift wrappers. Men do not understand the point of
putting paper on a gift just so somebody else can tear it off. This is
not just my opinion, this is a scientific fact based on a statistical
survey of two guys I know. One is Rob, who said the only time he ever
wraps a gift is "if it's such a poor gift that I don't want to be
there when the person opens it." The other is Gene, who told me he
does wrap gifts, but as a matter of principle never takes more than 15
seconds per gift. "No one ever had to wonder which presents daddy
wrapped at Christmas," Gene said. "They were the ones that looked like
enormous spitballs."

I also wrap gifts, but because of some defect in my motor skills, I
can never completely wrap them. I can take a gift the size of a deck
of cards and put it the exact center of a piece of wrapping paper the
size of a regulation volleyball court, but when I am done folding and
taping, you can still see a sector of the gift peeking out. (Sometimes
I camouflage this sector with a marking pen.) If I had been an ancient
Egyptian in the field of mummies, the lower half of the Pharaoh's body
would be covered only by Scotch tape.

On the other hand, if you give my wife a 12-inch square of wrapping
paper, she can wrap a C-130 cargo plane. My wife, like many women,
actually likes wrapping things. If she gives you a gift that requires
batteries, she wraps the batteries separately, which to me is very
close to being a symptom of mental illness. If it were possible, my
wife would wrap each individual volt.

My point is that gift-wrapping is one of those skills like having
babies that come more naturally to women than to men. That is why
today I am presenting:

Gift Wrapping Tips for Men:

* Whenever possible, buy gifts that are already wrapped. If, when the
recipient opens the gift, neither one of you recognizes it, you can
claim that it's myrrh.

* The editors of Woman's Day magazine recently ran an item on how to
make your own wrapping paper by printing a design on it with an apple
sliced in half horizontally and dipped in a mixture of food coloring
and liquid starch. They must be smoking crack. If you're giving a
hard-to-wrap gift, skip the wrapping paper! Just put it inside a bag
and stick one of those little adhesive bows on it. This creates a
festive visual effect that is sure to delight the lucky recipient on
Christmas morning:

YOUR WIFE: Why is there a Hefty trash bag under the tree?
YOU: It's a gift! See? It has a bow!
YOUR WIFE (peering into the trash bag): It's a leaf blower.
YOU: Gas-powered! Five horsepower!
YOUR WIFE: I want a divorce.
YOU: I also got you some myrrh.

In conclusion, remember that the important thing is not what you give,
or how you wrap it. The important thing, during this very special time
of year, is that you save the receipt.

Author Unknown (but definitely male)

[Huck Finn]

Great post!

[Nighthawk]

[johnston3407]

My wife said I could give her anything, so long as you don't have to plug it in. If it has a cord on it, it's not realy a gift.
A few years ago I gave her a tractor for her birthday.
It took a while but she laughs about it now.

[southernshooter]

Buy her a gun Johnston
Heck I have bought 2 for myself this month.

[johnston3407]

I did, the Beretta 21A is under the tree, and her stocking is filled with ammo.

[southernshooter]

I got a gun for my wife once and I thought it was a pretty good deal

[johnston3407]

Now, now SS, it's Christmas.

[southernshooter]

[SouthernMoss]

At age 26, my son has finally figured this one out ... he buys gift bags for everything. Drop the gift in the bag, stuff a couple of sheets of tissue paper in the top, and Voila! a "wrapped" gift.

Me on the other hand... I'm one of those who wraps the batteries separately.

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by johnston3407

I did, the Beretta 21A is under the tree, and her stocking is filled with ammo.

Great choice, Johnston! Perfect little "purse" gun.