For all practical intents and purposes, the modern wrapping paper industry was born in 1917 in Kansas City, Missouri. One day during the holiday rush, a fellow named J.C. Hall and his brothers ran out of red, white, and green tissue paper—then the de rigeur way for parceling up presents—at their popular downtown card and stationery store. In a pinch, a few pieces of fancy decorative envelope liner were brought over from the brothers' factory to sell in its place.
The liners sold out. And then they sold out again! And it was then that J.C. Hall (who went on to found Hallmark—yes the Hallmark Channel Hallmark—by the way) knew he had a big idea on his hands. The then-fledgling company introduced its first non-greeting card product soon after, and the rest, as they say, is history.
So that's where we got wrapping paper. But how did we get from there to snowman-shaped orbs, ribbon lattice overlays, and bows with more loops than the Indy 500? The answer to that question lies with a crafting maven that, in my humble opinion, deserves a seat at the same marble-topped kitchen island as Martha Stewart herself.
As consumerism boomed in the post-war 1950s, so, too, did the push to market increasingly embellished ways to give and receive goods. Hallmark got into the game with a 1958 featurette entitled "The Art of Gift Wrapping," which featured the elaborate present adornment ideas of a stylist dubbed Kaye King. Clad in a sensible lavender scoop neck and a perfectly coiffed soft bob, she leads us through everything from the proper way to form a crease to the most creative ways to wrap unusually shaped gifts.
The company then enlisted 20 women to travel to department stores and women's conventions—all using the name "Kaye King"—to teach the techniques featured in the film. They also released an accompanying book with even more gift wrap ideas (still available on eBay for as little as $5!), so, yeah, you could say Hallmark really dug its heels in on this. But, you could also say that if you’ve ever received a present disguised as a bell or adorned with a rocket ribbon bow, you just may have one of these "Kayes" to thank.
Anyhoo, you can watch the full featurette film in all its glory above, and trust that it is 21 minutes and 20 seconds NOT wasted. (Even if you are going to put most of your presents in gift bags anyway.) Would you rather scroll through a screenshot-by-screenshot synopsis? Keep reading for 10 top takeaways from the film.
Store your gift wrap in a hat box.
This seems so obvious that it's hard to believe you didn't think of it, but, hey, did you think of it? This tip might not work with modern-day rolls, but fans of vintage wrapping paper know that it's usually sold in sheets that could more easily be stored this way.
Use your fingernails to get the sharpest crease.
Silly, haven't you been pressing with your finger pads this entire time?
It takes three separate pieces of paper to wrap a cylindrical box.
Sorry, but you're just gonna have to watch the video to fully appreciate the incredibly satisfying way she pleats the gift wrap for the body of the cylinder, and then covers each end with a circle. (The segment starts at 2:52.) If there's such a thing as gift wrap ASMR (there must be, right?), this has to qualify.
An easy way to wrap jars, candles, and perfume actually does exist.
All it takes is a cardboard circle and some foil wrap, and you can turn the gift into a bell. So easy and still so cute! Mind = blown.
A skillet can become a clown.
Granted, with all the time undoubtedly involved, the gift is probably more so the clown than the skillet.
Giving Dad yet another button-down shirt doesn't have to be boring.
Add buttons and a collar to the box and all of a sudden it kind of becomes a fun meta-y thing, I think?
In the same vein, even towels can become a fun gift if you dress them up a bit.
Giving His & Hers towels for a wedding present? Gift wrap them as His & Hers figurines.
There are actually so many kinds of bows.
The knotless bow. The circle bow. The loop and twist bow. The tailored bow. Who knew?!
Also: Why stop at bows when you can also make ribbon flowers?
Roses, lilies, even poinsettias! These can't be as easy as Kaye makes them seem, but that's not gonna stop you from trying.
Even the most unusually shaped toys can be disguised.
All it takes is some newspaper padding and a level of craftiness to produce a carrot nose and top hat and, voila! You've got a very adorable snowman hiding a Peppa Pig sailboat.
Sarah Zlotnick is the Lifestyle Director at Country Living, where she has run point on travel, rural lifestyles, and all things vintage and antiques since 2021. Previously a lifestyle editor at Washingtonian and Philadelphia magazines, she has been championing small businesses and regional destinations for 15 years. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Georgetown University, a major her younger self would be quite surprised to learn has come so in handy. First and foremost a service journalism enthusiast, she loves an in-depth explainer on an everyday topic or a deep dive into the history of vintage objects. When she’s not editing and writing, you’ll find her needling her husband to pull off the highway so they can explore a new small town or cozying up with a juicy murder mystery.
