My Gift Wrapping Station

By: Bonnie Christine

Story Adapted From Pattern Magazine – Volume 6

Pattern Magazine is Bonnie Christine's quarterly print and digital publication for surface pattern designers, artists, and creative entrepreneurs who believe that how you live shapes what you make. This story first appeared in Volume 6, Marking the Moment, the autumn 2026 issue.

Patterned paper & velvet ribbons.

With our freshly cut Christmas tree in our living space and the afternoon sunlight pouring in, I begin setting up my annual gift wrapping station.

Oh, what joy!

I would like to tell you that my love for this ritual was always there, but it wasn't. The truth is, for years, I dreaded the whole notion of wrapping gifts. I am a maker by nature and a doer by habit, and wrapping always felt like the thing slowing me down. The tape never sat where I needed it. The scissors were dull. The paper was in a closet buried behind the vacuum. I'd hunt down a pen, and find one with no ink.

I thought I just didn't like wrapping.

What I discovered was that I didn't dislike wrapping at all. I disliked wrapping in chaos. The experience had been inconvenient for so long that I had built a story around it that wasn't really mine.

And when I finally created a consistent flow for gift wrap, the story's narrative changed.

My Gift Wrap Station

The wrapping station lives in our living space, just off the kitchen. I pull out an older wooden table, and, while I wrap, my family piles onto the couch with our favorite Christmas movie playing. Every so often, the kids drift over to peek at the paper, and David refills my mug. It’s the furthest thing from chaos.

The wooden table holds everything I need within reach, and only what I need:

HAND-DESIGNED GIFT WRAP. This is my favorite part of the station, but you could absolutely use any paper that brings you joy! I've designed our family gift wrap with more than three hundred patterns across the stacked sheets. Then I choose a special design for each person: the dahlias for my mom, the forest pattern for David, the cheerful prints for Ollie and Bear.

HAND-DESIGNED PACKING TAPE. Tape I designed myself, in a dispenser that doesn't slide when I pull off a piece one-handed. (That is a must!) No worries if you do not want to create your own tape. Stock up on the tape you love.

Wanting More?

Read the full story in Volume 6 of Pattern Magazine.

The complete wrapping station (every item on the table, the Christmas movie watchlist that plays while I wrap, and a free mini-class on designing your own gift wrap) is in the latest issue.