Romantic Gifts, romantic ideas for gifts and ways to wrap them .

Buying a gift that is romantic is a lovely idea and one way to make your gift look special even before it is opened is to wrap it in an attractive and stylish way.

The way you wrap a gift that you are giving can make it look romantic.

Selecting a suitable color theme for your gift wrapping. When you are selecting a way of wrapping your gift remember that some colors are thought of as being connected to romance and to creating a romantic image. These 'romantic themed colors' are the hot colors such as - reds,pinks and purples and the rich metallic and jewel colors such as gold and rich metallic bronzes, and possibly pearly/creamy colors if used with gold.

Different ways to wrap romantic gifts -

Special paper can be used - but a gift carefully wrapped in tissue wrapping paper can look really good and it has a nice texture to it as well as being available in a great range of colors.

• Using Colored Tissue Paper for Gift Wrapping.

When you are using colored tissue paper for wrapping you will need to use several sheets of this paper together, or you will find it tears or the box or present that you are wrapping will show through the single thickness of the paper.

• You will probably need at least three layers/sheets of colored tissue and if you use the lighter colors may need more.
• The layers of tissue wrapping paper can be all the same color or but three different colors used together can look good - such as pink, red and purple.
• You can put small awkward shaped gifts into a gift box first before wrapping it in the gift paper.
• Use just enough tape to hold the parcel together as heavy use of tape will spoil the look of the gift wrap. Some people prefer to use double sided tape when they wrap presents or but you can use a tape like Magic Tape which will show up less than ordinary sticky tape and will hold the wrapping paper securely.
• When the parcel is wrapped you can tie a ribbon around it and fasten in a bow on the top. Satin ribbon can look good in red or contrast it against the wrapping paper by using a dark colored ribbon. Ribbons come in different widths and whether you use wide or narrow ribbon depends on the size of the parcel and individual preference. Other types of ribbons can look good too, you can buy different types of ribbon and wraps at the card shop.
• You could decorate the gift with a flower by placing the stem of the flower under the ribbon on the top of the gift package.

A unusual way to wrap a romantic gift is to use brown parcel packing paper, this may sound like a boring and dull way to package a gift but it is the way you wrap and decorate this type of package that makes it interesting.

• You can write romantic messages over the surface of the paper or decorate it with romantic words cut from magazines.
• Another way to add style to this type of wrapping paper is to cut out photos that have been printed on a home printer and stick them to the parcel paper.
• Or you could cut out pictures of flowers - you can use clip art for these images in a style that you know they would like - such as vintage, cute, flowers, cherubs, or any image you like.

Here are some ideas for buying romantic gifts. There are ideas for the small out of the blue ' I love you' token to ones for special days like Valentine's Day. Getting ideas before you shop for your gift save time and helps you find a suitable present.

When you are trying to find a gift for someone special it is a good idea to ask yourself a couple of questions such as - What is it that this person would love to receive as a romantic gift?

I believe that giving something that suits the person you are giving the gift to and that makes them happy is more important than how much you spend on it. If you match the present to things the person who is receiving the gift likes, then you are showing that you have thought about the present and them before buying and giving the gift.

Now what would they really like? Answering the following may help you decide on the right gift for this special person.

• Are they crazy about chocolate?

If you are buying luxury chocolate or bars of a popular brand the important thing that will make your gift romantic is the way you wrap it. Go for a luxurious wrapping look in rich jewel colours, gold paper or ribbons, contrasting velvet or satin ribbon and lavish bows. Or if they like things simpler - white tissue or shiny wrapping paper with a sprig of fresh flowers tied under the ribbon that ties up the parcel. Tissue wrapping, used with a vintage looking romantic or floral gift tag can look good.

• Do they love jewelry?

Make the gift wrapping match the style of the gift this could be sophisticated for an elegant stylish piece of jewelry, or fun and quirky for a piece made by a modern jewelry designer.

• Do they like vintage items?

Relate the theme to the wrapping, you could custom make the wrapping paper yourself by adding vintage clip designs to it or to the tag.

• Are they into growing things, flowers, plants and gardening ?

Use a garden trug ( a special low basket for carrying cut flowers) filled with flower seeds and gardening gifts such as a gardener's journal might make an ideal gift for a gardener.

• Are flowers the way to their heart?

Select flowers in their favorite coiors and add a tag or card that says how much you love or care for them. A nice idea would be to add a packet of flower seeds for growing when the bouquet has faded.

You could say something like - "The flowers will fade but my love for you never will"

or "My love will not fade, it will grow."

• Are they fond of romance - films, books, photos...

Select the items you are giving with care to reflect the fact that you know what they like.

• Do they like songs that remind them of your relationship?
• Are they the sort of person who loves to read a book ?
• Or is a special romantic meal with you their favorite treat ?

Remember the romantic message you write for them to go with the gift might be as important to them as the gift.

Why not make up a gift basket, if you put it together yourself then you can make it unique and special for the person you are giving it to. It might be a nice romantic gesture to put little love notes in small envelopes and tuck them in among the items in the basket or hamper.

What can you put into a gift basket? Think along the lines of luxury and treats as to what to put into the basket and also - in the way that you want to package it, make it look luxurious in the choice of colors that you use for packaging and bows.

Other ways of packaging a gift are -

• Apart from putting the gifts in a basket or hamper you can use an attractive box and pack the spaces in the box with shredded paper in a pretty color or you can use crumpled up tissue paper in the box to sit the gifts on to help to fill the box.

Another attractive way to wrap a gift IS in a pretty scarf which then becomes part of the gift too... you will add value to your gift without it costing much more. You can use a square of fabric instead of a scarf to wrap the gift if you wish.

Ideas for Making up a Gift Basket..

• Put shredded up colored paper or scrunched up paper or straw into the bottom of the basket.
• Then arrange the gifts on top of this in an attractive way.

You could sprinkle fabric rose petals in the basket if it fits in with the theme of your gift.

• When the basket is 'full' and nicely arranged if you want to you can cover it with cellophane or if none is available cling film can be made to fit ( heat it gently with a hair dryer and it 'shrinks to fit tighter to the basket) ... but obviously that is not a good idea if it has chocolates in it.

A mug decorated with hearts could be filled with exspensive luxury items or if you are on a budget then fill it with their favourite pick and mix sweets ... there are plenty of options.

You could even fill the mug with luxury chocolates with red and gold foil wrappers and hide surprises in amongst them .... little hand written love notes on pink or red card cut out one or two in the shape of hearts.

A piece of jewellery in its gift box would fit neatly in to a gift mug and hiding it in this way would make it more of a surprise.

Buy books new or even second hand ... if you need to save money on gift buying then thrift/charity shops have a great range of books or you can buy books on line.

Select the books to suit the person.... romantic novels, poetry, books about flowers, travel or adventure books.

• Wrap the books either in hot romantic colours such as red, pink, and purple.
• Next tie the bundle of individually wrapped books together with a bow... use wide ribbon or cotton tape or sturdy string.
• Then make a gift tag you can use a luggage label shaped gift tag or cut a heart shaped tag from red or gold card.

If you wanted to you could just stack the books without wrapping them and tie them with a attractive ribbon.

You could use old magazine pages as gift wrapping paper or even sheets of newspaper for a individual and novel looking book parcel.

• A photo frame with a favorite picture of the two of you would make a nice gift.
• Or if you have time put together an album.
• Or a collage made of photos that you both like ... or both love ...
• Use photos of them or yourselves, your children or a favorite pet or places you have visited together.

This is here simply because it is so sweet and dainty and the heart shape of the coffee scoop is just right for a gift.

Maybe it is just right for someone who is an old fashioned and romantic at heart...