Message ID: bt1ab9$294hj$1@ID-202214.news.uni-berlin.de
I am a stay-at-home mother of two and have noticed that people don't seem to wrap gifts anymore. The "gift bag" with the present ensconced in tissue paper seems to be the decorative vehicle of choice.
I always thought that the time spent wrapping a present was a nice part of the gift-giving process. Are these gift bags, which I might add are frequently re-used, now an appropriate option for the gift giver?
Gentle Reader:
As long as some festive wrapping is attempted, etiquette cannot demand that everyone wrestle with papers and ribbons to produce something lovely. But it reserves the right to be more charmed when that is done.
What does being a stay-at-home mother of two have to do with the question at hand? Except for the fact that it points out that you may (in the flood of disposable diapers that now clog landfills) not have noticed a trend to recycle and reuse. Many people see wrapping paper that is used but once then thrown away to be exceedingly wasteful. Indeed, it is recommended that people use the cartoon section of the newspaper as wrapping paper.
A gift, Gentle Reader, is a gift. You are not entitled to one, nor is anyone is obligated to give you one. It is exceedingly poor form, when receiving one, to gripe about the paper it which it is wrapped. Or, for that matter that the gift bag was re-used - which, since it is made of heavier quality paper, is meant to be. Incidentally, there are a lot of people out there who save gift wrap and use it again. Do you gripe about them too?
Some people, such as CF Abby herself, are all thumbs when it comes to tying pretty bows, and the artistic arrangement of scotch tape on paper. For such as her the gift bag, even recycled, has been a wonderful invention. She hopes that the people to whom she gives gifts appreciates the gesture, regardless of the wrapping - just as Abby is appreciative of the thoughtfulness behind the gift she receives, regardless of the wrapping.
Since you bring it up, O Stay at Home Mother of Two, both recycling and reusing as well as the etiquette of being a graceful recipient of gifts are virtues you would do well instill in your offspring.
Childfree Abby - environmentally
The ChildFree Abby Archives - http://www.dismal-light.net/childfreeabby/