Simple, almost obvious. And yet I’d never seen it before.
Last weekend our friends Visnja and Franck visited us in Southampton and brought gifts for Julia and for us. They didn’t attach gift cards or tags, but, under the wrapping, they wrote a message for the recipient directly on the box. (The seam in the paper was placed on top of the gift, encouraging one to tear open the paper from the top rather than the bottom.) Somehow concealing the message of love and affection made it more intimate, less expected. And, when we unwrapped our packages, we found the message behind our gift before the gift itself.
Of course, this approach to gift wrap has many practical advantages — it’s free, there’s no need to find or attach a gift card, and, at a large party, there’s less risk of the card becoming separated from the gift, rendering a thoughtful choice anonymous.
But that’s not why it made me smile.
