Richard's Wrapping Routine

I had planned on having some of our Christmas boxes ready to go when we went to the wedding. But, I still hadn’t made the bourbon balls and Richard hadn’t purchased his Jelly Bellies or chocolate coins. On the way home from the wedding, we completed Richard’s candy collection. Now, I must get back into the Christmas kitchen and complete my cooking.

All the way to back to Tennessee, I had envisioned spending our first day home creating tasty treats as visions of family fun danced in my head. But, first, we had to unearth the packing supplies which we store in an outbuilding several hundred feet from the house. The storage bins are too many and too clumsy to carry, so I wanted Richard to transport them in the van. And this couldn’t be done until everything we took to the wedding was removed from the van.

Everything we took out of the van needed further disposition to make space for spreading out “Santa’s Wrapping Room.” Suitcases were unpacked -- which led to laundry to wash, fold, and hang. Mail needed sorting -- which created a desk full of filing to be finished. The filing was important because we need every flat surface in our house for spreading out our array of gifts purchased throughout the year. I know you might think that I could just put the files in what Terry Sue refers to as a “Houdini” box until Christmas is over. I did that one year, and only found out that I had inadvertently stowed our unpaid electric bill when Richard came home from work to a house without electricity.

We’ve spent a whole day back and have not one bourbon ball or gift box to show for it. This is what Richard refers to as the “infinite regression of steps.”

After the coconut macaroons come out of the oven and the bourbon balls are counted into cans; once the gifts are laid out for choosing; the tissue paper is stacked within reach; the candy and coins are sorted into categories; and the various tapes are laid out -- It’s showtime!

Those who have never received one of Richard’s surprise boxes may think all this preparation is a bit excessive, but it takes a lot of coordination to get somewhere between thirty and fifty boxes created, wrapped, and shipped in time for Christmas – especially the way Richard does it. Each family gets a carefully selected assortment of goodies and gifts. Each small gift is wrapped by Richard in colorful tissue paper, as is each candy and coin. All these small packages are then strategically placed in the proper size box -- and the detail work really begins.

Each box is sealed with packing tape into which Richard incorporates a “pull tab” for ease of access. He then chooses the right wrapping paper for each recipient’s tastes and for how the pattern will line up on the box. Using his right angle measuring tool, he measures the box and pattern before making the first cut on the paper. When he’s satisfied that the alignment is good to go, he begins taping – making military perfect creases in each corner and end. The boxes are then given to me to receive a color-coordinated bow and name tag. The box is actually one of the most delightful parts of the wrapped-by-Richard gift experience.

He calls himself the best “white wrapper “ that he knows.