Quick-Open Wrapping, or How I Learned to Love the Rip-Cord

Merry Christmas everyone! I came up with this neat wrapping idea Christmas '05, and my gift recipients really like it. It makes opening presents that much faster.

Materials needed:
- Ribbon (preferably thin, need not match the paper)
- Wrapping paper (preferably pretty)
- Present (preferably cubical or cylindrical)
- Tape, scissor, bows and the like

Update 12-14-07
Featured on the front page!
Update 12-21-09
Listed as Popular on the front page!

Hi everyone! Thanks for checking out my Christmas-themed wrapping instructable! Share your comments/ideas below.

Show us all a picture of your finished wrapping in the comments (or better yet, post a video of someone opening your Quick-Open present!)

Also, post a comment and let me know where you found the Instructable.

Merry Christmas! -kqrpnb

.

Step 1: Set Up the Wrapping Paper

Take the piece of ribbon and lay it on the inside of the wrapping paper. Position it so that the ribbon will wrap the body of the gift. Tape one end to just about the edge of the wrapping paper that will be underneath the other end in the finished product. Stretch the ribbon out flat and remove any twists, then make sure the ribbon is about an inch longer than the wrapping paper. Place the gift in the center and begin wrapping, starting with the ribbon-taped edge

.

Comments

[mreeves3]

Seriously? How to rip them open faster? WOW. And here I am teaching my children that someone had to work 1-2 hours for the gift that they received; therefore, each will wait until the others done and we have said our thank you's. Silly me.

[HillaryHM]

Yes, silly you - it's just for fun! You can still wait until each person has unwrapped and thanked for his or her gift, before going to the next person.

[stacye]

What about using this idea for the elderly or those with arthritis? I know that it's marked as opening them faster, but this is a great instructable for making it easier on those who have a hard time opening gifts.

[Robert_rocks]

part of the fun is to make the presents wrapped up so well that the other person takes along time to open it ... afterall opening the presents slowly is part of the fun... but suppose it could be a good ideafor the older people who arent that stong with there hands...

[Saturn V]

Wrap it ten times.  That will get them mad, or angry.  It just depends on their sense of humor.

[Robert_rocks]

Mmm, lol,, ill stick to the traditional way ;) xD (stick, [warrping up]lol xD)

[jamiec53]

Great Instructable. I don't mean to insult your instructable, but isn't half the fun of opening presents ripping the paper off?

[kqrpnb]

 Yeah, ripping off the paper is part of the fun, for sure, but it's ALSO fun to use a rip-cord.  Very satisfying, like bubble wrap!  :-)  You could wrap a present normally, then have another layer set to go with a rip-cord.  or vice versa.  :-)

[jamiec53]

Cool but what if they don't know that there's a rip-cord. They'll just rip off the paper normally

[Saturn V]

Then 30 minutes of your life will be wasted by putting a rip cord on a present and nobody knowing.

[Sunbanks]

I did this on my mom's Christmas present. The only problem is that I want to open it now...

[Plasmana]

Then make one for your self!

[fearme36]

i can see it now...
me: "yes! finally finished wrapping! Hey myself, get over here!"
myself: "yes?"
me: "i got me a present!"
myself: "oh sweet, a pull tab! *rriiipp* Gasp! you got me am altoids can bbq??!!?!? I shouldn't have!!!"
me: "oh but i did! :) Merry christmas!"

[Cubie2]

At this point me myself and I go to a christmas party and share my altoids with everyone in the world and stop the spreading of malaria in Africa :D
I give me and myself a pat on my back.

[Foaly7]

Then I have to drive Me and Myself home, as Me and Myself have had too much eggnog. Then Me contracts Malaria and ends up living through it all and Me, Myself, and I all go home and each find a girlfriend named either Her, She, or Bean Uasal. Then they all live happily ever after. Until Me, Myself, and I end up married and have to leave their children, They, Themselves, and Them, to go fight in the Second Korean War.

[Aburame Shino]

Me, Myself, and I are all assigned to different parts of Korea. After Me is KIA, Myself and I go AWOL and return to their wives Her and She, and then give Bean Uasal the bad news. Bean kills herself. They and Themselves make fun of Them for being an orphan and he grows up to be a cereal killer (yes, a cereal killer, not a serial killer).

[Foaly7]

But then we find out that Me is alive and comes back to The Place to have a gunfight to the death with his son Them. On Me's deathbed, we learn that Them is actually Myself's illegitimate lovechild with She, not Her, or Bean Uasal, and that Bean & Me adopted the young Them and that They and Themselves are half brother/ half sister and are actually seeing eachother romantically even though they didn't know they were related. Oh, and She reveals she has another husband in Russia and life is never the same again for anyone...

[Saturn V]

Now it's starting to sound like a soap opera.

[Cubie2]

Myself and I, over come with grief over the loss of me, Jump off a bridge.
Up in heaven I and me look for myself but because of myself and she having them myself is not in heaven! Angered by the loss of myself, I and me reign terror over IKEA, sending many years of bad luck to them.

[Foaly7]

THE END.........








Or is it?

[Cubie2]

No- Bean Uasal is not dead... Apparently and unfortunately for the fate of the world.

[Cubie2]

So that's what we think but...
She, her, and Bean Uasal are horrified by the tragic deaths of their husbands and form a secret group of warriors- pledged to learning Karate... And five other Japanese words. They will avenge their husbands deathes... No matter the cost.

[Foaly7]

And the first part of the Saga ends!!!! I'll meet you on the Homemade Paracord instructable for part two of seventeen.....



:P

[zack247]

roflmaool

[hockys1]

rofl

[Gamer917]

lol

[AznPanda]

lolz Hey myself, get over here! ^. that made my day

[kibbler]

Haha! Thanks for the laughs...

[Plasmana]

Haha! Good one!

[kqrpnb]

lol "hey myself, get over here!" Classic!

[Cubie2]

Horrible! that PLEASED you guys?!!! that is a most unfortunate and true story.

One that should never be told again. Yet is... Time and time again.

[Cubie2]

Like the pic? It's the user pic but modified on paint :D

[nerdnurture]

Thanks so much for this great idea!  I adapted it and posted a tutorial on my blog about making a shipping envelope with a rip strip.  Have a look if you like, and please let me know if I've overstepped the boundaries of fair use.  Thanks again!

http://picnicbasketcrafts.blogspot.com/2010/01/add-easy-open-rip-strip-to-your.html

[kqrpnb]

 You're welcome, and no, I would say you are using instructables as it's intended, to learn and adapt from others' instructions.  I appreciate the link back, too.

[skidude28]

I put one on my brothers present.

I really want to open it.

[marjorieallea]

 Will definitely be adding this to my repertoire (did I spell that right?) :~)

[supercoolio]

(removed by author or community request)

[jannic86]

Actually the other poster was right. It is repertoire.

[Glockenator]

sweet idea.  i already wrapped the gifts. after all, only 4 days till christmas

[Gus3284]

I wonder if you could attach a bow or name tag to the ribbon that sticks out. Then the recipient would just pull it to start the process. I'm looking forward to trying the rip cord for my gifts this year.