This idea of pranking my Yankee Swap gift this year was inspired by gogglecrab's instructable:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Decoy-Gift-Wrappin...

I loved this idea so much that I had to do it, but naturally put an even more evil twist on it.

Read on to find out the dirty deed!!

Step 1: Tool Time

gogglecrab got my brain going with the idea of tool. I knew that the dollar limit of the Yankee Swap was fifteen or twenty bucks, so a drill didn't seem plausible. I guess I thought that a hammer would be fairly easy to duplicate and not too time-consuming. My schedule was tight: I had to upholster a couch for a customer, do a bunch of re-sizes and alterations, head to my Mom's to build and bake a gingerbread house from scratch, bake 4 different German cookies, at some point go to bed to get up early the next morning to work, etc. I had 24 hours before the Party... SO I took up the BRILLIANT idea that one of the commenters mentioned: "forget the paper mache method, you can totally do this with duct tape!"

Yeah! Way easier and time-saving!!

As you can see from the pictures, I used saran wrap to wrap the hammer first, followed by lots of duct tape. I taped in all different directions to produce the most rigidity. Some pieces I ripped into skinny strips, some I used the fat widths, especially down the shaft of the handle.

After I was happy with the wrapping job I took a seam ripper and sliced up the entire back length of the handle, under the peen(claw) and horizontally along the claw's edge. This seemed to be the minimum amount that I could slice but still remove the hammer from the duct tape package. After the hammer was out I taped up the claw where I had sliced it.

As I was sliding my objects into the handle and testing how they would come out, I discovered that it was beneficial to remove as much of the saran wrap as I could, as it was gripping a bit. I then doused the inside with cornstarch for some extra slip. : D

After I was satisfied with the girth of the shaft... : D ... I duct-taped it closed.

Step 2: A Weighted Issue

I wanted the hammer to have some weight to appear realistic. The design of the hammer would allow me to house my "gift" realistically only in the handle, so I needed to add weight to the head. Shown in the picture is the duct tape hammer with drapery weights next to it. These are small steel squares covered in vinyl, used to add weight to the hems of drapes. They were the perfect fit! I was able to shake a lot into most of the head. I shoved a small tissue up into the throat to lock them in.

Step 3: Nailed It!

(am I being annoyingly obvious with my puns yet?)

For the second part of my gift, it seemed logical to accompany the hammer with a box of nails.

It was a good container to hold what I was putting into it, plus, as an added bonus, it was a play on words to the first gift, which was entirely accidental, but somehow coincidental. Yay!

At this point I was really liking the duct tape wrapping, as its color-scheme lent itself nicely to what an actual box of nails looks like. I took it a step further and even added the yellow paper to look like the labels on nail boxes.

Again, I needed some weight as the "gift" I was putting into the box barely weighed anything. I was thinking sand but then remembered I had some overwhelming-smelling lavender Epsom salts that I didn't like. The perfect solution for something I wanted to get rid of anyway!

I filled 3 snack bags and then created a false bottom to cover it up. This actually ended up creating an additional joke that I hadn't intended. When the guy was fishing through the box, probably desperate to find something that made sense to him, he removed the false bottom and saw the 3 Bags of White Powder. "Wow, 3 oz of cocaine!" It was so funny and added even more to my entertainment factor. ('cuz it's all about my Entertainment Factor)

Step 4: So Stereotypical

I couldn't help but take the idea to its logical conclusion and do a final wrapping not with gay Christmas paper but a man's shirt and more duct tape. I thought it was pretty funny. And then sharpie it as I wanted them to open the hammer first and the box of nails second. Why? Because as ridiculous as gift #1 was, gift #2 really knocked it out of the par...ticle board. (sorry!)

Step 5: So What the Hell Did You Put in There?

The only thing that made sense:

Ultra-girly Nail polishes paired up with panty liners, naturally all color-coordinated!

HA!!!!!!

The video that follows is made up of a 30 second slideshow and two movies: The second one I made after to explain the first, as the first video is the actual un-boxing, at the party; which was frickin' loud and chaotic. I was also kinda hiding in the corner so I wouldn't be so obvious with my filming, hence the not-so-front-seat view.

Please enjoy !!!

And do something equally as crazy.

I had a blast throughout the whole process!