Gift Wrap Debacle, Rodent Turd edition
I went to Goose’s wedding shower this afternoon. I didn’t do very well on the “How Well Do You Know Goose?” game because I knew Goose the best when she was in middle school. I remember days-long back-to-back sleepovers during dreary winter school breaks and bagawking outbursts and Driving Bacon (not). I do not remember the Indoor Snowball Fight. I am either blocking it or it happened after I went to bed. I do not know Goose’s favorite color or cocktail or what she would plan for a romantic date. It was okay. My good friend Goose’s Mom didn’t do all that well either. Her future mother-in-law? Won hands down! (This is also a woman who has been known to put bottles of gin in Easter baskets. How do I get her in my fam?)
My gift? A le Creuset bread pan straight off the gift registry. I love le Creuset and have a few pieces but I made the decision not to replace my existing bake ware when I redid the Landfill Chitchen. So I love to buy it for others.
I think it is so cool that young couples can request “no gift wrap please” when they create wedding registries. I just wish I had noticed that request as I perused the registry. Because what follows pretty much defies description.
Actually, I specified gift wrap when I ordered the pan from Williams-Sonoma. That would’ve been fine except that when the package arrived, I heard some clinking around when I picked it up off the porch. Hmmm, this item is a one-piece ceramic bread pan. Why is it clinking? Well, you know why it was clinking, roight? So, I unwrapped the broken bread pan to ascertain that it was, indeed broken, then embarked upon Plan B, which was to head out to Williams-Sonoma at The Dreaded Mall and buy one off the shelf. (Note to self.)
I declined to get this one gift-wrapped. I was in a hurry to get back to work and I just knew that I had some pearly white wedding-style paper in the Landfill Dungeon and a pearly white wedding-style stick-on bow. Or not. Or sorta. I had some pearly white wedding-style paper but there was nowhere near enough to wrap the box the bread pan was in. I could not find the pearly white stick-on bow.
I schlepped over to the Plum Market and found some acceptable paper (albeit not recyclable due to metallic stuff) and a stick-on doodly in their Papyrus kiosk. Wrapped the package and I was good to go. Wouldn’t you know that later that day, when I was cleaning out the Cedar Closet Under the Stairs, among the detritus on the floor was a pearly white wedding-style stick-on bow. I sighed as I retrieved it and put it in my stash of stuff destined for the Scrap Box.
Mouse arrived with her gift today. It was UNWRAPPED because she had READ the request on the registry. But seeing my extravagantly wrapped (for me) package she thought maybe a bit of ribbon or something would be good. I said, “Oh, I have just the thing!” and retrieved the pearly-white stick-on bow from the dungeon. We were just about to stick it on to her gift when I noticed… What do you think I noticed? Rodent turds of course! What else? Yes, it’s in the garbage now.
Being the Queen of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle PLUS a Gift Wrap Hater, I was pretty annoyed at myself for fussing around so much about the wrapping but it was all good. Most people brought wrapped packages and the bride-to-be graciously accepted them. The venue was three blocks away at Wendy’s beautiful house and it was filled with food and whine and old friends. And sunshine! All I have to say is that the beach urchins are good at picking out good friends with cool moms.
But then it was all over and this introvert came home and “crashed” for a good long time.
February 22nd, 2015 at 8:15 pm
Hmm. No wrapping paper. I CAN understand that, and even appreciate it, but wow, I love a beautifully wrapped gift. And the wonder of what it might be from the perspective of the recipient. I certainly can’t imagine a Christmas tree without wrapped gifts under it, so I hope it doesn’t come to that.
February 22nd, 2015 at 8:23 pm
I can’t imagine a Christmas tree without wrapped gifts either, so I guess I have a mixed bag of opinions about this subject.
February 22nd, 2015 at 9:07 pm
Ashley uses the comic pages from the paper to wrap her gifts. 🙂 It’s colorful and works just fine. Then it goes back into the recycler. Showers with games are high stress for me; I get competitive and then feel silly.
February 23rd, 2015 at 8:14 am
I’ve used comic pages or the sports pages for my fan-tastic Seattle family. For presents at home, I frequently use fabric from my stash.