Reusable Containers and Bags

• Keep containers from past gifts. Putting a ring in a box that originally came with something completely unrelated to the gift will surely amuse and surprise the recipient. Mix and match patterns and textures. Throw a different lid on. Shopping bags from luxury retail stores frequently come with fancy, hand-stitched handles and are constructed with good quality material. Cut the handles and repurpose them as ribbons for your gift. The tin boxes that hold cookies can definitely be reused. Chinese take-out containers are another option and are sold in stores as gift boxes.
  
  

Colorful Padding

• The padding for the gift should be just as vivid as the box. Do not settle for mere shredded newspaper strips. Run bold colored paper through a paper shredder and then crumple the shreds over the present. Use colorful peanuts instead of white ones. You can draw smiley faces, hearts or other endearing symbols on the peanuts. Bubble wrap never ceases to entertain. Make the recipient find the gift in the mass.
  
  

Box in a Box

• Obtain several boxes of different sizes. Place your gift in the smallest box it can possibly fit in, and close the lid. Insert this box in a larger box and put this larger box in a box bigger than that one and so on. This idea is particularly fun because the recipient does not know which box contains the actual gift. She will find the anticipation exciting.
  
  

Customized Box and Wrapping Paper

• Custom-shaped boxes evoke an air of intrigue. Gather materials to construct a box of your own. You can cut out shapes from an old cardboard box or use heavyweight poster board if the present is not too heavy. If the object weighs very little and happens to be very small, you can create an origami box for it. Wrap the customized box with your own hand-decorated wrapping paper. Instead of choosing dull wrapping paper that everyone else uses, purchase a cheap white poster roll, cut it to fit and color away. A brown bag can also suffice. Stamping a picture onto the brown bag looks gorgeous.