Top tips to help you wrap up your Black Friday buys in style

Are you one of those who approach the annual gift-wrapping ritual with dread? Perhaps you've occasionally taken creative shortcuts, both in the literal and figurative sense. You're not alone. If there’s one thing we’ve all struggled to wrap it’s a bottle of wine, so we asked wine-wrapping (and wine-making) gurus for creative assistance.

Mpho Maroga from Robertson Winery shares a few trusty tips.

Transform your living room into a wrapping workshop, complete with festive tunes and a glass of your favourite wine. Gather your supplies, from colourful wrapping paper to shiny ribbons and sparkly bows, as you prepare to wrap gifts that will make the recipient think Martha Stewart wrapped them.

Tip: When picking wrapping paper, aim for a mid-range weight. Budget-friendly options are cost-effective but tend to tear or crinkle easily during wrapping. On the other hand, heavyweight artisanal or luxury papers, while attractive, can be tricky to fold and crease.

Whoever decreed all gifts must fit neatly into square boxes clearly missed out on the fun of celebrating the intriguing world of odd shapes, Gift-wrapping isn't restricted to the art of concealing squares and rectangles. It is an endless canvas of creativity that extends to the likes of surfboards, terrariums and even the enigmatic “mystery gift”.

Tip: When your item is too big to cover with paper (a dollhouse, a surfboard or a bike), consider “wrapping” it with strings of fairy lights and securing the cords with festive ribbon.