Gift Wrapping an Essay
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This is the time of year when we think back to the very first Christmas,
when the Three Wise Men -- Gaspar, Balthasar and Herb -- went to see the
baby Jesus, and, according to the Book of Matthew, "presented unto Him
gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh." These are simple words, but if we
analyze them carefully, we discover an important, yet often overlooked,
theological fact: There is no mention of wrapping paper.


If there had been wrapping paper, Matthew would have said so: "And lo, the
gifts WERE inside 600 square cubits of paper. And the paper WAS festooned
with pictures of Frosty the Snowman." And Joseph WAS going to throweth it
away, but Mary saideth unto him, "Holdeth it! That is nice paper! Saveth it
for next year!" And Joseph DID rolleth his eyeballs. And the baby Jesus WAS
more interested in the paper than, for example, the frankincense.


But these words do not appear in the Bible, which means that the very first
Christmas gifts were NOT wrapped. This is because the people giving those
gifts had two important characteristics:
1. They were wise.
2. They were men.

Men are not big gift wrappers. Men do not understand the point of putting
paper on a gift just so somebody else can tear it off. This is not just my
opinion: This is a scientific fact based on a statistical survey of two guys
I know. One is my son, Rob, who said the only time he ever wraps a gift is,
quote, "if it's such a poor gift that I don't want to be there when the
person opens it."  The other is my friend Gene Weingarten, who told me he
does wrap gifts, but as a matter of principle
never takes more than 15 seconds per gift.

"No one ever had to wonder which presents daddy wrapped at Christmas," Gene
said. "They were the ones that looked like enormous spitballs." I also wrap
gifts, but because of some defect in my motor skills, I can never COMPLETELY
wrap them. I can  take a gift the size of a deck of cards and put it the
exact center of a piece of wrapping paper the size of a regulation
volleyball court, but when I am done folding and taping, you can still see a
sector of the gift peeking out. (Sometimes I
camouflage this sector with a marking pen.) If I had been an ancient
Egyptian in the field of mummies, the lower half of the Pharaoh's body would
be covered only by Scotch tape.

On the other hand, if you give my wife a 12-inch square of wrapping paper,
she can wrap a C-130 cargo plane. My wife, like many women, actually LIKES
wrapping things. If she gives you a gift that requires batteries, she wraps
the batteries separately, which to me is very close to being a symptom of
mental illness. If it were possible, my wife would wrap each individual
volt.

My point is that gift-wrapping is one of those skills (like having babies)
that come more naturally to women than to men. That is why today I am
presenting:

GIFT-WRAPPING TIPS FOR MEN

Whenever possible, buy gifts that are already wrapped. If, when the
recipient opens the gift, neither one of you recognizes it, you can claim
that it's myrrh. The editors of Woman's Day magazine recently ran an item on
how to make your own wrapping paper by printing a design on it with an apple
sliced in half horizontally and dipped in a mixture of food coloring and
liquid starch. They must be smoking crack.

If you're giving a hard-to-wrap gift, skip the wrapping paper! Just Put it
inside a bag and stick one of those little adhesive bows on it. This creates
a festive visual effect that is sure to delight the lucky recipient on
Christmas morning:

Christmas morning comments...
YOUR WIFE: Why is there a Hefty trash bag under the tree?
YOU: It's a gift! See? It has a bow!
YOUR WIFE (peering into the trash bag): It's a leaf blower.
YOU: Gas-powered! Five horsepower!
YOUR WIFE: I want a divorce.
YOU: I also got you some myrrh.

In conclusion, remember that the important thing is NOT what you  give, or
how you wrap it. The important thing, during this very special time of year,
is that you save the receipt.