Rio Grand

What was the Christmas Gift Wrap theme for 2023?

Sometime in June, we went to National Book Store in Cubao to buy some supplies. Part of the 2nd floor was turned into an NBS outlet, so I decided to go up and check out what they had.

One corner of the area was set aside for gift wrappers. Rolls upon rolls upon rolls of different gift wrappers of varied designs where jammed into cardboard boxes. Of course, I had to check out the designs they had.

There was one design that jumped out of the plethora of rolls. The wrapper was covered in different tropical birds doing a celebratory dance. Immediately, this reminded me of the film "Rio," one of my favourite films. That sealed the deal.

Since the wrapper itself had a dark colour, the ribbon had to be light and bright to serve as a contrasting element. Looking at the many, many colours on the design, my eye singled out yellow as the main ribbon, while coral and baby blue served as the additional hue.

With the wrappers secured, it was time to look for the accent. I knew exactly what I wanted - clothespins with a bird design. But gosh! It was so difficult to find! Went to 168 - none. Checked out Shopee and Lazada - none. Just when I was about to give up, a random stroll at The Landmark proved to be the end of my search. 

They had clothespins with a flamingo design. Woot!

Aside from that, found 2 other worthy accents - a red robin clip-on, and a wooden keychain with a bird motif.

Then, the cards. Made the usual 4 designs, but was only to take a photo of 2 since the rest ran out already.

With all these elements together, here's the final theme.

Just like "Rio," it's frivolous, festive and fun! Which is what Christmas - and Christmas gifts - should be.