Wrap Star

About this time, many will find themselves seated amid a mountain of thoughtfully selected gifts.

The unimaginative will have scissors, tape and red, green or gold wrapping paper close at hand as they prepare to tackle the problem of disguising objects in paper.

But you can escape Yuletide boredom this season. You don't have to be the Andy Warhol of gift wrap, but don't be a cliche -- make your gifts really stand out with careful wrapping.

Dressing up presents in holiday finery did not catch on until fairly recently.

Gifts used to be wrapped in plain tissue or brown paper; it wasn't until the beginning of the 20th century that the gift-wrap industry exploded, with the first American gift-wrap company, Hy-Sil Manufacturing, opening in 1903, and the reigning king of the wrapping and greeting card world, Hallmark, launching in 1917.

Once out of the dark ages, styles went from art deco in the 1930s to more realistic artwork with pop culture tie-ins during the '60s and '70s, to the slick styles we know today.

On a Roll

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