'You ready for this?' Egypt Sherrod reveals her fail-safe gift wrapping tricks
If you geek out to real estate, you know Egypt Sherrod. But, while she's best known as host of HGTV's "Flipping Virgins" and its long running show, "Property Virgins," that's not all she does.
Sherrod also hosts Discovery’s “The White House Christmas Special" and “Urban Oasis” Dream Home Giveaways and, off-screen, is the CEO of the Atlanta-based Egypt Sherrod Real Estate Group. Her new show, Married to Real Estate, premieres on HGTV on Jan. 13 at 9 p.m.
When the holidays roll around, Sherrod shifts her high standards toward an aspect plenty of people phone it in on: gift wrapping. According to Sherrod, gorgeously wrapped packages are a family tradition.
"Tradition to me is family memories. It's not about gifts, it's not about things," Sherrod tells Yahoo Life as part of the Yahoo Life Holiday Home and Tell series. "It's about creating moments in time that you can always reflect on that sort of embed themselves in your consciousness."
Growing up, Sherrod says that the holidays were an "event" for her family that included gathering at her grandparents' house with eggnog, caroling and delicious food. One thing that also stood out for her was that her mother was "the gift wrapping guru."
Tradition to me is family memories. It's not about gifts, it's not about things. It's about creating moments in time that you can always reflect on that sort of embed themselves in your consciousness."Egypt Sherrod
"If you had a gift to be wrapped, you came and brought them to the feet of Mama Kim ... She's the Martha Stewart of gift wrapping," she says. "For me, I want to bring that same tradition in when it comes to my girls."
Sherrod also likes to compare gift wrapping to real estate. "I have a motto that I always say the showing starts before people enter the door. You set the tone for the experience with curb appeal," she explains. "I kind of bring that into gift wrapping as well. You set the tone and the experience starts from the time you hand them the gift, which means visually that is the gift as well, because it puts them in a cheery mood."
Putting in the effort to create a beautiful package for someone "says a lot," Sherrod says, adding that gift wrapping "is the curb appeal of the holiday season."
Of course, it can be tricky to wrap packages with odd angles. But Mama Kim, who used to work in the gift wrap section of a store, has a hack for that. She'll cut a rectangle-sized piece of wrapping paper and then place the object at an angle inside. "It is an angle to begin with," Sherrod tells Yahoo Life. "That's the key when you're wrapping something on an angle or triangular." But, she adds, "you do what works for you."
Even to the best gift-wrappers, messiness can happen with loose ends of gift wrap. Sherrod has a hack for that, too. "Don't worry. Don't despair. You can always fix it," she says. "Simply go on an angle and fold it back in."
Sherrod also tries to plan out her wrapping paper use as much as possible. "I was able to wrap more than 22 gifts with one roll of wrapping paper because I didn't waste anything," she says. "That's a big tip when you're wrapping gifts, is to really try and cut it to size so you're not cutting away and wasting a lot of paper."
To get your hands on lots of holiday wrapping goodies, Sherrod recommends stocking up when everything is on sale. "Go literally the day after the holiday, when everything is marked now 75 to 85 percent off," Sherrod advises. That's the best time to stock up for the next year, she says.
Sherrod says things like inexpensive plastic bowls and napkin rings can be used to make next-level wrap, too. "You can also find embellishments, just kind of getting creative, going to the craft store or just around the house," she adds. Sherrod tends to keep things she finds after the holidays, like broken pieces from ornaments, that she can use as gift wrap embellishments the following year.
And if all else fails, Sherrod suggests having backup available for the just-in-case. "Here's my simple and sweet tip for anyone who just feels like they'll never be able to wrap, they can't wrap a box to save their lives," she says. "You ready for this? Get a gift bag."
Read more from Yahoo Life:
Watch how influencer Taryn Newton used AR to shop her gift list at Walmart this year
You have to try this genius holiday lighting hack from Carter Oosterhouse and Amy Smart
He has cooked for Oprah, now this top chef reveals his must-have Thanksgiving recipe
Trisha Yearwood reveals the one Thanksgiving tradition she'll never change: it's 'just unbelievable'
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