Gifting 101: Building & Organizing A Gift Tag Assortment

One of the most important items in my gift wrap closet is my assortment of gift tags.  Like jewelry to a wardrobe, gift tags enhance your wrap and add the finishing touch to your gifts.

Recently, I was organizing some of my gift wrap supplies and I realized that I had gift tags stored in different places.  I found tags I thought I had used up and discovered other tags I had forgotten about.  Right then and there I decided to take an inventory of all the tags I had and organize them so that they ready and available when I needed one.

Last year I used a plastic silverware caddy to organized my washi tape collection and knew the same tray would work great for organizing my gift tags.  Off to HomeGoods I went and in no time my gift tags were organized and all in one place.

A silverware caddy works great for organizing gift tags because the different compartments allow you to keep your tags grouped by occasion and/or style and you can see everything you have at a quick glance.

Looking at my tag assortment, you might think that I have too many tags but after years of gift wrapping, I’ve figured out what type of tags make a great collection. The most important thing is to collect a variety of tags so that you are prepared for ANY gift occasion.

Here’s what a great tag assortment looks like:

Kraft Tags–tags made from natural colored kraft cardstock are nice because they are unisex and the neutral color blends with just about every pattern of wrapping paper.

Seasonal Tags–even though these tags only get used in November and December, I keep seasonal tags on hand.  You never know when you might be invited to a Christmas in July party.

Playing Cards–After finding decorative playing cards at craft stores I started using them as gift tags.  Playing cards can be used on Valentine’s gift (think king or queen), and the number cards are great to add to a birthday gift to signify the age being celebrated.

Special Occasion Tags–too many times I’ve scrambled to find a tag for a men’s gift or an occasion that calls for something sparkly or unique.  Keep glittered tags and wood grain tags on hand for just this purpose.  And round mailing tags can be used on small gifts and can be easily personalized with an initial sticker to create a monogram gift tag.

Chalkboard Tags—chalkboard tags can be added directly to the top of wrapping paper or you can place them on top of decorative paper to create your own tag.  Collect different shapes and sizes and use a chalkboard pen to write your message.

Note Tags–mini notecard tags come with envelopes and are great when you want to write a short note to your gift recipient.   Punch a hole into the flap of the envelop and use ribbon to tie the tag onto your package.

Celebration Tags--it’s great to have tags for specific celebrations like birthdays,anniversaries, congratulations or new years.

All Purpose Tags--if you like to give ‘just because’ gifts like I do, you’ll find that you  need tags that can work for any gift purpose.  Look for To/From tags or tags with generic sentiments.

Blank Tags–you should have a collection of blank tags in different shapes, sizes, colors and patterns.  You can buy  your tags or use paper punches to make your own.

Once you’ve got an assortment of tags gathered, organize them so you’re ready to wrap in style.