Viral video shows ‘correct’ way to close a gift bag
When it comes to wrapping gifts, you’ll generally find two camps. Some people glide scissors through wrapping paper with ease and have mastered the art of neatly tucked edges, adorning the packages with gorgeous bows and spiralized ribbons. Then, there’s those of us who run into the store on the way to a birthday party to grab a gift bag and tissue paper and quickly assemble the package in the parking lot.
But, according to one TikTok user, if you’re simply stuffing gifts in gift bags and not re-engineering the bags’ handles, you’re … doing things wrong. In a video that’s garnered more than 13.4 million views, TikTok user @rominagafur says you should be pulling the bag’s ties through the holes on the opposite end to secure the gift bag.
Here’s her video demonstrating the technique:
@rominagafur You are using gift bags wrong!!
But not all on TikTok were convinced that this is the correct way to use gift bags. In fact, it prompted a lot of confusion in the comment section. Wouldn’t this squish your tissue paper? How will the recipient be able to open the bag? What if the bag has handles, no strings?
Here’s a sample of the critiques:
@ladywendi: “I’m not doing it ‘wrong.’ I’m just too lazy to do that on my way to their place from the bag store.”
@elise_233: “I’ll continue to stuff mine with copious amounts of tissue paper, thank you.”
@parielz: “That looks like a lot of work.”
@brittanyannjones_: “I did this at Christmas and it just made it hard to open without taring [sic] up the bag.”
Yet some TikTok users were convinced that this is a genius gift bag solution:
@artbymalhotra: “Amazing, I have been taping my bags together.”
@livvvstarr: “The amount of money I wasted on tissue paper.”
I tried to test out the TikTok gift bag hack. I happen to have a small stack of gift bags (I reuse the ones I received, too!). But as it turns out, this technique wouldn’t have worked on any of the bags I have because the holes are actually sealed or too small or the ribbon didn’t have a tipped point for threading. Take a look! There’s no getting the tie through on the other end!
Now for a real hack: Don’t write the recipient’s name on the gift bag tag. That way, they can reuse it.