The Friday Five: Wrapping

This week's topic - wrapping (of the "gift" variety) - is very apropos to how I spent half of my night last night.  Here goes:

1) How seriously do you take gift-wrapping when you give gifts?
It really depends on the recipient.  I know that my mom's kind of picky and has high expectations when it comes to gift wrap because of her own perfectionism with it (she's seriously good at wrapping presents).  My dad, however, sucks at wrapping presents, admits to that fact every year, and typically gets something from me in a bag form (this year it's pretty, though, and carefully wrapped in green paper).
My thought is as long as you can't tell what it is - or it's really, really obvious (like Peyton Manning giving that guy a football on that one commercial) - it doesn't matter how it's done.  I wrapped my roommates' presents last night in one of their own shirts, a tote bag, and a Christmas-y gift bag.  It takes all kinds.

2) Do you save gift-wrapping to re-use later?
If it's extra-pretty, and it's a large gift, I've been known to.  I'll also be really careful in unwrapping when the gift giver is really, really excited to see me open it.  Schadenfreude.
Of course, you can wrap in fabric so that there is something to re-use later; a recent article on Etsy's blog, The Storque, explores those options in the form of Furoshiki.  Of course, use of fabric negates chances for wrapping paper battles, like what inevitably happens with my dad's side of the family.

3) How picky are you when it comes to selecting wrapping paper?
Not really, actually.  I like that Victorian stylings are coming back, because it means my fancy-ass green striped wrapping paper with subtle pattern is good all year.  I don't like really excessively patterned stuff, and I try to get paper I can use year-round.  I'll dress up the present for Christmas with a Sharpie-markered tree on the card usually.  That or holly berries.  Or a SCUBA mask with mistletoe hanging from it.

4) How much attention do you pay to the way gifts you receive are wrapped?
Not much, really.  I know my brother will typically bag it, my sister and my mom will wrap it VERY. CAREFULLY. (and the paper will most often match the rest of the presents under the tree from that person - Mom and Katie typically use the "wrap everything at once, and from the same roll" method).  And you can tell my dad's because my mom wrapped it.

5) Among people you know, who is the most talented at wrapping gifts?
Definitely my mom.  She does all the different foldy-junk - how you fold over the edge that's going to be exposed so it's a clean line, and how there's a different way to fold for books than for boxes, etc.  She's very meticulous and very zen about it.  And now has so many nieces and nephews to buy books for that she's graduated them all to bags.