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Ruth Langsford shares genius Christmas present wrapping hack

Ruth Langsford has shared a top tip for present wrapping this Christmas, pictured in January 2018 (Getty Images)
Ruth Langsford has shared a top tip for present wrapping this Christmas, pictured in January 2018 (Getty Images)

Ruth Langsford may well have saved Christmas - or at least our backs - by sharing her top present wrapping tip on social media.

Buying Christmas presents is stressful enough, but it’s wrapping them that causes us the most dread.

Spending hours getting tangled in tape and searching for the scissors, as you frantically make your way through piles of present wrapping is guaranteed to flatten your festive feels.

And don’t even get us started on the impact the marathon session always has on our backs.

It’s no wonder a survey by Virgin Trains revealed that Brits hate wrapping presents more than they hate Brussels sprouts.

Thankfully Ruth Langsford has shared a genius hack that will make the present wrapping process a whole lot easier and give your back a break in the process.

The This Morning presenter headed to Instagram to reveal that instead of doing her present wrapping on the floor, she uses an ironing board for the prep.

Sharing a video to Instagram of her ironing board in her living room with rolls of wrapping paper ready to go, the 60-year-old presenter wrote: “Ironing board’s up… let the wrapping commence!

“My top Xmas tip… use your ironing board to wrap presents on... standing or sitting you can set the best height to suit you… your back will thank me!”

Since sharing her post the star has been inundated with comments from grateful fans showing their love for the hack.

“That’s a good idea,” one fan wrote. “Normally sit on the floor and after an hour or so I’m stuck there”

“What a brilliant idea. I’ve never thought of that but it’s perfect. Thank you,” another agreed.

Meanwhile another fan said that they had been following Langsford’s advice for a while, commenting: “Took this advice off of you a few years ago, best Christmas hack and no bad back!”

Other fans shared alternative suggestions for ironing board usage over the festive period.

“I do exactly the same,” one wrote. “Also ironing board comes in useful if you haven’t got enough work space dishing up the Christmas dinner.”

Watch: Gift wrapping machine wraps your presents in seconds.

Last year another present wrapping hack took the internet by storm.

Twitter user Chuck B caught people’s attention with an enlightening how-to wrapping video, which shows you how to make the best of limited wrapping paper.

We’ve all been there, thinking you’ve got enough paper to wrap a present only to find it comes up short.

But the footage offers a helpful solution, demonstrating how simply turning the present around diagonally and overlapping the corners of the wrapping paper, so that it covers the present perfectly.

If you’re dreading facing the big Christmas wrap this year, Roz Nazerian and Nic Graham, founders of independent stationary and wrapping paper company, Storigraphic have come up with some other tips and tricks to make it as pain-less as possible.

Carve out your space

While Ruth Langsford’s tip involved sitting at an ironing board, Nazerian and Graham say they like to stand to wrap their presents and work off a large table. “Keep the area uncluttered and only have the items needed for gift wrapping on the surface,” they add.

Prep your wrapping

Get your wrapping paper, tape, ribbon and scissors assembled in advance. That way you won’t be scrabbling around trying to find everything you need.

Nazerian and Graham also recommend having a sharp pair of scissors to hand. “Sometimes we use two types of scissors as ribbon can be harder to cut,” they add. Double-sided or regular tape, and a beautiful ribbon is also in their must-have wrapping kit.

Measure, cut, fold and tie

According to Nazerian and Graham it is worth trying to cut down on paper wastage by doing a rough measure in advance. “Using a piece of string or tailor’s tape measure, and adding on around 10cm on each side, cut down your paper,” they advise.

“We fold over an end section so it’s perfectly neat. Tape down (either using double-sided tape or invisible tape). Fold in the sides and then tie with a ribbon (as you would do your shoelaces),” they add.

Recycle, recycle, recycle

Nazerian and Graham recommend reusing or recycling this Christmas’ wrapping. “All of our wrapping papers can be recycled by either using it again (if it’s still in pretty good condition) or paper recycling,” they explain.

“Same goes for the ribbon, if it’s material then you’d be missing a trick in not keeping it and using it again.”

Watch: Grandmother’s gift wrapping technique goes viral.