Christmas Gift Wrapping Paper ~ Julie Lence

 

Hallmark paper

Christmas is my favorite time of year. I like to shop, wrap, and send packages early so I can enjoy the season. Back during our first Christmases, hubby and I had an assortment of decorations; Santa Clauses, reindeer, wreaths, and when kiddo came along, kiddie decorations were added. It wasn’t until about 10 or so years ago that I decided I wanted a theme of snowmen. They are my favorite, and with kiddo grown, it was easy to get rid of the old and welcome in the new. Currently, I enjoy a theme of snowmen patterned in blue & white in the living and dining rooms, and snowmen patterned in red & black in the kitchen and family room. But my love of snowmen isn’t just reserved for decorations. I wrap presents in snowmen themed paper and have snowmen gift tags.

The Chinese are credited to be the first to wrap gifts in paper. Dating back to the 2^nd century B.C., the Chinese wrapped presents with paper to form the shape of an envelope, known as chih pao. The coarse wrapping paper was made from rice straws and bamboo fiber. Fast forward to the Victorian era and Christmas presents were wrapped with what we know as tissue paper. Scraps of colorful ribbon and lace were tied around the present and fashioned into a bow. Real greenery was also used to dress up the gift. The tissue paper came in various colors, and with the invention of Christmas Cards and technology booming to create mass Christmas cards, Victorians cut pictures from the cards and glued them to the tissue paper for a festive look. This led to manufacturers printing tissue paper with patterns (pictures) to match Christmas cards. This new rage spread to the western states and in the early 1900’s, the Hall brothers began printing large rolls of the Christmas paper we enjoy today.

Joyce Hall; Courtesy of Hallmark

At a young age, Joyce Hall hopped a train and moved from Nebraska to Kansas City with two shoeboxes full of scenic picture postcards he hoped to sell to dealers throughout the Midwest. Not having a lot of money, as he came from a poor family, he rented a room at the YMCA to use as home and office. Going from jobbing postcards as a teenager to manufacturing and selling his own line, Hall soon earned enough to open a checking account for his new business. Within a few years, his post card business grew and he asked his older brothers, Rollie and William, to join him in opening a specialty store, the Norfolk Post Card Company, to sell postcards and stationery. The brothers did well, but later on, Joyce worried the postcards were losing appeal and thought that selling higher end greeting cards, Valentines and Christmas cards with envelopes might be more profitable, naming his new venture Hallmark, which is derived from his name and the term ‘marked’, dating back to the 1300's where gold and silver were marked for quality.

Joyce Hall's card display case

 The Hall brothers also printed and sold tissue paper in shades of red, green and white for the holiday season. When they ran out of the popular colors one season, they began selling colorful envelope linings from France. These became popular with Americans, leading the brothers to add ribbons to the new design before they began printing larger rolls of Christmas paper. In 1923, the brothers and their 120 employees moved from tiny offices in four separate buildings into a brand new six-story plant. In 1936, Joyce introduced display cases housing rows of cards for customers to browse at their leisure. Joyce passed away in October 1982, and today the Hallmark Industry sells over 10 billion cards annually and Americans spend over 3 billion per year on Christmas wrapping paper.

 

One of Hall's early creations.