School Bus Gift wrapping Idea

This is totally an unplanned post. We (My husband and I) got a play toy for our friend's son birthday party a week ago. It is a launch and play raceway set and I got an extra car as I thought it will be helpful if any of the birthday boy's friend also wants to play with him. It was in my mind that I want to wrap this differently(Not a regular gift wrap) as I always think but I did not know like what I wanted to wrap. I suddenly remembered the party was this past Saturday and I did not pack it yet(On Friday evening). So when I started to brainstorm ideas, the first thing I was thinking was, where to stick the extra car. When I kept the car to the side , the outline reminded me of a bus. As it is the "Back to school" season I thought I will go with "School Bus" instead of a regular bus. Here is how I did.

Materials used:
Yellow Wrapping paper
Kraft paper
A Piece of poster board
Black marker/Paint pen
Sticker paper and printer(Optional)
Gift wrapping tape
Scissors

Step 1: Secure the extra car on the side with the tape.

Step 2: The side with an extra car is going to be the front of the bus. To form the body for the front of the bus. Cut a piece of poster board and fold it the areas as shown to form the front of the bus and stick it with a tape.

Step 3: If you have a thick wrapping paper, you can go ahead and wrap it. But the yellow wrapping paper I had was slightly transparent. So I needed something in solid color for the base and also  I needed something to shape the space on the sides of the front part and also in the area where the car is placed in the main box. If you have a solid surface you can go ahead and do it with the main wrapping paper. But if you can spare I would always recommend wrapping the gift in some kind of paper like kraft paper or newspaper before doing it with the main wrapping paper.

This process involves wrapping the box in the same way as you would normally wrap a gift except for the front part. Leave a lot of paper on the front part while doing the first wrap. Then cut the areas in the front as shown. Trim the excess paper on the sides. Fold the bottom as normal and tape it. Then Cover the whole thing with the top flap.

Step 4: Now repeat the same with the main wrapping paper. When you cut the sides, don't throw away the scrap paper. Use them to cover the back to hide the fold of regular wrapping. 

Back covered with excess paper cut from the front.

Step 5: Now is the fun part, decorating. I printed some tyres pictures along with some lights and stop sign from google in a sticker paper. Used them to decorate the bus. Also, I used a black paint pen for drawing windows and other parts. I felt paint pens were better to draw opaque lines compared to normal sharpie markers.  I also printed a school bus for a gift tag.That's it.Your wrapping is done.

I love how this school bus wrapping turned out.What do you think? You may ask why all this for just a wrapping. But according to me , a well-wrapped gift is worth a lot more and it increases the value of your gift as you have put it more love and effort into it. Also, the birthday boy can play with this bus until he is tired and I think he might not even know there is a gift inside(I'm talking about 2 to 3-year-old) unless you say him. In that way, you can save this gift for any bad mood day to surprise him.

You don't need to have the same kind of gift to replicate this idea. Instead, you can add a box of small goodies or candies for the front part of your gift where I have added an extra car. You can add a box to the front and back to turn this idea into a car wrapping. As always options are limitless. I hope you will give this fun idea a try. I think this is perfect for birthday parties during this back to school season. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. As always I will be happy to hear from you. Also, if you like this share with your friends and family in social media. 

Other gift wrapping ideas you might like :

Cupcake packing for odd shaped items

Gift wrapping idea for small gifts using disposable water bottles

How to make gift bows using Silhouette