Chiropractor Approved Wrapping Tips

If there is one thing I’ve inherited from my mother, it is my obsession with Christmas. During the Christmas season, my mom always made sure our home was the most lit up on the street and that every room in the house was decorated with fir and lights. With the snow falling outside and the fireplace blazing inside, it’s hard to compete with Christmas at my mom’s house.

And to me, very few things top Christmas morning- a fresh pine tree, hot coffee, and of course, perfectly wrapped presents underneath the tree.

But if there’s one thing my mother was not a good example of during the Christmas season, it was her gift wrapping routine.

She would leave it all until Christmas Eve, where she would spend hours spread out on the floor wrapping our family’s gifts. It was no surprise that she would wake up Christmas morning complaining of a sore back.

In light of what I’ve learned from my mother, here are my top three tips on how to do Christmas gift wrapping the Chiropractor approved way.

1. Stand up- Find a surface in your home that is level with your waist. Make sure it is large enough to spread out your wrapping paper, and your wrapping utensils. You can use the kitchen bench or even an ironing board. To be waist level with the surface, you may need to stand with your feet wide apart. What you absolutely don’t want to do is sit on the floor as that leads to slouching through the spine, and puts strain on your spinal joints and muscles.

2. Keep your things close by- You want to make sure that your scissors, tape, cards, and bows are all close by so you don’t have to stretch to get them. Overextending your body to grab your utensils can lead to strains and discomfort.

3. Break it up- Spread out your wrapping time. Spend no more than 30 minutes wrapping at any given time. Extended hours in any one position can exhaust your spinal joints and muscles. So don’t leave it all until the last minute.

4. And I’ve added this bonus tip- grab a festive drink, put on a cheesy Hallmark movie, and make the holiday wrapping experience as festive as possible. And if the presents aren’t for the kids, get the littles involved as helpers.

Please give these tips a try because the last thing you need during the festive season is a sore, achy back.