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Wrap these oddly shaped presents like a pro in time for Christmas

You can do more than just slap on a bow on that bike under the tree.
/ Source: TODAY

With Christmas just days away, it's time to get down to business and roll out the gift wrap.

But what to do when there's an oddly shaped present like a ball, a bicycle, luggage or tiny jewelry without a box, just waiting to be wrapped in pretty paper and bows? Fortunately, there's no present that can't be wrapped with style, whether you go for traditional wrapping paper, a fabric wrap or even shipping paper for strange shapes like a pickleball racket.

Try these tips to wrap any odd-shaped present like a pro.

How to wrap balls as a gift

It's round and rolls and doesn't have edges for a neat finish. How in the world are you supposed to wrap a soccer ball or basketball in a way that's neat and appealing? Here are some suggestions:

Wrap a ball with fabric wrap: Dick's Sporting Goods, an expert in balls-as-gifts, suggests using fabric as wrapping paper for a basketball or other round gift. Here's how:

  • Using fabric scissors, cut your fabric into a square about four times as wide as the ball (about 33 inches by 39 inches for a basketball).
  • Place the round item in the center, then bring the sides of the fabric together atop the gift.
  • Wrap a rubber band around the fabric to secure it.
  • Make a bow around the rubber band with ribbon, string or even shoelaces.

Wrap a ball with a paper cup: Lifestyle expert Amy Goodman suggests creating a fun character, like Santa, from your gift!

  • Start with a medium-sized paper coffee cup. Weight it down with something like rocks or dried beans (keep these in a plastic bag, in case it tips over) from your pantry.
  • Take the ball and wrap, roughly is okay — as the sides can be the ears — in two sheets of tissue. Hint: keeping the inner sheet a darker color conceals any ball color and markings and the outer sheet can be the skin color of your Santa.
  • Next, balance the ball on the cup and, using construction paper, cut out Santa eyes, cheeks and nose, and place on the face with glue stick or double stick tape.
  • Make a beard by gluing white pom poms or cotton balls onto a Manila folder cutout in a beard shape, and tape on.
  • Next, add a Santa hat. You can further decorate the cup by wrapping it in red construction paper and adding black construction paper as "buckles/buttons" for Santa's suit! So cute!

How to wrap a necklace, earrings and bracelet

What happens when you have delicate baubles but nothing to put them in? You certainly don't want them to get lost in packaging, but Goodman had ideas that will help.

Wrap jewelry in a toilet paper roll.

  • Flatten a toilet paper roll (you could also do a paper towel roll) into a rectangle. Using a plastic knife, serrate half moons along the edges at both the front and back. Fill with your gift contents. Then, bend the edges to make a cylindrical storage box. Lastly, wrap with paper and secure with touch of ribbon.

Wrap jewelry in a wine bottle.

  • Find an empty bottle of wine and undamaged cork.
  • Soak the bottle in hot water and take the label off of the bottle.
  • Using a push pin, secure the top back of necklace (where the clasp is located) to the bottom of the cork.
  • Delicately place the necklace into bottle so it dangles the length of bottle, and then secure the cork.
  • Decorate with ribbon around body of the bottle for a fun, mod look.
  • If you have metallic markers, you can decorate the body of the bottle with winter images and phrases to create a visual distraction from the gifted contents within!

Wrap jewelry in a mason jar.

  • Grab a Ball Jar from your cupboard.
  • Cut off some branches from the back of your tree.
  • Cut them them the width of your jar and hot glue onto the jar.
  • For a fun accent, add twine and a festive bow. You can similarly decorate the lid with branches or pine cones from yard.
  • Then, fill with tissue paper inside and place a bracelet within.

How to wrap a tennis racquet or golf club

These are very odd, cumbersome shapes to wrap. But there's a method that works, according to Goodman.

Wrap a racket or golf club in butcher paper.

  • Using two sheets of butcher paper from a kid's painting easel, Goodman generously outlines the gift with a four-inch buffer around the racquet and cuts out the two sheets of paper.
  • Using double-stick tape, she seals the racquet inside, making the seams as neat as possible (this helps keep the paper in place for the next stapling step). The paper will likely buckle in spots, but just do the best you can to keep the paper smooth and flat.
  • Then, use a stapler at two-inch intervals to seal the racquet inside.
  • You can cut down the "lip" beyond the staples if you wish or just it leave intact.
  • Decorate using sporty red washi tapes to make a mod candy cane design. Fun and festive!

How to wrap large luggage

It's large and the surface is lumpy and typical wrapping paper isn't big enough. Here's a trick that can help.

Wrap luggage in a patchwork design: Make a patchwork paper design using washi tape to connect the disparate pieces.

  • Using leftover pieces of wrapping paper, simply piece together your own gift wrap using washi tape to hold things together, and delicately wrap your luggage.
  • At the spots where seams come together, you can put an ornamental design you make out of construction paper, like a little tree, reindeer, angel or ornament.

How to wrap a bike

It's large and super awkward but you want to do more than just slap on a bow and call it a day. Here's an idea worth recycling year after year.

Wrap a bike in fabric wrap: Goodman was inspired by the Japanese tradition of wrapping called furoshiki, where you take a piece of pretty fabric to cover up a gift without the use of tape, pins, clips or other accessories — it's just knots and fabric! Once the gift is bestowed, the receiver actually gives the fabric back.

This idea is great for most mid-sized gifts and bottles for the holidays, too. Try a clean dish towel for smaller items, and a sheet or a tablecloth can work for larger items like a small bike. Maybe start the tradition of furoshiki in your own home, and reuse the fabric every year! For a small bike, Goodman used a fair trade tablecloth that she had in her pantry.