After the last student left this evening (11pm) I set about to get ready for Ginny's birthday party tomorrow. With the kids gone, our parties tend to have a rather restricted guest list. I did have some friends coming, but for various reasons, that all fell through. So I got prepared. This is her present in a bag. People seem to like presents in a bag rather than wrapped presents. And I like that as well. Sure a lot faster. The question on my mind now is, "Will I be returning this present or will Ginny decide that she will keep it?" We have returned a lot of presents over the years, isn't that right guys?
My recovery has progressed to the point that I usually don't save wrapping paper. Some wrapping paper can be recycled, which is nice. If that pretty gift bag can be re-used, then I'd say that you have achieved the ultimate in efficient wrapping systems. Nevertheless, I still prefer to receive wrapped presents and my wife likes to wrap them. The scientific method got lost in our house.
As a recovering hoarder, Dave, you might see the wisdom in this. When certain people (not Ginny, of course) unwrap presents, they carefully remove the paper so that it can be saved and used again (Ginny, of course would not do this). So you end up with this giant collection of multiply used wrapping paper. It tends to multiply since there never seems to be exactly the right sized piece, and we don't want to cut it and make smaller pieces. On the other hand, you only need a few bags and too big is OK.
While I admire the efficiency of the "bag-as-wrapper," I confess to preferring a wrapped gift. Being involved with the organizing principles of science all the time (identification and tracking of inter-galactic threats) creates a need for the softer aspects of life. The thrill of wondering what's behind the wrapper exceeds the joy of not having to wrap something. To each his own---even in TexAss.
I don't know what's up with that. My ex used to put presents in one of those type bags and I still can't believe it's such a common practice. Maybe because the bags are reusable?
Nice photo.