This is a really beautiful and effective way to decorate any bookcase for Christmas. Bookcase presents to fill every nook with Christmas cheer. (Yes, I do happen to find black to be quite cheery. K, maybe not cheery, but very, very chic.)
O.K., you've seen the photo above, right? I am assuming that you zoomed in to see what types of books I read. Understandable. I'd do the same thing with a photo of your house as well. BUT let's focus on the nook fillers. The wrapped black presents with bows.
This idea came about when I saw it at a friend's house and copied it. I made it much better than he did because a) I'm telling the story and b) his kids were the ones who picked out the wrapping paper for his bookcase presents. Kids have such bad taste.
I built these built in bookcases just before Christmas. You can read a bit about how I built them here and see their full reveal including the secret storage compartments they have here. That meant I had to quickly fill them up with something that made them look instantly "Christmassy" but no matter what I did it didn't look chic or elegant it looked like Santa went on a bender and barfed all over my bookcases.
So the bookcase presents were born. (copied, stolen, whatever)
These presents aren't boxes, they're actually frames made out of 2x2s wrapped in paper. By screwing the 2x2s together yourself, you get "presents" that fit the exact dimensions of your bookcase nook.
If you're looking for black wrapping paper, I got mine at Party City but you can get it on Amazon as well. I found this Black Kraft Paper on Amazon which would be perfect because it's matte PLUS they have it in every colour imaginable - red, green, Tiffany blue, orange ...
Matte paper is better than shiny because shiny shows all the wrinkles, marks etc.
By forming the presents with just a few 2x2s you don't even need to take anything out of your bookcase. You just stick the false present in front of the books. When it's time to get rid of them you slide them out and your bookcases are exactly like they were before Christmas. It's a Christmas miracle, cue the squirming baby Jesus.
Keeping your books where they are and just putting the presents in front of your books only works if you have 1 ½" of space behind your books to shove them back a bit.
My presents fit really tightly into their spots but you could put a little leg on the back of them so they don't tip over.
I used black paper, black velvet and black silk ribbon. To add contrast so everything stands out you need to add some greenery. Two sprigs pine, one sprig cedar, one sprig juniper. I put them all in little floral vials so they won't dry out by the end of the month.
Update: HAHAHAHAH. Do you know how little those floral vials are? You need to fill them like once a day. I got sick of filling them after day 2. The greenery will be be crispy in about 4 days. But it's the thought that counts and I know you'll be far more conscientious than I am.
Better idea: Use fake greenery.
I searched around big, bad Amazon for a while and found the best selection of fake greenery picks for Christmas.
Fake Greenery Christmas Picks
Fake Bookcase Presents
A fast and easy way to give your bookcases that cozy holiday feeling. These measurements are for a standard Ikea Billy Bookcase but can be revised to fit any bookcase.
Materials
- Two 8' long 2x2s.
- Wrapping paper.
- Ribbon.
- Fake or real greenery.
- 2.5" nails or screws.
- Scotch tape
- White glue or staple gun.
Instructions
- Cut the 2x2s into 14" lengths. (you'll need 8 of them for 4 presents)
- Cut the 2x2s into 8.5" lengths. (you'll need 8 of them for 4 presents)
- Screw or nail wood together to form a rectangle frame. Your long 2x2s will be the top and the shorter ones will be the sides. Your finished frame will be 14" x 11.5"
- Wrap the frame with the wrapping paper of your choice.
- Lay ribbon across the present and staple or glue it to the back.
- Form a bow and staple it to the ribbon (or use a pipe cleaner to attach it)
- Add in greenery to give some holiday feel and add colour contrast.
- Place your "present" into the bookcase.
Notes
Store these carefully and they'll last for years.
Use whatever kind of paper you want. Vintage wrapping paper would be GREAT.
If you're going to screw the frames together remember to pre-drill the wood so it doesn't split.
Matte paper is better than shiny because shiny shows all the wrinkles, marks etc.
I might go nuts and change the paper on these to red this year, but honestly, I really do like a black Christmas.
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Love ❤️
OMG cue the squirming baby Jesus
that's as far as I got. have to go get the coffee out of my nose.
The best!
Bookcase? Decorate? Ha! Bookcases breed books, and knickknacks, and small odds and ends, and... You never have enough bookcases, ergo empty spaces, to catch up, let alone decorate.
I use lots of "picks" to decorate my presents, but I can't afford the lovely ones you featured. I go to the dollar store, Target, Walmart, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, or wherever after Christmas and buy the large pieces of Christmas greenery on sale. Then, next year, I cut them up with my trusty wire cutters and have plenty of decorations for my packages. This year I have been saving brown paper grocery bags and am wrapping all my presents in them. (You can iron the wrinkles out.) Then I'm using traditional red, green, and plaid ribbons (also bought last year on sale), my greenery picks and handmade tags cut out of used manilla file folders. I feel so eco-friendly! (and also frugal :) win, win.
The odd time I can find some good ones at the dollar store too! Some of them are hideous, lol. But sometimes you can get a good batch, or mix bits from different ones. My dollar store carries red berries on branches (actually red painted tiny styrofoam balls, lol) but they look great and I use them everywhere at christmas. ~ karen!
Is Oral Surgery your newest DIY?
Inquiring minds want to know . . . I also wondered.
LOL. That's my question too.
Oh no, I've been doing that for a longggg time.😉My grandfather was a dentist and I have some of his original medical books. :) ~ karen!
😂😂I felt caught by your first few sentences. I admit the initial reason I clicked on your post was to zoom in on the books - the decor was great too of course but yes, you can tell a lot about a person by their books - although mine are in sections and some in different rooms tell more of an accurate story than others. You cracked me up with your insight.
People loveeeeee book snooping, lol!! ~ karen
Beautiful and so elegant! This is a bookcase version on “the little black dress”!
What a genius idea. And I'm worried about Margaret too.
Tres chic!
Great idea. Surprising how black can look so festive.
Great job with the book cases. They look great. And hope you enjoyed YOUR day.
Yes, where is Margaret?
The shelves are beautiful. I love them.
But, where is Margaret? I'm worried.
don't know how anyone has space in a book case. ours are jam packed, tighter than sardines! with some sardines overflowing the can.
Any tips on how to give up books?
Happy Holidays from your bud in Alaska
Flash
Same problem here. I used to think I could "style" bookshelves but they fill up with books before anything else has a chance. There are no tips about how to give up books -- you have an illness and it's incurable. Just live with it, because it will make you terminally unhappy if you get rid of the books. Trust me.
I am recently widowed and have 10 6 ft tall 3 ft wide walmart bookcases with more books in the attic. Need to downsize yesterday-what do I do with them? With ebooks does anybody own a lot of books? Would like to get rid of them in one swell foop? Scared to have strangers show up at the door and you gotta let them in,even if they have one hand behind their back and a small stream of drool slipping down their chin? Ya know,manners- must be polite....... With 60 years of furniture-closets full of clothes,towels,bedding. So far I just sit in a chair with a large question mark floating in the air.
Judy, have the books boxed up and in the garage, have a friend there with you. Choose a reputable recipient of your goods. What you’re feeling isn’t unusual given your recent loss. My condolences. Not meaning to get too much into your business, but I just helped a friend through this. She was paralyzed by everything she thought she needed to do. By taking a step at a time. Everyone’s grief is their own journey. Let your good friends help you.
Judy, I understand your problem. Same situation. Haul the books to the Goodwill. They will take them. Sell odd lots on eBay. They will sell if popular novels or "how to" books. I know the lifetime accumulation of everything else. Just take it one step at a time. I'm almost 8 months out from my husband passing and I run hot and cold so accept it will take some time to figure it all out. It comes in stages. It will get better but you have to work through the hard stuff first. Books might not be the most important things to think about or worry about right now. Just take care of you and be well.
Judy, call your local library. They may be able to help you. If they can't take all of your books, they might take a good portion of them. They will most likely know of a good place for you to contact about such a large quantity -- there are many organizations who can take books for distribution to schools and senior citizen facilities and hospitals, or to use for fundraising. Good luck, and get a friend to help you with this.
I keep some of my books but most of the time, since I was running out of space, when I am done reading them, I pass them on to another book-lover & she shares them with her daughter. Some they keep & some they pass on to others.
And Karen - I love this idea. Your shelves look great.
Love your work Karen and yes you make me snort with every blog-thank you, thank you.
Book sharing idea- I know it's sacriledge to even think about writing in a book... but we share mom, granny and more, so we would sign and date when we read it and pass it on.
wrap the books!
Congratulations, Karen! I knew you'd get the job done in time. It all looks lovely! The touch of greenery makes the black very festive!
I love basketball season but I wish Christmas didn't land in the middle... Oh and the bookcases look great!
Me like.
Looks fabulous!
I absolutely love the book case ! and the black wrapped gifts - they are stunning. Very nice job.
Shelves look wonderful Karen! All your hard swear...I mean, work, really paid off! Well done!
love it.