Results: The Little Gift Wrap Girl

Having made their purchase, customers of old toddled to the back of the store to dither over choice of paper and bow. Watched as it was nestled in crisp white tissue paper and expertly wrapped. Do you remember when stores offered this free service?

As a family, we considered wrapping part of the fun. Only really special things like the Irish linen handkerchiefs for Grandma at Mother's Day or wedding presents and the like got the deluxe treatment. We took care of the books and toys and such at home. Do you consider wrapping a special part of the gift giving experience?

Dad was the most accomplished gift wrapper in the family. He could wrap- without tape- using the ribbon to hold the paper in place like a 19th shopkeeper used string. Really impressive. Even so, of all the family, only I can claim professional status in the field. Courtesy of a 1972 Black Friday to Christmas Eve stint as "the Little Gift Wrap Girl" in an up-scale women's store. When it comes to wrapping packages do you consider yourself...

I spent hours cranking out pretty bows on an ugly machine. Measuring boxes against the hanging rolls of heavy paper. Folding tissue paper. And - of course- selecting the right sized box of rigid white cardboard embossed with the store's name on the front. All were part of what would become a perfectly wrapped package. What do you think is most important in achieving that goal?

As a naïve sixteen-year-old, it was a fascinating introduction to affluent ladies who lunch, old money dowagers, and businessmen shopping after midday martinis or happy hour Scotch. It was an experience very specific to the time, place, and possibly the socio-economic level of the customers. Most of what I saw was very nice. Some a bit naughty. Which of these 70s era observations would you be surprised to see when shopping these days?