The Best Wrapping Paper and Gift Bags

Top pick

With a wide selection in a surprising range of patterns, this affordable paper is best suited for kids and to stock up on for big gifting holidays. But wrap carefully because it can sometimes tear.

With thoughtful designs and extra-big size options, these gift bags marry convenience with consideration at a reasonable price.

Among the affordable brands we tested (typically around $5 a roll), Hallmark Gift Wrap offered the most impressive variety of patterns. The paper is much thinner than pricier options, but it’s just fine to wrap with, as long as you take a little care. Hallmark’s patterns are pleasingly elevated, with bright, unexpected color combinations and design-minded prints that aren’t corny or basic. The Hallmark Gift Bags were equally beautiful and detailed, not haphazard afterthoughts.

The designs look more expensive than they are. Hallmark offers all of the patterns you’d expect from a mega corporation: dinosaurs, Spiderman, and Disney princesses, among them. But amid its 150-plus rolls, we were surprised to find florals that looked hand-drawn, a bohemian patchwork, and cool abstracts, like ikat, marbled, and splatter paint. Similarly, its nearly 400 gift bags come in a variety of sizes and styles. You’ll even find furoshiki, the reusable Japanese-style cloth wrapping squares.

You can buy it in person or online. Hallmark has over 1,100 retail stores in the US, and the wrapping paper is also sold at stores like Walgreens and Walmart. But if you’re not near a brick-and-mortar site, the website is surprisingly nimble. The wrapping-paper selection includes just wrapping paper (by contrast, Target’s site pulls up 15 pages of shredded filler, bows, and boxes, all viewable on one page with options for filtering by pattern). So browsing for a little gift wrap is a joyful task, not an interminable slog.

It’s ideal for families or big gifting holidays. In objective terms, thicker paper tends to be higher-quality paper. But if you have tons of gifts to wrap, or you want to keep several rolls of different patterns on hand, the thinner Hallmark paper is much more cost-effective.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It’s harder to wrap with. The Hallmark paper is much thinner than pricier options, such as papers from Paper Source and Society6. So it was more difficult to get a tight, crisp crease on the sides because the paper balloons when you’re folding it, and it can tear if you pull it too tightly. Also, the gift bags have a slight plasticky texture.

You’ll pay for shipping. Free shipping kicks in only after $70; otherwise there’s an $8 flat fee (more than double the cost of a $5 roll). So if you’re getting just one roll, you’d be better off snagging it in person from one of Hallmark’s 1,100-plus stores across 50 states. Or order a multi-pack on Amazon.

Key specs

• Price: approximately $5 for one 30-inch-by-8-foot roll
• Average cost of wrapping roll per square foot: 25 cents (estimated)
• Average cost for medium gift bag: $3.50 (estimated)
• Grid lines on the back: yes
• Standard shipping: $8 flat fee for orders up to $70; free after that