How to wrap a bike

Read our guide to find out how you can wrap up that new bike!

It’s been on their list all year, you’ve – I mean Santa – have had that new bike in hiding for a while. Now, you’ve just got to get it wrapped. How hard can it be?!

It turns out, very hard.

Wrapping up bikes in wrapping paper is incredibly tricky and not for the faint-hearted. But you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t right?

The dream

 

This is how you imagine the end product to look like. Pristinely wrapped and not a tear in sight. Sure, it gives the game away (you can hardly pass it off as a pair of socks) but hey! It’s what they wanted!

The process - how to wrap up your bike

If you really, really want to wrap up the Christmas bike, then you’re going to need wrapping paper – and lots of it.

You’re also going to want industrial quantities of this stuff…

1) Cut out enough paper to wrap up the wheels first.

2) Then wrap up the frame of the bike

3) After that, wrap up the seat post and the stem

4) Take a break, you’ll need it!

5) Get back to work! You’re almost there. Now it’s time to wrap up the handlebars

6) Then the seat...

7) And then the pedals! 

Congratulations! Now step back and enjoy your creation. You’ve accomplished one of life’s more difficult tasks and you’re bound to impress the kids when they come downstairs on Christmas morning – that is until they tear it all open approximately five minutes later.

The reality

That is, if it all goes smoothly. The reality is that wrapping up a bike for Christmas is so difficult and so fiddly that the end result may not be what we all hoped it would be. Paper is so prone to tearing around awkward angles and there aren’t nearly enough hands on the human body to be able to get the job done without a single thing going wrong. But don’t worry, your kids are bound to love their gift regardless of how it’s wrapped.

Creative ideas to make Christmas Day magical

Of course, there’s always a short-cut! And sometimes, the short-cut may actually be the best route to take. You can side-step the wrapping up of your bike and use your creative side to really make Christmas fun! We’ve heard of some really fantastic ideas from parents and those who have bought new bikes for their loved ones. Here are some of our favourites!

A gift bag

You can find oversized gift bags online to pop your new bike into. Jumbo bike sacks are relatively inexpensive and will make wrapping up easier, but will still keep your present looking great!

A bike hunt

If you’re feeling organised, then you could arrange a bike hunt. Try hiding a sneaky clue as to where the bike is hidden. Perhaps wrap up a bike helmet (this is somewhat simpler than wrapping up a bike) and place it under the tree with some clues as to where the ‘big present’ is! This also has the added benefit of being able to keep the kids occupied all morning.

Disguise your gift

If you’re really devious, then you could even try pulling the wool over their eyes by dressing the bike up! There are some fantastic examples out there of this. You’ll need some cardboard boxes or something to cover up your bike and be able to pass it off as something else. So, what will you go for? A dinosaur? A Christmas reindeer? The choice is all yours!

Of course, however you decide to wrap-up your bike for Christmas, we’re sure that whoever it’s for will love it. All of us here at cycleGuard wish you a very, merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Feel free to send us in pictures of your carefully-prepared bikes on our social channels! We’d love to see them!