Christmas Gift Wrap Calculator
Tell us your gift sizes, we'll tell you exactly how much paper to cut, how much ribbon to buy, and whether one roll is enough. With a visual diagram for each gift so you can see what you're cutting before you start.
The dashed lines mark where the paper folds up the sides of the box. The red rectangle is the box face sitting in the middle.
Your wrapping shopping list
1 gift to wrap.
Wrapping paper
8.4 sq ft
≈ 1 standard roll (30″ × 25 ft)
Ribbon
7.8 ft
94 inches total
Boxes
1
From 1 gift type
That's bigger than a standard welcome mat.
That's longer than a yardstick.
How the math works
Paper dimensions. For a box that's L × W × H (length, width, height), the paper you need is approximately (L + 2H + 2) inches in one direction and (2W + 2H + 2) inches in the other. The extra 2 inches on each axis is overlap on the seam (where the paper meets itself around the back) and margin on the end flaps (so each flap has about an inch of paper to fold under). We auto-orient the box with its longest face down so the math is correct regardless of how you enter the dimensions.
Ribbon length. For a simple one-loop ribbon, you need 2W + 2H inches to wrap around the box plus roughly 14 inches for the bow knot and trailing tails. For a cross-tied bow (two loops at 90 degrees), the ribbon needed is roughly 2L + 2W + 4H + 14 inches. A "fancier" bow with more loops needs another 8 inches on top of that.
Roll count. We base the estimate on a large roll, 30 inches wide and 25 feet long, which is about 62.5 square feet. We divide total square footage by 62.5 and round up to whole rolls. Many drugstore rolls are smaller (30 inches by 10 to 15 feet), so if that's what you buy, add a roll or two. Jumbo rolls (40" × 80') cover a bit over 4x as much area; thin rolls (30" × 12.5') cover half.
Why the difficulty badge. Square-ish boxes (aspect ratio under 4-to-1 between longest and shortest dimensions) wrap cleanly with flat end folds. Stretchy aspect ratios (4-to-10) mean the end flaps get long and floppy and need careful tucking. Anything over 10-to-1 is usually better in a gift bag or rolled in tissue, the diagonal wrapping technique that fits long thin items is genuinely tricky.
Other tools you might find useful
Prefer pen & paper?
The Christmas Planner
A 25-page printable kit covering budget, gifts, hosting, and decor, built on the same planning logic as this tool. Print it once, keep it in a binder, and reuse it every year.
Or grab 3 pages free first.
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