Oh Christmas wrapping paper...where art thou?

I thought I was so clever.

When we packed up our house in England, 

I divided the contents.

Part of our shipment followed us to Vietnam, 

and the other half set sail to the USA.

I explicitly marked the Christmas boxes that

I wanted to go to Vietnam.

I guess I must have been distracted.

In opening them the other day I discovered..

those odds and ends for winter weather.

Ice scrapers, shovels....the sort of things 

I will have absolutely no use for in Vietnam.

But most disappointing is my 25 year collection 

of Christmas wrapping paper.

I imagine it is tucked away in the container, 

in a warehouse, in Boston.

Not helpful.

Not surprisingly, there is not a large selection

 of Christmas wrapping paper in Vietnam.

I decided creativity and ingenuity must prevail.

When in Vietnam do as the Vietnamese do.

In fact, I am kind of glad that I had to move on.

I am enjoying the change of pace.

I was lucky enough to grab a few things at

 French Christmas market in our compound.

My wrapping paper of choice...

9 Nguyen Phuc Chu An Hoi

here

Their gift paper is hand screened...with a choice of 

three symbols and their meanings. A nice touch, to pass

on the message to one who receives a gift wrapped in this paper.

The Owl

Ruler of the night,

seer of souls and a true keeper of spirits.

A symbol of wisdom, mystery

protections and secrets.

The Fish

Water is a universal symbol 

of subconscious and depth of knowledge

the fish representing transformation 

and creations

A symbol of fertility, creativity, feminity and

good luck.

The Bird

Air animals assist us with matters of 

higher knowledge- heralding our desires 

to the gods in the skies.

A symbol of communciaiton,

 curiosity, vibrancy and clarity.

Christmas wrapping just took on a whole new meaning for me!

A few coulourful accents go a long way.

I came across these little tags at another booth...

I wish I had grabbed a card..they are a lot of fun.

Ok..so the paper below may not be on a Christmas theme

but I was happy to have found it. I think it works in

a tropical climate. I may be stretching that one a bit...but

I am going to go with it.

Last but not least...when in doubt. 

I pulled out the stack of London Review of Books newspapers 

that I have not been able to part with.

It is time.

Perfect for small gifts...and interesting reading too!

Christmas paper....check

Sending Christmas presents overseas...

more difficult than anticipated.

It involves clearances by the post office, 

paying a tax for sending the item

 and wrapping gifts in the post office.

I think I will be passing out Christmas gifts 

for months to come during my 2013 travels.

That makes the wrapping paper just perfect!