The cheap gift wrap was not so frugal!...

[Phentex]

For many years, I purchased the Sally Foster gift wrap through school fundraisers. You pay more but the stuff is good. I like the reversible and the paper is strong and very easy to use. I bought a few rolls again this year but it goes pretty far so I still use some from the previous years.

Last year, I purchased some gift wrap on sale after Christmas. I wanted some of the longer size for the bigger boxes. I think it may have been Target but I'm not sure.

Well, it stinks. Flimsy, flimsy, flimsy. It's so thin it tore as I tried to wrap (and I already suffer from clumsy gift-wrapping) so I had to use more in some cases before I just gave up. You could see through it so no surprise for the person who would open it! It shredded when you cut it, even with good scissors. My husband said the same thing when he wrapped. Never again!

[Curmudgeoness]

1. I have never bought the fundraiser papers,

but that is because they are way too expensive....I would rather donate the bucks to the school organization trying to raise money than to have the bulk of the money go to the company selling the paper. But then again, I don't know that the quality is much better than store-bought, since I never tried it.

I do think that the type of paper you buy does matter. The cheapest is not always the best. But of course, after Christmas is the time to buy. Just not the cheapest you find. Try foil papers for something stronger---it costs more, but I can see the problem with that cheapest one.

[Codeine]

2. I'm famous for buying cheap gift wrap and then bitching about it later.

I never learn! My fiancee says next year I will not be allowed input into gift wrap purchases in any way. The foil paper she bought was amazing and more than worth it.

[Phentex]

4. LOL!

I have learned my lesson so hopefully I won't be whining about it this year!

[Little Star]

3. I try to always buy my...

Xmas paper, cards and bows the day after Xmas.

I do buy the Hallmark paper even though it is still a little expensive even after the holiday. I find it stronger and I also find that some of their rolls have more footage than most of the cheaper ones. So I make sure I buy those rolls with good footage, that alone may make it more frugal than some of the cheaper ones.

[Phentex]

5. I have never tried Hallmark...

I guess I had no idea how much the quality could vary. I've been buying fundraiser paper for so long now, I have not ventured away very much. I do try to look at the footage when buying which does help.