Crafty Christmas: Old Yale's Guide for Wrapping Beer

It’s “Secret Santa Season” ya’l! And it’s also “I gotta figure out how I’m gonna wrap this weird shaped gift I bought” season! But don’t fret, we’re here to help.

If you’re looking to get crafty or if you’re just growing tired of the same old same old wrapping paper, gift bags and bows, here’s some hoppy twists to help you make the most out of your gift giving! From Bombers to 12-packs - let the beer-gifting fesivities begin…


Bomber Beauties: The Beer Bouquet

For those special brews that come in large and in-charge bomber bottles, turn them into a festive beer bouquet. Here’s how: Treat your Bomber as the vase and attach reah or fake flowers around the neck using ribbon to tie them together until you can’t see the top of the bottle. To make it extra festive, we recommend using red, green and white floral items and maybe even throwing in some holly jolly Christmas ornaments!

You can get even more pro with this concept by using floral foam (the green foam blocks you see in floral arrangements) and pressing the top of the bottle into it until it holders and then sticking the flowers into that foam rather than tying them around the neck. And voila - you’ve got a beer-centric floral arrangement that any beer enthusiast would love to unwrap.

*PS. This option is PERFECT for a host gift for an upcoming holiday get together!


THE PUN-FILLED PACK

Who’ doesn’t love a good pun? Even if they don’t, they’ll appreciate the effort…

That last one was a bit of work, we know, so we’re simplifying this one a touch. For the folks you’re purchasing a tasty Trailblazer 4-pack for this holiday season, try this simple trick to elevate your wrapping game.

Wrap each beer individually in your favourite wrapping paper or tissue. With the shape of cans in mind, we sometimes find that treating them “candy” and twisting the ends and tying ribbon on them helps! Once they are wrapped, add holiday pun messages to each on a little Christmas card or directly written on the wrapping paper depending on your colour choices. Festive Puns like:

  • Ho Ho Hold My Beer

  • Hoppy Holidays

  • Ale Yeah, It’s Christmas

  • It’s a Wonderful Time for Beer”

  • Merry Christmas & Hoppy New Year

  • Brew-dolf the Red Nose Rein-Beer

For this punny pack, we recommend these tasty 4-packs: Amber Mixer, Brown Sugar Oat Stout, Himalayan Salted Caramel Porter, Yuzu Citrus Fruit Lager and Sweet Cream Session Stout


6-pack stocking stuffers

Transform a standard 6-pack of our delicious brews into a stocking-shaped masterpiece! Wrap each beer snuggly in colourful tissue paper, arrange them in the shape of a stockings and tie it together with a ribbon. It’s like Santa’s gift bag, but way hoppier…

If that sounds like too much of a feet (pun intended), then we recommend getting an actual stocking and filling it with the delicious wrapped brews!


The advent(ure) calendar

Make unwrapping a 12-pack even MORE fun by creating your own advent or as we like to call it adventure calendar! Wrap each beer individually and number them 1 through 12 so that your beer-obsessed buddy gets to open a tasty hoppy treat for 12 days of Christmas. It’s the new Partridge in a Pear Tree.

It goes without saying that our Craft Cooler 12-pack is PERFECT for this option.


the christmas basket

Create your own holiday basket full of all sorts of goodies to make a big splash at your secret santa! Grab a basket, a box, a crate, whatever you can get your hands on, use some packing paper or tissue paper to make everything cozy and add your items, then wrap it in cellophane (if you’re so inclined) and add a nice big Christmas-y bow. Voila, you’ve created the perfect gift basket!

Pro Tip: Pick a theme that suits your friends interests and build your items around that, like beer beer beer, charcuterie, local love, movies, snacks, desserts or music.

Here’s some goodies that might just fit the bill for your basket (depending on your theme):

  • Chocolate

  • Christmas Candies

  • Candles

  • Fancy Nut or Trail Mixes

  • Red Pepper Jelly

  • Crackers

  • Popcorn

  • Socks

  • Old Yale Bike Bells

  • Soap

  • Glassware

  • Cocktail items

  • And of course the star of the basket show: BEER - we recommend using a 4-pack cause single tall cans are the best!


AN IN-THE-BOX kind of IDEA

It’s an in-the-box kind of idea that’s actually out of the box… are you following? Not to worry, we’ll spell it out. You need a BIG OL BOX and by BIG, we mean BIG. Here’s what to do:

  1. Buy the Beer - a 4-pack, 6-pack, 12-pack, Growler - any of these work but it’s the much funnier if you go with a Bomber….

  2. Find or Purchase a Small Box - put the beer (depending on the size you bought) into this box. We recommend filing it with packing paper or using brown bags to keep the beer safe and prevent it from breaking.

  3. Find or Purchase a Medium Box - put the small box into the medium size box (add more packing paper if needed).

  4. Find or Purchase a BIG Ol’ Box - Then put said medium box into the BIG box (again adding more packing paper if needed).

  5. If you feel inclined to do so, keep going with it. More boxes mean more fun!

Then all that’s left to do is tape the heck out of it and wrap it up in festive wrapping paper and a BIG ol’ bow! The best part about this gift is watching the craft beer connoisseur in your life open the present. Just remind them that the frustration will be more than worth it once they take their first sip.


There you have it. A fun guide to help you craft up your craft beer presents! Remember, the key to a beer-tastic Christmas is to let your creativity flow as freely as the brews. With these crafty wrapping ideas, your beer gifts will stand out under the tree, ensuring a holiday season filled with laughter, good times, and, of course, delicious craft beer.