The pressure to wrap a gift can cause anxiety for the giver. At Christmas, many shopping centres have gift wrap stalls to assist their customers with the wrapping. In this paper we explore the purpose of a gift wrap stall and the role it plays in Christmas gift shopping. Data were collected through observation as it allowed insights into the phenomena that could not otherwise be obtained. Findings include the nature of a gift wrap stall, the mood surrounding the gift wrap stall, the types of gifts wrapped, the level of decision making involved, the role of the staff and issues relating to trust, the waiting times for gift wrapping, the giver’s gift wrap skills, and enquiries into the gift wrap service. This research makes an insightful contribution to a novel topic in the field of consumer behaviour as it allows us to better understand gift wrapping and its role in gift exchange.
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