I love wrapping presents. I treat it like improvisational art. I have my various pieces of wrapping paper (some commercial, some stuff like ad slicks, street maps, magazine pages, wall paper, craft paper), old Christmas cards, stickers, rubber stamps, bits of wire, ribbon and string. And tape. Lots of tape. Now picture a comic book blur of furious activity and out pops a present. Sometimes the results thoroughly suck. Sometimes it approaches art. Such is the way of improvisation. But I have fun, either way. And hopefully, the recipient can feel that and appreciates the effort.

Last year, I got some of the ThinkGeek wrapping paper, the “Binary” (think: Matrix) and the “ChristmasBots” designs. Really nice, especially the ChristmasBots. I cut out some of the bots and made Christmas cards out of them. Packs of the paper include four 20″ x 30″ sheets ($6 each).

For even higher-currency geek cred, I might invest in some eBoy wrapping paper this year. EBoy is the artist collective responsible for (among other things), the Boing Boing site icons and the wonderful Bay Area Maker Faire posters. They have an 8-sheet 19.6″ x 27.5″ set (of 4 designs) for 12.28 Euro (about $21). Really beauty, distinctive 8-bit art that’ll likely tweak any geek’s one and zeros. Order here.

In wrapping presents, we usually pay attention to paper, gift tags, ribbons, and the items inside, but little is usually done with the boxes. The Onion has seen to that with a couple of hysterical “Gotcha!” phony product boxes. The USB Toaster box teases that the product inside toasts four slices in 30 minutes. And the Make-Your-Own Umbrella Kit boasts 146 pieces and invites you to “share in the legacy of dryness.” Each 12″x9″x4″ box costs $7.99.

Update: While I was writing this review, The Onion added a bunch of new Gotcha! boxes, including a “Salt of the Month Club” and a “28-piece Professional Whisk Set.” HE-larious. They also have a set of three Gotcha! boxes for $17.99.