In the 17th century Germans wrapped gifts simply and called "Christ bundles". The packages were stuffed with sugar plums, cakes, candy, apples and nuts. They usually also contained some sort of educational products (ABC products, pencils or books).
Originally most gifts were handmade, however around the 1800s people started purchasing factory made trinkets for gifts called "gewgaws and gimcracks". The tags were removed to disguise the fact that the gift was an inexpensive purchase rather than a handmade gift. Then to finish it off, it was wrapped in plain brown paper decorated in dried flowers, spangles or clippings from The Ladies' Home Journal and Practical Housekeper magazine. These creative handmade touches were to make up for the lack of a handmade gift.
The best gift of all was wrapped in human flesh by God himself and further wrapped by Mary in swaddling clothes. It is true that good things come in small packages!
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