Angela Frewen

 Today I'm going to wrap up things Christmassy by talking about - yes, that's right, wrapping paper!    Back in my 1970s childhood you bought wrapping paper in sheets, not rolls. It varied in quality from ultra cheap, but nonetheless cheerful to deluxe. The cheaper variety was a bit thinner and more fragile than the more expensive, but the main difference was in the quality of the colour printing which was noticeably inferior. By the time I was about eight, I was considered old enough to do my own Christmas shopping, and even then I never bought the cheapest.  I can't remember exactly how much it cost but I think the cheap paper was about two pence per sheet and the prices went up to about ten pence per sheet. Any child of the 60s or 70s will probably remember the distinctive smell of that lovely wrapping paper and the crisp feel of the new sheets. There were no gift bags back then. Wrapping presents was time consuming and almost ritualistic. Presents for friends and acquai