• Get creative with baby gift wrapping.Kathryn Bell/Photodisc/Getty Images
  
  Every card shop and dollar store offers a large collection of ways to wrap a baby gift, from rolled paper to colored tissue to decorated gift bags. But when you really want to make an impact, step away from the store. Brainstorm ways to make a creative impact just as special as the new arrival. With a little bit of artistry, your gift wrap will welcome the new baby into the present with a present.
  
  

First Photos

• With the aid of e-mail and graphics software, parents eager to herald their new arrival are able to spread the word -- and pictures -- of their new baby within minutes of its birth. Take advantage of the incoming baby pictures to create custom baby gift wrap. Open the photographs in a graphics program such as Paint, Photoshop or Publisher. Combine multiple pictures together to form a collage, or just enlarge one picture to copy paper (8.5-inch by 11-inch) size and print multiple copies to wrap around the gift. If you haven't yet gotten pictures of the new arrival, scan photos of your own baby or just use magazine clippings from a baby or parenting magazine to add small smiling faces to the wrap.
  
  

Hands On

• Get small kids involved in a creative gift wrapping project and create a one-of-a-kind statement to preserve your present. Unroll a long sheet of brown craft paper and pour kid-safe paints onto paper plates. Have your children pat their palms into the paints and press their hands onto the craft paper. Use traditional shades of pink and blue, or go wild with a rainbow look. Even the littlest of gift wrappers can help; gently dip your baby's feet into the paint and press onto the brown paper for a footprint decoration. Keep warm washcloths and gentle rinsing soap nearby to wash off the kids quickly so you don't have hand and footprints all over your home. Let the rolled paper dry and wrap the gift, giving recipients an idea of the hand and footprints they'll soon be able to enjoy.
  
  

Double-Duty

• Sometimes, the gift wrap may be a gift itself. Maximize the idea of wrapping by putting your gift receptacles to work double-time. Instead of simply gifting an item such as a set of baby bottles, for example, fill the bottles with small baby supplies such as tiny spoons, nail clippers and rolled up wash cloths. Clip some pieces of curling ribbon around the bottles' necks, and your double-filled gifts will show through. Instead of creating bags of wasted paper, the "wrap" becomes just as useful as the gift it shelters. Other options for double-duty include filling a nursery-themed wastebasket with diapers or stuffed toys, piling soft towels and tub toys into a wash basin and adding a set of baby clothes to a car set or carrier and wrapping cellophane around the entire present.