Patric Richardson, "The Laundry Evangelist" of the Twin Cities, knows a thing or two about folding. His expertise in handling clothes and sheets makes him a skilled gift wrapper.

Wrapping gifts "is the same thing as laundry," he said. "You start out with this sort of jumbled mess, and there's order to it at the end."

First, of course, you need wrapping paper. Don't worry; we've got that covered. Saturday's Variety section features a festively decorated sheet of wrapping paper, perfect for your last-minute holiday gifts.

Richardson has used newspaper to gift-wrap before, such as using the business pages for college graduation gifts. When he was a kid, he saw a lot of people use the Sunday comics as wrapping paper, something he said makes presents look special.

"The idea that a newspaper prints a sheet of wrapping paper, to me, feels very sort of vintage and nostalgic, and I love that," he said.

Holiday gifts also hold a special place in Richardson's heart. When he was 3 years old, he received a present that jump-started his entire career in laundry care.

"Santa brought me a toy washing machine," he said. "Isn't it funny? I mean, it's the perfect example that a gift can be more than a gift."

Here's Richardson's guide for turning the Variety cover into a beautifully wrapped gift:

Iron out the folds

This is optional, but if you want to get rid of those creases in the paper, Richardson recommends quickly going over it with an iron on low to medium heat. If your iron has a steamer, you can lightly use that, as well.

Cut the excess

  1. Place your gift on the paper with one of the box's shorter sides facing you.
  2. For each of the gift's shorter sides, lift the paper up and make a small fold to mark a little over halfway up the box's side. Cut along that point.
  3. For the box's longer sides, take the right side of the paper and bring it to meet the bottom left edge of the gift (so the gift is completely covered). Cut along that point. Then take the left side of the paper and bring it to the right side. Make a crease along the top right edge of the box and cut about an inch above that mark.

Wrap it up!

If you don't want to tape the paper directly onto the gift, Richardson's wrapping method is for you. This works great for gifts with delicate surfaces, like books. If you're OK with the adhesive on the gift, you can tape as you go.

  1. With one of the box's shorter sides still facing you, bring the right side of the paper back over the gift until the edge touches the bottom of the box's left side. Push along the edges of the box to keep this in place.
  2. Bring the left side of the paper over to the right side. Make a crease along the upper right edge of your box. Bring this piece back onto the table and fold the excess paper along that crease. This makes a clean edge. Place the folded back to meet the upper right edge of your gift and tape it down.
  3. For the shorter ends of your gift, simultaneously push the left and right sides inward until they lie flat on the gift. The top and bottom edges should form into triangle-like shapes. Take the top edge of the paper and fold it downward. With the bottom edge, fold over a bit of excess paper to conceal the raw edge. Then, fold it upward and tape it down. Do this for both sides.
  4. Accessorize with ribbon, string or yarn. Add a bow for some pizazz and you're done!

For a video tutorial of Richardson's guide, check out the @stribgoingout Instagram.

Jessy Rehmann is a University of Minnesota student reporter on assignment for the Star Tribune. Reach her at Jessy.Rehmann@startribune.com.