A friend of mine once told me about her mother’s “Armoire à Cadeaux.” I was surprised with the term, given that she is not French (although being from Ladue Missouri, she probably has some French running through her veins). But I loved the concept of a closet filled with gifts for the “je ne sais quoi” events that inevitably pop up during the year.
At the time, we lived in “the big house” and had a profusion of closets which even I had a hard time filling. So I decided to turn one of the extra closets into our own Armoire à Cadeaux, and it was quickly my favorite room in the house.
There were open shelves for miscellaneous gifts, and drawers filled with boxes, and wrapping materials, all neatly stacked in their own boxes. You’d think I was an expert wrapper (not!), from the rows of multi-colored ribbons, hanging from bobbins and begging to be used. There were stacks of wrapping papers, bags and tissue, all neatly stacked and organized by holiday. And there were sturdy scotch tape holders, sharp scissors and bows for special occasions.
I never took a picture of my armoire, but these remind me of the look, so suited to the OCD side of my brain:
Fast forward a couple of years, and the home armoire is a distant memory, a luxury that I will never have again as we seem to downsize year by year, moving up in the world to higher and smaller spaces (we’re up to floor 40 right now) sacrificing essentials, like the armoire a cadeaux, for luxuries like arousing sunrises and dramatic sunsets. With Huff Harrington Home, I’ve cheated a little and traded in the home armoire for the best armoire à cadeaux imaginable, and the kind of wrapping station that I only dreamed of back in the old day. Best part of all: It comes with a team of expert wrappers!
Although it’s a sorry day for you if I’m the one wrapping your gift, I do know a good wrap station when I see one, and what we have at Huff Harrington makes my heart sing! We spent months selecting the prettiest tissues and boxes we could find and handpicked a wide variety of ribbons that work beautifully with the platinum colored boxes. We have a team of elves who take pride in the presentation and do everything they can to make your gift giving more enjoyable. And as we head in to gift giving overdrive (it’ll be here before you know it!) we offer the stress-free service of taking your orders over the phone and having them wrapped and ready for you to pick up any time later in the day.
If you’re thinking about an armoire à cadeaux, you’ll want to fill it with some tried and true gifts that will work for any occasion … and keep over time. Here are the kinds of (affordable) gifts that I put in my armoire before I was lucky enough to have a store-full:
For the Hostess
Girl friend
Sister
Mr. Handsome
Little Bitty
Welcome New Neighbor:
Book Club:
And if your armoire a cadeaux won’t fit a wrapping station, or you (like me) are slightly wrapping challenged, let the Huff’ington experts do the heavy gifting! Our team of elves will give your gifts that extra zhush that will make you and your gift’s recipient happy. If wrapping is the cake, and the ribbon is the cherry – we at Huff Harrington, are all about dessert!
So now you know. The real reason I downsized was to get a bigger armoire a cadeaux ! So if you downsize too — and lose your armoire a cadeaux — I know several people who are more than willing to help! Let’s keep them busy.
Ta ta,
HH
P.S. And pssst … don’t forget to call or email us with your order, and we’ll have it wrapped and ready for you to pick up by the end of the day (you can even specify your ribbon color).
