How to wrap a parcel

is a subject which should be on the school curriculum.
I prowled into the local "cheap" shop yesterday because I needed some sellotape - "sticky tape". It is cheaper there than it is in the supermarket or the stationery shop. 
I did actually get what I wanted too. It was mostly because most people seemed to want tape with fancy patterns on it. There were still people buying rolls of cheap Christmas paper too...and Christmas lights...and Christmas decorations...and last minute presents.
    "I've been through rolls of this stuff," someone said. She took two more packs from the shelf. There wasn't much left there.
I just nodded. Someone else grabbed some. A man reached out for a large plain roll and took down a pack of two small rolls for me.
    "Is that all you need?" he asked.
    "Yes, these are going into activity packs for the neighbour's children."
He looked at me. I explained...a bag with sellotape, glue, cardboard, paper, envelopes, a colouring book, pencils, a sharpener, "stickers" and so on. As I was explaining he looked more and more interested.
Then he said, "Look, can you spare a minute? It's a fantastic idea. I'll just grab the boss."
"The boss" turned out to be his wife. He came back talking to her. She smiled at me and said, "If I have the right idea..."
It turns out their Christmas plans have had to change because of the fires. There will be children they don't know at the venue and they felt they should get something but had no idea what as they don't know the children. 
"The boss" made a quick call to check on the ages of the children and then with my help filled two small paper carry bags with a variety of craft like items.
While we were doing this her husband had gone to another part of the store.
"I know what he's getting. He does it every year. He gets string to tie up his parcels. He has absolutely no idea how to wrap a parcel and I love him for it. He buys sticky tape but then he adds string in case things come undone."
I smiled. I remember my paternal grandfather working in the dining room on Christmas Eve. He would be muttering to himself as he endeavoured to wrap his parcels and stuck things to himself. For an otherwise manually dexterous man he was not a skilled wrapper of parcels. He might have been better off with string. 
The woman I had been speaking to suddenly reached out for some Christmas wrapping "string". 
    "The kids are old enough to learn to use that....and perhaps I can teach them to play "Cat's cradle" with it too if they get bored."
They won't be bored and they will have had a lesson in "Parcel Wrapping 101". 
Everyone needs to learn that.