That's A Wrap

If you had happened to be in Penn Station last weekend, you might have seen, among the swirling crowds, 11 practitioners of a dying art competing against each other under the glare of TV cameras and the pressure of the clock for a singular title - America's Champion Gift-Wrapper.

The contestants were not your everyday temps hired for the holidays to pack pedestrian parcels. These were artists of their calling, nominated by department stores, mall marts, or specialty shops to vie for the honor of Most Gifted Wrapper.

The winner, on technique, speed, and appearance, was a woman from California who owns a store that does nothing but create gorgeously wrapped gifts. Her prize included $10,000 and an appearance Sunday on "Good Morning, America." The sponsor, not surprisingly, was Scotch Brand tape.

It must have been something to watch. No boxes were used - that was the catch. The competitors had to wrap the oddest-shaped objects the Scotch tape company could conceive of: hockey sticks, footballs, globes, guitars, and, for the two finalists, an oversized hairy gorilla.

There could be no better time to hold such a contest, as the sponsor surely understood. Tomorrow, the day after Thanksgiving, is the traditional start of the holiday crush, when harried wrappers come face to face with hurried shoppers and try to fulfill their often unreasonable expectations.

We are a nation of gift-givers, but how many wrappers do you know who do it for a living? Spare a small smile this season for them, and also for the ones who toss the tissue paper and a flattened box into the shopping bag. And don't forget the Scotch tape and ribbon on your way out.