My famly has a standing tradition of bizarre wrapping schemes designed to foil experienced present-shakers. My brother has given me a t-shirt stuffed into a light-bulb box (I had to rip the box apart to get it out again) and a necklace slid open into a rolled-up tube of newspaper; I have given him a set of kitchen jars stacked vertically and taped together before wrapping; I once gave my mother three books set cross-wise atop each other and tied together with string (that was a pain to wrap). Plus we have a pyramind-shaped box that is pretty enough to not need wrapping (thank god) and useful for disguising any small object.

I don't remember the wrapping for the replica ancient Taiwanese bronze sword my father gave me, but I do remember picking it up and thinking it was really heavy and long and what the hell was it, a sword?

And now I'm thinking it's a very great pity that your family and mine will never go head-to-head in present-wrapping. <g>