I don’t know where the idea comes from or who claims it, and am sure it is not actually a new idea to most present wrappers but the person who identified that the reverse side of wrapping paper could have grid lines on it to make cutting straight lines easier deserves a prize. Something from the Nobel organisers perhaps? What a painfully simple, but enormously useful innovation, that must have stemmed from actually understanding customer frustrations.

There I was wrapping up presents last night – all of them simple box shapes, (yes Tom, it is DVDs. Again!) so i have no excuse for the less than professional final result – when i opened a new roll of paper. I turned it over, brandished my scissors and was greeted by a landscape of fine grey grid lines with handy scissor symbols next to them. Thank you WHSmiths for putting this in your store and minimising my festive angst