7 Sustainable Ways to Wrap Gifts

Christmas is just around the corner. Aside from shopping for gifts for everyone on your gift giving list, or making sure that you have enough craft materials for DIY presents, there's another aspect we have to deal with: wrapping presents creatively and aesthetically.

Ever Thought About Skipping on the Wrapping Paper? 

Every new year ushers in brand new designs of wrapping paper, both matte and glossy, sold at the stationery section of large bookstores, specialty bookstores, office supplies chains, gift shops, crafts and hobbies stores, and even shops and kiosks with a selection of party supplies. 

Image from freepik

But have you ever thought about taking the less wasteful, more meaningful route towards wrapping presents?

Why Look for Sustainable Ways to Wrap Gifts? 

Wrapping gifts through sustainable ways is gentler on the environment. 

It might come as a surprise, but sustainable gift wrapping reduces clutter while sending fewer and fewer waste in a landfill.

With enough planning, looking for sustainable ways to wrap gifts can be effective in honing your creativity. 

Even if you decide to forego on silver or gold, or the usual, festive red or green wrapping paper, it's possible to come up with various designs and aesthetics when wrapping presents. 

You can make your gifts look understated and elegant, or decorate it in a way that gives off vintage or whimsical vibes, or even shabby chic. 

You can get your entire family involved.

Promoting sustainability must start with your family. You and your family members can bond over gift wrapping sessions during an entire afternoon. 

This creative activity can also help wean your kids away from the screen, albeit temporarily. 

Replacing wrapping paper can further reduce the costs of gift giving. 

You may not think much about the cost of a sheet, or roll, of wrapping paper. But what if you have a dozen (or so) recipients on your gift giving list? 

Also, you may have bought presents like toys that were packed in huge boxes, and they might require 2 sheets of gift wrapper. Add the extra expense of ribbons and gift tags, and the total could end up in an amount that could afford you another gift. 

Want additional tips to reduce your Christmas expenses? Read -- 

How to Cut Your Budget for Christmas Gifts Without Dampening the Holiday Spirit

Having mentioned all of these reasons to resort to sustainable gift wrapping, here are 7 sustainable ways that are gentle on the environment and budget:  

(1.) Try colorful fabric.

If you're a crafter who's mainly into sewing, you can use any leftover fabric that you have, or repurpose old clothes. Learn the Furoshiki style, which is an extremely presentable way to wrap items when using cloth.

(2.) Make use of kraft paper. 

A roll of kraft paper is relatively inexpensive compared to sheets of gift wrapper. 

Image from freepik

Admittedly, the neutral colors (e.g. brown, black, etc.) in which kraft paper come can potentially dull the festive nature of gift giving. 

This is where you can be as creative as possible in putting accents to jazz up the look of your presents. 

Below isn't an exhaustive list of ideas, but just a few suggestions:

• Tie a strip of leftover ribbon, twine, or colorful yarn all over your present. 
• Recycle old greeting cards into gift tags. 
• Get hold of your craft punches, and turn excess cardstock or scrapbook paper into star-shaped, pine-tree-shaped, or snowmen-shaped gift tags. 
• Materials like fake pine cones, chimes, or Christmas balls also make festive accents.

(3.) Recycle and upcycle. 

Photo from Jane Means

If you have a stack of old magazines, newspapers, comic books, or catalogues piled around the house, then you have a goldmine of replacements for wrapping paper. 

Photo from Doodlecraft

Or how about those old maps lying around? In recent years it has gotten more and more chic to use maps as a wrapper.

(4.) Reuse gift bags and shopping bags.   

You probably receive several gifts yourself at least a couple of times a year. Refrain from getting rid of any paper bags or gift bags.

While the idea of regifting items remains to be debatable, reusing gift bags and shopping bags helps cut down on paper waste. 

(5.) Got any old calendars?

Image from EPBOT

There are old calendars that are just too pretty to be thrown away. An entire sheet can be upcycled into a gift bag, or colorful sections can be used to make gift wrapping bows. 

(6.) Turn old greeting cards into gift boxes. 

Have you accumulated greeting cards over the years? Then you can select the most colorful and glittery cards you have to craft gift boxes.

Gift boxes are ideal if you enjoy giving away accessories and trinkets, or kitschy items like keychains, phone straps, and bag charms.

(7.) Use decoupaged containers to hold presents. 

If you think shoeboxes or empty cardboard boxes have minimal value, think again! A lot of crafters swear by a technique called decoupage to decorate and upcycle old containers.

And what's even better is, you can tear or shred just about any waste paper for the 1st layer of your decoupaged container. Make use of old documents, magazines and other periodicals, or even flyers and junk mail. 

For a vintage, shabby chic, or whimsical look, strategically place any flowers, embellishments, or craft materials of your desired style as a 2nd layer.

If you have boys and men on your gift giving list, cut out illustrations from low-value comic books, or images from video games, technology, automobile, or sports magazines.