eco christmas wrapping

I take so much joy from wrapping up a gift for someone. At holidays, birthdays and when gift giving however I would buy reels of plastic wrapped sparkly themed paper which once discarded would undoubtedly end up in landfill and never really thought twice about it. Since we opted for a more plastic free - waste-less existence I vowed no more to buy the single use wrap or tags and have brainstormed new ways to wrap gifts beautifully without creating the same needless waste.

As always the mantra is to reduce, re-use and recycle wherever possible.

what you might need

FOR THE WRAP

recycled kraft paper or tissue paper from parcels you have received in the past

old art pages from wall calendars

discarded sheets from the Stendig wall calendar

i use biodegradable kraft tape to secure my parcel prior to tying with string (you can find some here)

to tie the bow

twine (widely available, you can find some here)

slips of ribbon (I collect these over time)

to address your parcel

dymo label printer to write messages or names

wooden letter stamps (I found mine here)

(alternatively if you’re arty you could simply spruce up your parcel with a marker)

trimmings

postcards or photographs to decorate

washi tape to secure (widely available)

dried flowers from outdoors such as lavendar

sprigs of holly at Christmas

If you are organised and plan in advance I find it is easy to save up and re-use paper to wrap with. Every time I receive a box in the mail which is packed with brown paper or coloured tissue I put it to one side and save it. The same goes for twine, or ribbon which comes my way. It all goes in a box to re-use when the occasion presents itself. Alternatively instead of brown kraft paper I have been known to use the discarded paper from our Stendig calendar which makes for nice monotone wrap adorned with numbers, (or white paper - if you turn it inside out). In the past when we used to hang wall calendars, I used to keep the pictures from the calendars and use them as sheets of wrapping, tying up with co-ordinating ribbon.

I almost always wrap up my parcel with twine or ribbon. To do this you lay the parcel front ways down with the centre of the string beneath and along the middle, bring the ends around the parcel and twist them 90 degrees at the centre of the back of the package. Then bring them back around to the front of your parcel and slipping underneath the original strand of string tie them in a knot and bow to secure.

You can buy huge packs of postcards online, often even cheaper if you find them in stationary stores or TKMAXX. I’ve used a Peter Rabbit set (available here) and I’m currently working through a Flower Fairies set (available here). Slip your chosen postcard beneath your string or ribbon and leave them loose or secure with a little washi tape. The Flower Fairies postcards are nice because they are available with alphabet letters which adds an extra personal touch. I have a couple of friends who have framed and hung the postcards, which made me smile.

You can use simple ink stamps or the Dymo label maker to stamp out the recipient’s name or a sweet message onto the kraft paper, or attach a handmade tag made from leftover paper.

I usually finish by adorning Christmas gifts with a little sprig of holly, or dried flowers at other times of the year.