If you celebrate Christmas with presents, you can fall into two categories: you are a wrapping paper serial killer who bursts open the gifts with no thoughts going to the wrapper, or you are a delicate being who uses scissors or a knife to open your gifts.
I have to say, I love keeping Christmas wraps to use in crafts, so I fall in the second category. My boyfriend? He’s a wrapping paper maniac: no paper shall resist!
Anyways, even though I like keeping wrapping paper, there comes a point where you have enough for a life time. What to do when you reach this point? Well, you try to find other ways to wrap your presents in the hope that others will do the same.
Not only are these ideas extremely simple, they are creative, and offer an extra gift to your friend or family member!
The first thing you want to check out when deciding to ban wrapping paper from your life is the Japanese art of Furoshiki. Using squares of fabric, this technique enables your to wrap any object in an elegant and fun way. Moreover, most of these are made to carry the actual object around: no gift bags necessary! There are plenty of examples on Youtube: how to wrap rectangular gifts, bottles, and even round objects. I improvised a little bit on this theme using scarves, but you could use tea towels or kitchen linens too. This way, not only do your friends get the gift, they also get a scarf or towel they’ll be able to use!
Another thing that you can do is customize cotton bags according to the gift you are giving. A few months ago, a colleague gave me the cutest knitting bag ever. You can get inspired online and draw away, or be poetic and write down your favourite quotes or poems. All you need are cotton bags, a fabric pen, both of which you can find at your local craft store, and a witty imagination. Not only does this double up as gift wrap and gift bag, your friend will be able to reuse the bag again and gain!
Finally, instead of buying bows and other throwable decoration, why not go for fairy lights? These really bring a magical touch to any wrapping, and can be reused by your family members to make a fairy light votive using a simple mason jar. Plus, no need to worry as these are LED lights and so do not warm up.
I really hope these few pointers give you ideas as to how to wrap you Christmas gifts in a fun, original and Eco-friendly way. Let me know what you think and how you are planning to wrap your presents this year!
My Lighthearted Kitchen 