I have a penchant for gift wrapping. Growing up with a staunch
feminist for a mother, whom I love dearly, our Christmas gifts were always hastily
wrapped in paper grabbed at the last minute, on Christmas Eve, with a bow and a
gift tag plopped on top. It was always a hassle, a chore, and more than likely
one that was passed on to me. Luckily for me (and for mom) I love wrapping. I also love other things that my mom detests
like doing crafts, decorating and renovating. For my mom, these kinds of activities
are associated with antiquated female roles like “the perfect hostess” or “homemaker”.
That doesn’t mean that we don’t have a lovely family home, or that my mom doesn’t
enjoying baking dozens of Christmas cookies and throwing holiday parties, it
just means that she has never wanted to feel like she is “supposed” to do these
things. And I get that. But I can’t help it, I enjoy them.
I’m getting sidetracked, the point is, the older I’ve grown the
more I’ve appreciated and enjoyed gift giving and gift wrapping. There is something really special
about choosing something for someone that you care about and wrapping it in an
equally care-filled way. We have made it obvious with our posts here at WTD
that we like to spoil our loved ones; whether it’s with a
DIY shower scrub,
a treasured book or simply
a potluck dinner with old friends, Christmas is a time to show
the people you love how much you love them. To me, wrapping just tops off those
sentiments. Crafting a beautiful looking parcel shows the care and thought you
put into purchasing the gift.
There are legitimate downfalls to wrapping, though and I am
going to address them. A lot of people can’t invest time or money into wrapping
because presents, especially for kids, are unwrapped in a matter of minutes.
Your hard work and determination is undone by your greedy seven year old nephew
who takes one look at the toy and tosses it aside. I can see how that is
frustrating. Generally, we like to be pretty eco-friendly here at WTD so the
fact that gift wrap creates a lot of garbage is a major concern. Luckily, gift
wrap is becoming more and more recyclable as the years pass. Look for gift wrap that has that magical
little triangle on the tag and make sure to tell the receiver that it is (most people assume it isn’t). Other great options include using
kraft paper (the kind you wrap parcels in for mail) or even newspaper and
dressing the otherwise plain packaging up with an extra beautiful ribbon or
bow. The best thing you can do is re-use
your gift wrap. Don’t crumple the bag or cut that ribbon! If take the time to
unwrap carefully and you can re-use almost every aspect of the present in future
gift giving.
Once you've collected a selection of pre-loved, recycled and used gift wrap do an inventory and decide what you need to buy. It may not be realistic to wrap each gift with the amount of care and love you want to. Decide who will appreciate your time and efforts the most and spoil them. If you can wait, try holding out until a week before the big day. In the beginning of December wrapping paper comes at a premium but wait, the sale stuff is best! I got a plethora of amazing wrapping goods
at Chapters yesterday for $2-$5 a piece! I got bows, ribbon, pretty tissue and a couple gorgeous tags to compliment my used/recycled/eco-friendly supplies.
I've done some serious brainstorming so I'll start by giving you some of my ideas (with a little help from the Internet):
Wrapping
an old map
- recycled brown (or other) bags
- kraft paper/butcher paper/brown paper
- newspaper
- magazine ads (ie. a super classy Chanel ad)
- pretty patterned pre-loved tissue paper (ie. the kind you get at higher-end stores in the bag)
- fabric scraps
- jars/tins/boxes
- sheet music
- burlap
- scrap wallpaper
- vintage sewing patterns (also works for tissue)
Ribbon
- ribbon
- twine
- raffia
- baker's twine
- string
- lace
- yarn
Accents Pieces
- snips of greenery
- sprigs of berries
- small Christmas ornaments you don't use anymore
- bells
- shells
- pine cones
- postcards
- doily
- twigs
- feathers
- aluminium foil for a silvery sparkle
- paint chips cut into the shape of Christmas trees ect.
Now, on to the fun. What I have collected and pinned from the wonderful world of the Internet:
Use Buttons
This is a particularly awesome idea for kids and who doesn’t
have a box full of spare buttons?
Use Your Feet:
Those feet-reindeer with googly eyes are probably the cutest thing I have ever seen!
Use Tree Clippings
You have to trim the bottom branches off your tree anyway so
why not use them in you wrapping?
Create a Chalkboard Look
Chalkboards are very on trend yet would be unique for Christmas, you can create a chalkboard look and tie it all together with red ribbon! I like creativity this option opens up! If you have kids let them draw some snowmen and mistletoe all over them.
Make them Girly with Doilies
I think the kraft paper and doily go together beautifully. Using brown string to tie it all together just completes that pretty, rustic look.
All Natural
I love this combo of natural accent pieces, a homemade typewriter tag, kraft paper and tied with raffia.
Splatter Paint
Not only does it look like snow but you get to re-live your Kindergarten days making it!
Potato Stamp
While you're still in your splatter painting clothes continue down memory lane and potato stamp some butcher paper with Christmas trees!
Feathery Flair
Real or fake, feathers add flair! These packages also have beautiful tags.
Lady-Like Lace
Adding a little lace is a pretty accent. Adding lace and ribbon? I'm in love! Simple elegance. I would use a Christmas-y coloured ribbon, though.
Cookie Cutter Patterns
If you have an excess of Christmas-y cookie cutters re-use a couple of them to make wintery designs on your parcels!
Sheet Music
I love the look of sheet music as wrapping paper especially for a music lover!
The last, and my favouirte!
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Sadly Pinterest had no click-through for this one :(
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Well, that's a wrap! Gotta book it!
xoxo JEM
P.S. post your eco-friendly, DIY, recycled and re-useable ideas in the comments! Tweet, Pin & Instragram us too!
