It should come as no surprise that Christmastime isn’t the most eco-friendly time of the year. We’re not here to bust your chops about that. But, there are some fun and easy ways to create less trash as you celebrate this year. One of the easiest ways is rethinking how you wrap the gifts you give; especially since wrapping paper is not recyclable! (Neither are traditional bows and ribbons…).
Here’s our list of earth-friendly alternatives to traditional gift wrapping:
- Furoshiki. Never hear of it? The idea is to wrap a gift in a square of fabric. No finding the end of the tape, no running out of paper, and you can use a scarf, hanky, hand towel, or blanket to make the wrapper part of the gift. There are some great how-to videos on YouTube.
- Cardboard kind of looks like gingerbread. Decorate accordingly.
- Add a touch of the outside instead of bows. Pine clippings, boxwood, holly, cedar, pine cones and rosemary make for beautiful and fragrant adornments.
- Wrap gifts in Kraft paper and recycle it when you are done. (You can find it with the shipping supplies at stores or you can use paper grocery bags turned inside out).
- Another alternative to bows is to print a favorite picture of the recipient to add to the box.
- Use reusable bags.
- Start a new tradition. Make or buy a Santa sack for your children. No wrapping needed.
- Did you get some bubble wrap in a shipment? Wrap a box in bubble wrap. It kind of looks like ice/snow and it’s basically a toy, too. Who doesn’t love to pop bubble wrap?
- If you still get a newspaper, wrap in the funny papers.
- Use old wallpaper scraps.
- Your favorite sheet music can make a cool wrapper. (Okay, maybe not your favorite…)
- Cereal boxes can be folded into new boxes.
- Only have the top or the bottom of a gift box. That can be folded into a new box, too.
- Pringles cans make great cookie holders.
- Old holiday cards can be made into new gift tags.
- Yarn, satin ribbon, jute and other craft supplies can be used for tying packages.
- Aluminum foil is both shiny and recyclable.
Need other ideas? One word…Pinterest…
