I know. Seven is an odd (literally) number to use
here. Well, I have seven ideas to share, did you want me to leave out a couple to make it a more sensible-sounding five? Just skip two when you get bored.
So, here are seven, count them, ideas for how you can minimise expense and waste when wrapping your presents this Christmas…
1 Wrap your present in a present
There are some staples in life that you can never have
enough of, tea towels being one of them. Wrap up a gift in a fetching tea towel
so your giftee gets not one but two presents! And there’s no waste leftover.
If you want to steer clear of possible washing-up faux pas,
wrap your present in a handkerchief (clean, please), scarf or even an item of
clothing. The person who receives this unconventionally wrapped present will
love the concept of bonus wrapping.
2 Make a wallpaper gift bag
Look at a gift bag and you’ll see how
simply it is made. It’s a bit like you started wrapping up a box but stopped
after you sealed one end. Punch holes in the other end (which has become
your bag opening) and thread through some ribbon or string to make handles or
to close the bag. The great thing about using wallpaper is that it’s super
sturdy so won’t collapse under the weight of a hefty gift and will probably be reusable.
(There is a great tutorial on making gift bags as part of
the 12 Days workshop)
3 Keep it simple
You can’t go wrong with brown paper tied up with string. If
it’s good enough for Julie Andrews, it’s good enough for everyone.
4 Get your pens out
But if you think that’s too plain-looking, after you’ve
wrapped your prize, decorate it. You can go old school (ie act like you’re six
again) and go crazy with the glitter glue and poster paints. Or, go for a
simple motif like spots. One or two colours dotted all over the parcel will
look simple but effective. And it’s not because I, er you, can’t draw.
5 Fox them
No, not some elaborate fox fur wrapping, how wrong that
would be! No, confuse the lucky gift recipient by wrapping their treasure in a
box wholly unrelated to it. For example, put a book or a DVD in a cereal box,
stuffed with old newspaper to stop it rattling around. A word of warning
though, don’t put your gift in a box that housed something more expensive as
you don’t want to see disappointment on your loved one’s face. I’m speaking
from experience, in my teenage, more materialistic days, I received a cuddly toy
in a Converse Allstars box…
6 Make it Look Good Naked
Not you, the present. I'm not going totally Gok Wan on you but if your present is already a v pretty thing, don't cover it up. Tie a ribbon around it with a gift tag cut from an old Christmas card and give it as it is. Works great on plants, not so great on socks. Unless they're gorgeous-looking socks of course.
7 Not seriously though…
I don’t really advocate this unless you reuse the wrapping,
but you could always try kitchen foil. It’s cheap, it requires only tearing not
cutting and no sticky tape as you can scrunch the ends. And the idea came from
Gavin and Stacey’s Christmas Special last year so I can’t claim the credit!
Just reuse the foil on your turkey later, please…
If you have more genius, or just quietly useful, green
wrapping ideas please share them here. Happy wrapping…!
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