Wrapped presents and gift wrap

The idea of wrapping that growing pile of presents sat in the corner of your bedroom or cupboard may seem a little daunting. But ticking this task off the list is a huge step forward to feeling more organised before the Big Day! So stick on some festive tunes and grab the scissors, because it’s time to get wrapping!

Schedule it in

I always recommend wrapping as soon as you buy, but I know this isn’t practical for a lot of people. You don’t want to leave it all to the last minute though, so schedule it in. Put on a Christmas movie, pour yourself a favourite drink, and get creative with your wrapping.

Last year when I popped round to see one of my lovely clients in early December, she was in the middle of her traditional gift wrapping day. A Gift Wrapping Day! Eek! What a great idea! She plans the day each year with her best friend, taking turns to host at each other’s houses. Not only do they get the wrapping done in one go, but it’s a target date to get all the shopping done early. And they get to spend the day catching up. Win win! I’d planned to do start a Gift Wrapping Day this year, but obviously COVID-19 had other plans. I’m looking forward to starting this new tradition with friends next year instead.

a white boxed gift tied up with red ribbon

Wrap carefully

Regular readers will know that I am always trying to reduce my impact on the environment. I love to see piles of beautifully wrapped presents under the tree on Christmas morning… but the bin bags of rubbish on Boxing Day? Not so much. Did you know that us Brits will throw away over 100 million rolls of gift wrap this year? So last Christmas I started to think about doing things a bit differently and sourcing some alternative and sustainable wrapping ideas. Much of the glossy, glittery paper that we love so much isn’t actually recyclable because of the plastics in them. So I wanted to share some of my ideas, and make this Christmas a little more eco-friendly.

Eco-friendly wrapping ideas:

  • Brown Paper: “Brown paper packages tied up with string…” are definitely some of my favourite things! Pinterest is full of gorgeous gifts wrapped in brown paper and beautifully accessorised.  You can literally decorate brown paper any way you like. Keep it simple with a bright ribbon and bow, raid the garden for holly and other seasonal greenery, or stick on some pom-poms and create your very own snowman or reindeer. For extra eco-brownie-points buy recycled brown paper. (WHSmiths and Paperchase have some 3 for 2 offers on recycled brown paper right now).

two gifts wrapped in brown paper and string

  • Newspaper & magazines: This is definitely one of the easier options when it comes to alternative wrapping. And the cheapest! Dig out some of your old newspapers and magazines, or ask friends if you can raid their recycling pile. Choose festive images, pages with a striking (or humourous!) headline and make them the feature of your wrapping. Or get creative and cut out elements to stick onto your brown paper as a personalised collage. It’s a great way to get children involved!

 

  • Baskets: A gift basket looks thoughtful, elegant and you can jazz them up as you please. Baskets are perfect if you want to gift someone a food hamper, an array of toiletries or just a pick ‘n’ mix type of gift where you can throw in all sorts of things tailored to that person. If you don’t have any baskets lying around, you can usually find them cheaply in charity shops.

 

  • Boxes: I’ve been saving boxes and tins all year to use as gift wrapping. The simplest way to gift-wrap! Simply pop the gift inside and tie up with a pretty ribbon (I have a stash of these saved throughout the year too) and you have an elegant gift waiting to present to the lucky recipient.

Three white boxes tied with white ribbon

  • Pillowcases: Another reason to declutter your linen closet! Use those orphan pillowcases as gift bags and deliver your gifts as a real life Santa Clause with your very own sack. Not to mention you can have so much fun decorating them anyway you like. Tie-die, stick on felt letters to spell out names, draw on them or just tie some ribbon around the top and you’re good to go.

 

  • Old clothes & fabric: Staying with the fabric theme, recycle those items that don’t quite make the cut for the charity donation bag. Cut them up and simply use as gift wrap, or get crafty and make some simple drawstring bags. Tie with ribbon and use year after year to present your gifts in a quirky but personal way.

Christmas gifts wrapped in paper and decorated with greenery

Ribbons and bows

Take your sustainable wrapping a step further by ditching the tacky foil bows this year and getting creative instead. Old ribbons, buttons, garden twine and string make pretty alternatives to the shop-bought decorations that end up in landfill. Head outside and cut winter foliage. Make pom-poms from left over wool, or raid the children’s craft cabinet together to get crafty. And save all the bits and pieces from this year’s gifts and greetings cards to personalise your gift wrapping next year.

The Mind the Wrap campaign

If the ideas above have sparked your interest in eco-friendly gift-wrapping, take a look at the Mind the Wrap campaign. The lovely Melat started her campaign to reduce the waste of single-use gift wrapping, and I love it! Her website is full of ideas for creative, simple gift-wrapping.Mind the Wrap campaign logo

I’d love to see the creative ways that you have wrapped your gifts. So head on over to the More Organised Facebook page to share your photos of your wrapping, post your photos to your favourite social media using the hashtag #moreorganisedChristmas, or simply reply in the comments below.

Happy wrapping!