A Holiday (w)Rap
This is the season
To give something pleasin’
So go ahead and lavish
But watch all the rubbish
‘Cuz the earth ain’t a trash heap
And we are here for keeps
Dreaming of a green holiday? Here are some absolutely fab ways to package your gifts that will help to reverse the 25% garbage increase during the holiday season.
Wrap a gift in a gift: Two gifts are double the fun. Demonstrate your creative flair through your present presentation and your gifts are sure to be remembered. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Use a knit cap to wrap a small gift. Close the cap with a barrette or a brooch.
- Place presents for students inside a backpack.
- Wrap books, cds, or DVDs in a canvas shopping bag.
- Put toy animals inside a cowboy hat, and wrap a bandana around it.
- Package home-baked goodies in a reusable tin or food storage container.
- Wrap large gifts in a beach towel or blanket.
- Showcase jewelry in a decorative wooden box.
- Place tools, flashlights, or car gear inside a toolbox.
- Arrange kitchen utensils inside of an oven mitt.
- Wrap kitchenware or dining room gifts inside a dishtowel, apron, or tablecloth.
- Put clothing and other gifts inside decorative hatboxes and tie with a hair ribbon.
- Place gardening tools in a planter or bucket.
- Wrap sewing accessories in a fabric remnant and tie it with a piece of lace or ribbon.
- Use a knit cap to wrap a small gift. Close the cap with a barrette or a brooch.
- Place presents for students inside a backpack.
- Wrap books, cds, or DVDs in a canvas shopping bag.
- Put toy animals inside a cowboy hat, and wrap a bandana around it.
- Package home-baked goodies in a reusable tin or food storage container.
- Wrap large gifts in a beach towel or blanket.
- Showcase jewelry in a decorative wooden box.
- Place tools, flashlights, or car gear inside a toolbox.
- Arrange kitchen utensils inside of an oven mitt.
- Wrap kitchenware or dining room gifts inside a dishtowel, apron, or tablecloth.
- Put clothing and other gifts inside decorative hatboxes and tie with a hair ribbon.
- Place gardening tools in a planter or bucket.
- Wrap sewing accessories in a fabric remnant and tie it with a piece of lace or ribbon.
Reuse, recycle: Every year, 38,000 miles of ribbon alone is thrown out; that’s enough to tie a bow around the Earth! These money-saving tips also help to reduce landfill waste.
- Decorate oversized gifts with just a bow that can be used again.
- Save this year’s cards to cut up and use for gift tags next year.
- Design your own wrapping paper using brown shopping bags; decorate them with paints, ink stamps, crayons, or markers.
- Wrap sports gifts in newspaper from the sports section.
- Embellish gifts with burned out Christmas lights, rather than ribbon.
- Use children’s artwork, leftover wallpaper, or the Sunday comics as wrapping paper.
- Buy gift baskets and leftover holiday wrapping paper at thrift shops.
- Reuse or recycle paper, gift bags, tissue, boxes, bows, and ribbons.
- Save packing peanuts to reuse when mailing gifts; newspaper and unbuttered popcorn also make excellent packing materials.
Use sustainable wrapping products: Eco-friendly doesn’t have to be boring. Check out these innovative, unique wrapping products.
Fish Lips Paper Designs Gift Wrap: Bold, hip holiday designs printed on 100% recycled paper with soy-based inks.
MAPWRAP: Perfect for travel-related gifts, this paper is made from actual reclaimed NYC subway and US topographical maps.
Bloomin’ Gift Wrap, Cards & Tags: Made from 100 percent post-consumer paper, soy-based inks, and organic pigments, these products contains a mix of annual and perennial wildflower seeds that bloom when planted.
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