The lead-up to Christmas can be a busy time for everyone: from decorating the tree to agonising over which gifts to buy, there are plenty of tasks on our to-do list! But somehow wrapping Christmas presents never feels like a chore, particularly when settling in on a cosy winter evening and listening to your favourite carols. Christmas offers crafters many opportunities to be creative, and while shop-bought wrapping paper can be convenient, there are many fun, eco-friendly alternatives you can use instead. Read on for five creative ways to wrap Christmas presents - with ideas you can also use for wrapping gifts at any time of year!
Calendars
After enjoying our calendars all year, it always seems such a shame to throw them away in January. Rather than putting them in the recycling, why not save them until next Christmas, and use them to wrap presents? Calendar pages work particularly well for books, and can look even smarter when paired with ribbon in a complimentary colour - here I’ve used a thinner ribbon to reveal more of the picture below.
Colouring book pages
After weeks of anticipation, children can open all their gifts in a scarily short space of time. Extend the fun by including crayons or pencils in their stocking, and wrap their presents in colouring book pages, which they can colour-in later in the day. And why limit this to little ones - there are now many colouring books available for adults, who might also enjoy a little colouring in the lull between Christmas lunch and an afternoon walk!
Brown paper
Brown paper is an amazingly versatile option for wrapping gifts. Pair it with rustic string, colourful ribbons, or even dried flowers - here I’ve used brown paper with hessian and satin ribbons, alongside dried eucalyptus.
Brown paper also has the advantage of being easily recyclable, while some commercial wrapping paper is not. You can be even more eco-friendly by creating your own gift tags using last year’s Christmas cards, or, as here, the sides of our Crafty Kit boxes!
Scarves & other fabric
You can give two gifts in one by wrapping your presents in silk scarves, or use up spare fabric from dressmaking or craft projects. Here I’ve used a scarf combined with ribbon, reinforced by a little masking tape!
In case of emergency...use tin foil!
Finally, this idea comes courtesy of my partner - who has been known to leave his wrapping until Christmas morning. If you find yourself facing the dire emergency of running out of wrapping paper (or sellotape) at 11 pm on Christmas Eve, when all the shops are closed, tin foil can save the day, and looks surprisingly festive when embellished with ribbon. Here I’ve added a sprig snipped from our Christmas tree, the ribbon from a notebook tied in a little bow, and a charm from a broken bracelet: proving that necessity is the mother of invention, and you should never throw anything away!
Which creative ways do you use to wrap your Christmas presents? Please share your ideas with us in the comments below, or on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter!
Rebecca at the Crafty Kit Co xoxo
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