Every year I try to incorporate as many eco-friendly practices as I can into my gift wrapping routine. This time of year is already a stressful time but that doesn’t mean we put our eco-friendly practices on hold. It just means that we get a little more creative with our holiday wrapping.
So here are some eco-friendly holiday wrapping techniques!
1. Save wrapping supplies & reuse them next year – Sometimes I feel like I’m the only person who saves wrapping paper! I get such weird looks at parties when I try to save everything. But you know what? It’s far better to reuse something than to recycle it. Plus, unfortunately, wrapping paper isn’t recyclable, neither are bows or ribbons. So reuse wrapping supplies such as:
- Wrapping paper
- Gift Bags
- Gift Boxes
- Bows & Ribbons
2. Save and reuse shipping boxes – Give those Amazon Prime boxes a new life and use them as a gift box. No one will care because it’ll be wrapped up anyone. Just make sure it gets reused or recycled again!
Related: Eco-Friendly Gifts
3. Wrap gifts with recycled and recyclable materials – just like saving a shipping box, give new life to something you might throw away.
- Newspaper
- Maps
- Magazine clippings
- Shredded paper instead of tissue paper or stuffing
Related: Gifts That Give Back
4. Wrap gift with reusable materials – use something that can be used again or even something that’s part of the gift:
- A Tea Towel
- Blanket or T-shirt
- Reusable Canvas Bags
- Fabric
Related: 5 Digital Gift Cards
5. Use natural elements in wrapping:
- Pine cones
- Pine tree scraps
- Raffia ribbon
- Jute Twine
Related: DIY Christmas Tree Wrapping Paper
6. Make your own wrapping materials:
- DIY Wrapping paper
- DIY Bows (from magazines or un-reusable wrapping paper)
- DIY gift tags
- DIY Seed paper gift tags
Related: DIY Holiday Potpourri Gift Jar
BONUS
*Don’t forget to buy a real Christmas tree instead of a plastic one that, even though gets reused every year, still ends up in a landfill eventually and doesn’t support farmers!
*Carpool to holiday parties & celebrations.
*Don’t be afraid to regift. It’s better that someone else get use out of it rather than you throwing it away.
Be sure to tag us if you use any of these tips! What are some of your holiday eco-friendly practices?
Christina is a twenty-something living with her beagle, Mash, and husband, Nate in their van. She loves traveling, shopping, art, and photography. She’s also a vegetarian, pop-culture enthusiast, book-lover, and Dave Matthews Band fanatic. Catch her somewhere around the country in a converted camper van or at home in Florida for a visit.
I have a ton of maps that I can use! Thanks for the idea. I was going to recycle them.
Oh man maps are such great things to keep for projects! I love them!
I love the idea of reusing an old map! It looks so cool!
Thanks! My mom had all of these old maps and I thought that was the perfect thing to use them for!
I think its really important to be aware of your effect on our environment. Most people wouldn’t realize that gift wrap could be non-ecofriendly. Thanks for giving some options!
Britt Mont | http://www.othersideof25.com
Reusing Amazon boxes is something I’ve become quite the pro at. Seriously, it’s a wonder why everyone doesn’t do it. I also love using newspapers to wrap gifts in. I’ve found that wrapping up gifts in the comics section has been a great hit!
That’s got to be so cute using the comics section! I love it!
Eco-friendly is always the way to go, if possible. Great post