One of the biggest ways you can squander away your Christmas budget is through expensive wrapping paper. It’s natural to want your thoughtful gift to look delightful and enticing, but a good-looking gift doesn’t have to be expensive. This Christmas season, look beyond the rows of wrapping paper at your favorite store and opt for one of these less-pricey, but no less fabulous, options. In addition to saving you money, less costly gift wrapping options also give your gift a unique, individual look that’s sure to stand out from under the tree.
1. Create your own gift wrap.
Use printer paper, newspaper, or cut-up grocery bags to carefully wrap your present. Spice up your homemade wrapping paper with ribbons, stickers, glue, glitter, and colorful duct tape. If your kids like to draw, let them go to town drawing on the package. The recipient will appreciate the love and care that when into wrapping the gift.
2. Use last year’s Christmas cards.
If you’re overwhelmed with an unusually large box of holiday cards from last year, use them as a creative way to gift wrap. Due to their cardboard backing, most holiday cards work best on square or rectangle shaped gifts. Place a card on your box and use clear tape to keep it in place. Tape the next card to the side of the first one and continue until you have a brightly colored quilted Christmas gift.
3. Go green with style.
Purchase a reusable grocery bag in Target’s $1 section or at your local dollar store. Some grocery stores, such as military commissaries, also offer reusable bags for as long as $.50 each. If you want to be even more creative, make your own resuable gift bag at home from a cut-up t-shirt or extra fabric you have laying around. Stuff a small or soft present, such as a sweater or socks, into the reusable bag. Not only will you be “giving green” with a reusable bag, but the gift will have an appearance that can’t be rivaled.
4. Put those wallpaper samples to good use.
Pick up some wallpaper samples from your local home decorating store or an entire roll of wallpaper from a nearby thrift shop. You can also mix-and-match wallpaper scraps you may have sitting around the house. Wrap the gift in wallpaper, which is both durable and easy to use, for an unusual, but tasteful look. If you’re mixing-and-matching wallpaper scraps, use clear tape to give the gift a quilted look or try out a colorful duct tape for a more vibrant appearance.
5. Blanket your gift with fabric.
If your craft room is overflowing with fabric samples, put some of them to good use wrapping your gift. Use strong tape or a large ribbon to keep the fabric in place on your gift. If you have several smaller pieces of fabric, quickly sew them together to cover the gift. Fabric is also a useful option for oddly shaped gifts, such as bottles of wine or funky hats. If your gift is for a child or sibling, check your storage boxes to see if you have an old favorite t-shirt or outfit you can cut up and use to wrap the gift with. The wrapping paper will not only be unusual and inexpensive, but memorable and special to the recipient.