Keep it Simple: Eco Christmas Wrapping Ideas

I love to celebrate the seasons and the different delights they summon.  Christmas is the season for handmade treats and treasures, glistening lights, evergreen foliage and remembering a story.  Most of us will give and receive gifts this Christmas, and I’ve got a few ideas to share of quirky and beautiful wrapping ideas, that won’t cost the earth, both environmentally and personally!

Recycled Gift Tags

Recycled Gift Tags

1) Recycle Last Year’s Christmas Cards

This is always a top tip classic, but it truly works!  Try layering cut out snippets of last year’s favourite Christmas cards on recycled brown paper and attaching with eco glue such as i-glu eco friendly glue, which is available in either a 100ml bottle or a sponge applicator bottle. You could even accessorise with leftover buttons or scraps of fabric.

Get crafty and give old materials a new lease of life!

Fair Trade Gift Wrap

Fair Trade Gift Wrap

2) Fair Trade, FSC Certified Recycled Wrapping Paper

If you prefer to wrap your presents with decorative wrapping paper, make a positive impact this year, by making sure it’s fair trade, fsc or recycled.  In our beautiful range of wrapping paper, you are sure to find something to suit all ages from lively little robins, to colourful retro text, sparkling Christmas trees and glistening golden block-printed paper.

3) Brown Paper & Natural Gift Toppers

In my personal opinion, plain brown paper is truly brilliant.  It matches with everything! Why not try reverting to the classic and eco-friendly brown paper this year, and accessorise with snippets from in and around your garden.  Pine Cones, ivy leaves, rosemary, holly, berries and twigs all look wonderful & natural on top of traditional brown paper packages, tied up with string (or raffia, my favourite!) and these are easy and cheap to make.

Natural Gift Wrapping

Natural Gift Wrapping

4)  Decorate, Don’t Wrap!

Cafédirect Tea - All Wrapped Up!

Cafédirect Tea - All Wrapped Up!

Let beautifully packaged products speak for themselves, simply wrapping in unbleached string and attaching dried oranges and cinnamon.

It’s easy to make dried oranges yourself, just slice up some oranges and pop them in the oven after cooking, as the oven is cooling down.  Make sure that the oven is either switched off, or that the temperature is set to very low (no more than 100degrees).  Alternatively, put your sliced oranges in an airing cupboard or another warm, dry place to dry out slowly.

Recycled Map Gift Wrap

Recycled Map Gift Wrap

5) Use Up Leftovers

Leftover scraps of fabric, string or even wallpaper make great additions and alternatives to wrapping this Christmas.  I’ve seen beautiful designs made with torn pages of an old broken story books, and manuscript music paper looks great as a backdrop to a homemade recycled gift tag.  Old broken maps, picture books, even magazines and newspapers would be a fantastic alternative to brand new gift wrap.

When you’ve finished with something, see if you can recycle it – your friends and family will an inventively wrapped present as much as the gift itself!

Do you have tips to share?  Feel free to post them on our blog.

Images thanks to: 1) TarynMarie on Flickr, 3 & 5) Design Sponge, 4) Cafédirect on Flickr

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1 Response

  1. Martha says:

    I love this ideas. Will share them with my friends in my country Guatemala.

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