If you’ve gone shopping lately for Christmas, you’re probably going to be doing a lot of wrapping.
Don’t get me wrong -I’m all for the bag and tissue way out.
However, I have a ton of fun thinking up new ways to stick with the traditional wrapping method.
I mean, look how fancy this white paper and foliage combination looks.
Burkatron suggests going with an evergreen sprig for Christmas, though I like her olive branch just fine.
Who doesn’t love the traditional, rustic look of brown paper?
A great way to add a personal touch is by using stamps. Or, keep that artistic look with stencils and paint.
Once your ink or paint is dry, wrap the present up all classy with some twine or simple yarn.
In that vein, take the brown paper/painting project over to your kids for a great craft idea.
They’ll love gifting things for friends or teachers in paper they decorated themselves.
When I was a child, I followed steps in a crafting book for making my own wrapping paper bags.
I was so proud of myself, thinking the bags were some new way to wrap.
Trust me when I say that sewing full-on envelopes to enclose a present is, actually, something unique you can be proud of.
Obviously, you’re not going to be able to wrap a piano that way. But, they’re great for gift cards.
Any holiday produces a lot of garbage for landfills. Christmas is one of the worst.
Let’s give Mother Earth a little break by considering a few eco-friendly options for wrapping.
Ecocult suggests things like accenting with used scarves and ornaments; wrapping in old maps; using old containers as “boxes;” and reusing tissue paper, ribbons, and paper.
After that, you can’t get more eco-friendly than using actual plants to hide presents’ contents.
These pictured samples use banana and bamboo leaves, plus birch bark.
This idea is very much like our stamped examples above, with one important difference.
I wanted to point out your ability to color on that brown paper however you want. In this case, Burlap and Blue drew squiggly electric wires, then painted various Christmas lights.
Who’s to stop you from trying crayons, collages, or photographs?
Are you presenting someone with a few boxes? Stack them together in a single theme by building a snowman.
My go-to is usually to tie things together with ribbons and tape, which is nowhere near as cute as this idea.
Why stop there, even? Build a Santa, a Creeper, a reindeer, or a train. What you don’t have in actual colors of wrapping paper you can make up for with colored paper accents.
Have you ever tie-dyed a shirt? You wrap it all up, randomly twisting some parts and securing with elastic bands. After painting, you pull out a multi-patterned marvel.
This tie-dyed tissue is a very similar idea.
First, you fold the tissue up into a triangular shape. Then, since it’s so flimsy and absorbent, you carefully dip corners of it into diluted paints.
Spread, then dry completely. Tubular, dude.
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