Christmas all wrapped up

How do you wrap up?

There is something magical about presents sitting under the tree, all wrapped up and waiting to be discovered.

And we’re not about to suggest that you don’t wrap your gifts this year; instead we’d love it if you looked for new ways to keep your gifts a surprise until the big day.

Most of us opt for wrapping paper, maybe some of that shiny ribbon and the odd bow? But the ribbon and bow contain plastic that can’t be recycled easily – and if your wrapping paper contains foil that can’t be recycled either.

There is a different way…

Getting creative

Our motto is #reduce #reuse and #recycle in that order.

So, why not reduce waste by reusing some old magazine and newspapers for inspired wrappings with a personal touch. Pick the pages with meaningful content for your recipient and really show you care. If your gift is large, simply sellotape a few pages together until you have what you need to get it covered.

When it comes to ribbons, you could use twine instead which is compostable and it comes in some brilliant colours too.

If you’re planning on throwing out old clothes that are too worn for the charity shop, cut them into strips and use as ribbons, or you could even cut out squares to use as the wrapping ‘paper’ too! Cloth can be recycled at a clothes bank, or composted.

A game of tag

Gift tags are often foiled which again means they can’t be recycled, so make your own by cutting up an old cardboard box and drawing or printing designs on them. Use a hole punch to make a hole, and thread with twine to use on your gifts.

If you’ve thought ahead to save the Christmas cards received last year, cut them up to form your gift tags and reuse something that would otherwise end up in the bin.

You could forgo the tag altogether and paint or use a marker pen to draw on the names of recipients direct to the wrapping – this works especially well if you’re wrapping in plain brown paper (which recyles easily).

Alternatively, if you have the talent and the time, and you’ve opted for fabric wrapping, you could embroider the recipients name onto the fabric which would look amazing and really shows commitment to the gift of giving!

#onelesspiece of single use plastic

If you decide to wrap your gifts with the planet in mind this year, we’d love to see you pledge our #onelesspiece of single use plastic pledge on our dares page here. The more people we know are doing this, the less waste we know is being created! That’s the gift that keeps on giving!

More inspirational ideas

We’ve found this great websites for more inspiration on how to wrap without the waste…

7 Days of Gift Wrapping Ideas: Recycled Magazine Wrapping

20 Totally Unique Ways To Wrap Your Christmas Gifts