Giving a present is a whole experience; there is the anticipation of receiving the present or the surprise when the recipient is not expecting the gesture, unwrapping the box and finally getting to the present. In this article, we are focusing on wrapping presents.
Single use gift wrap is the choice that most of us make when wrapping a present but this can create a lot of waste piling up in landfills. But not many people would like to give a present that is not wrapped. It takes all the surprise and anticipation out of receiving a present. But you can still maintain the mystery of gifting a person by considering other alternatives that will not harm the environment. Wrapping papers are expensive as well and you can better use that money towards the gift. A great cost-effective alternative is newspaper or recyclable paper bags. You can decorate them on your own by writing a personal message on them or even drawing a pattern. It will be more appreciated than the run of the mill commercial wrapping paper. You can also get some stamps and wax and have a lot of fun creating unique prints.
Many of us get items delivered home and these generally come in shipping boxes or cardboard boxes. You can reuse these without an extra cost and you can guarantee the box will be reused by the recipient as well. These will also come with other shipping supplies such as bubble wrap that can be reused when you are gifting another person. This will ensure the present is protected. If you are gifting something small, you can reuse padded envelopes. These can be decorated by cutting and pasting shapes and stickers onto it. You can also paint the envelope in a different colour. If you want to go the extra mile when it comes to sustainability, you can even create your own ink by crushing some berries, flowers etc. You can also use biodegradable paper tape instead of single use plastic scotch tape. These are generally made of pulp, wood fibre and natural adhesives. And the beauty of these tapes is that they come in different colours and patterns.
How about giving two presents in one? You can do this by wrapping the present in something useful like fabric. There is decorative fabric you can use to make sure that the recipient can use it in their own home. It can be a washcloth, a small tablecloth etc. There are so many tutorials that you can refer to for fabric wrapping. There are so many natural decorative elements that you can use such as cinnamon sticks, dried flowers and leaves, cotton buds, toothpicks etc. You can even clip a sprig off your Christmas tree to include in the gifting box or envelope. There is even biodegradable glitter that you can experiment with. But you can also exclude tape altogether by following tape free wrapping methods. You can also repurpose parts of old clothes into bows and ribbons.
