How To Make “Green” Gift Wrap: Create Your Own Environmentally Friendly Wrapping Paper

Don’t put bags of crumpled gift wrap in the garbage this holiday season. Being eco-conscious and having great looking gifts aren’t mutually exclusive. There are plenty of ways to make your own wrapping paper, depending on how creative you want to get.

Sunday Comics

The full-color comics are already decorated for you. Just wrap up your gifts, using multiple sheets taped together for larger items.

Newspaper End Rolls

Call your local newspaper or printer and ask if you can pick up an end roll of paper. They can’t use it because it’s not long enough for a printing run, but it will supply you with seemingly endless wrapping paper.

You can use it as is, or create whatever designs you desire. If you have kids – or even if you don’t – giving it a dash of color is fun and easy.

How to decorate end rolls:

• Cut out holiday shapes (trees, stars, bells, Christmas trees) from kitchen sponges and stamp patterns
• Decorate the paper with school glue and add glitter for sparkle
• Create random patterns with colored markers in wavy lines
• Write holiday-inspired words such as “Peace,” “Joy” and “Hope”
• Decorate the paper with stickers or pictures cut out from magazines

Cloth Gift Bags

If you can sew a straight line with a sewing machine, use old pillowcases, sheets, curtains and any other material you have lying around to make cloth gift bags. You can make them to fit specific gifts. Learn how.

Re-use Wrapping Paper, Boxes and Gift Bags

If you saved any of last year’s wrapping paper, you can re-use paper that’s not torn or damaged. Gift boxes often don’t even need to be wrapped in additional paper and are easy to save and store to use for next year. Gift bags, especially, can be re-used again and again. Just be sure to save them from the trash when it’s time to clean up all the wrapping paper!

Environmentally-Friendly Ribbon

Almost everyone knows how to crochet a long, straight line. Use some brightly colored yarn and crochet a single string – this makes excellent ribbon from something you probably already have lying around the house.

Recycled Gift Tags

To make gift tags for your presents, look through your old Christmas cards and cut out pictures from the front. Punch a hole in them and tie them to the gift with some yarn (or stick with a piece of tape).
Recycle What You Can’t Reuse

To reduce those bags of garbage after the frenzy of present opening each year, don’t crumple up the gift wrap and stuff it into plastic bags. Take a few extra minutes to flatten it, fold it and put it in the recycling bin. It won’t take away from your holiday cheer and will spread some good will towards the Earth.