Wrapping Paper Alternatives: Green Christmas Wrapping

Wrapping Paper Alternatives:  Green Christmas Wrapping
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Every year in America over 50,000 cubic yards of paper is used for wrapping gifts - that is an estimate on families buying new Christmas wrapping paper each year. If every family stopped to reuse and recycle the paper from at least three Christmas presents the amount of paper saved would cover close to 45,000 football fields.

There are better and more creative ways to wrap your Christmas gifts that can not only help to save our environment but can also add that special personal touch to every gift that you give. Here are some eco-friendly wrapping options for this year’s holiday season:

  • Make your own wrapping paper. Recycle last years wrapping paper, use other saved wrapping paper’s for other holidays. If your old wrapping paper is all about a birthday or graduation, then flip it over and decorate the blank side. Tear out pages from the magazines around the house for wrapping. Save newspapers and even junk mail to decorate and incorporate into your wrapping design.

  • Make wrapping out of old clothes, blankets or pillow cases. Decorate them or leave them as is for a unique looking wrap.

  • Decorate cereal boxes or other empty boxes that you may have around the house to use as Christmas gift boxes.

  • Use old road maps, bus maps or trail maps for use as gift wrap.

If you don’t have the time to create, reuse and recycle paper products around the home there are also some eco options in purchasing Christmas gift wrapping. Here is a list of the most environmentally friendly gift wrap providers:

Lucky Crow: Offers a full line of reusable fabric gift bags.

WrapSack: Makers of reusable fabric gift bags with a twist in that you can Track-a-Sack. By tracking your sack online, everyone who receives it can post about what they received and who they “pre-cycled” the bag to.

So, this year for gift wrapping those Christmas gifts use your imagination and have some fun in creating your wrapping or in buying a more ecologically minded wrapping option.