I love these ideas! One thing to note although acrylic gives wonderful color payoff, it is plastic based and makes the paper harder to recycle. Consider using a watercolor instead
I came to comment this as well. I wonder if diluted food colouring would work as well? Would be less bold in colour but definitely more earth friendly.
When I was a kid me and my grandma would wrap shoe boxes in wrapping paper and put the gifts inside of it. We would reuse those boxes for years and years.
My mother had an old Depends (adult diaper) box from my great grandma that she used for our large gifts for years. She made it a point to switch off which kid got it every year. lol
I’ve been doing brown paper wrap with either candy cane twine or hemp (mostly because it’s always laying around, branches with berries, cinnamon, dried apple stars, and fir branches to decorate for YEARS! My boyfriends family so always so amazed by it and they have all started to do the brown paper too! 😊 this year I bought a very small star cookie cutter and I’m using manadarin peels (since we eat so many) and cutting them into mini stars and then drying them. ITS GONNA BE SO CUTE AND SMELL SO NICE.
With the mandarin peel stars, you want to lay them in a single layer between felt or wax paper and press them flat for 8 hours. Once they curl up, it’s over. You do want to check them and move them around so they don’t spoil. They are so cute on a string as a garland or added to potpourri.
such an amazing idea with the mandarin peel, i eat soooo much mandarins and always wrapped my presents with brown paper, so thats an amazing idea! thank you!
My extended family always saves any gift bags and we reuse them in the future, same thing with wrapping paper. I haven't had to buy any gift wrap or bags for quite some time because of this, just have to resist the temptation to tear through the paper like a wild lynx to get at the pressies.
Holly K I’m guilty of being the bag and tissue paper collector. I’m the one in the background going “HEY HEY HEY! Use scissors!!” And “I WANT MY BAG BACK! Don’t rip it!”
We always reuse our boxes as well! Our family had the same boxes for years until my dad accidentally took them to the recycling center one year😂 At least they got recycled though. We just bought a bunch of new cardboard boxes and now we will probably use those for years!
When I first saw in some movie that people were tearing their wrapping paper i was kinda shocked. I thought everyone took the paper off neatly to save it for the next year. Maybe it's a family quirk but honestly tbh everyone should do it, it doesnt ruin the surprise of the present
annukatu we always put items in gift boxes for Christmas and we’re always sure to save the boxes for the following year. As a kid I always thought it was to save money but those decorative gift boxes are rarely recyclable! It’s a good habit I’ve developed over the years that have my our family very environmentally concious
@@alymckone And also-- my family would always be looking out for what box your gift comes in. There was a favorite with a snowman that was coveted. :-D
BrianaLynn7 you can add the paper in an eco friendly way. You can use recycled paper, napkins, you can wrap a strip of the paper around the box and tie with jute or you could lightly damp it and it will stick just fine. There’s also biodegradable glue
I also saw someone create an advent calendar using toilet roll tubes with a chocolate inside. She drew on the numbers and put them all in a bowl for her son
Our family uses cloth gift wrap, since the noise and mess of paper overwhelms my kids who have sensory issues. Christmases have been so peaceful since we switched.
In my biology class today I learned that only 9% of recycling is actually recycled. Most is still thrown in a landfill. Made me feel STRESSED, but this vid helped
That has to be for a specific country. I live in Sweden and the numbers are way different here. I Think it´s about 70% of the cardboard and nearly same on glas ,a bit more for paper, plastic is a little less I Think... Electronics (both small things like microwave owens, hair dryers aso and large things like stoves, washing machines etc) are really high here. We have had special bags for food waste in all parts of the country to short time to messure but I know it´s much higher then 9% Our whole garbage system is different then in alot of other countries, we divide stuff in fractions already in our homes and then we leave it in different cans or places Before it´s picked up and taken to huge sorting places and been taking carred of.
Wonderings ANNA thats awesome, I wish America and more Asian countries were better about it. It was probably about America’s trash because I know we sell most of our recyclables to China and then nothing happens with them
I know for sure that in Norway more than 90 %of plastic bottles are recycled. I lived there. They have machines at most grocery stores, you put a bottle in and machine gives you receipt, then you can cash that receipt or use it to pay for groceries. USA is a Wild West in recycling 😭
This year I’ve wrapped my presents in brown craft paper and have made origami trees, stars and bows for decoration. It’s simple, but the textural element is quite effective.
Always good to try your best, if being eco conscious is important to you then it shouldn't matter if the other person isn't. You don't want to be upset buying paper you don't want to support just to cover their present. Plus your good paper will still breakdown in amounts the rubbish.
If I'm with the person when I unwrap the gift, I think it'd be okay to ask for the wrapping back. If they know you're someone who likes to reuse things, I don't think it'd be a big deal. Even so, I think it'd be okay to text them and ask if they can save it so you can reuse it hahaha. Odds are, they won't want it anymore anyway! Sometimes when I give gifts in gift bags, I ask my friends if they want the bag or not. Usually they don't care. ^_^
My tip: REUSE. Most of my friends use gift bags for wrapping and I save them and use them again. Most of the time they are totally reusable if they are not banged up.
We do the same thing with the sturdy Christmas boxes and bows at my house. Buying them every year adds up so we just save them. They have lasted us quite a few years. 😊
I work in a second hand shop, and a lady came in and bought a few tartan scarves from us, she used them to wrap her gifts and the people got an extra scarf as a pressie :) Tried really hard this year to thrift gifts, decorations, and wrapping paper. But I did fine a few brown rolls in the works for any UK peoples. I wrapped in brown, used some holly from a local Bush, and used some tartan ribbon I got from a local sewing market stall. Means people can reuse the wrapping too :) I hadn't thought of stamping tho... Have a few more to wrap.. Going to use this trick!
Seeded paper is really easy to diy and can be used to make cards, and present tags. I used it to make my business cards for my Etsy...trying to make my Etsy eco friendly ;)
"Brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things." I couldn't help but sing that in my head during that entire segment. :D
Something I tried out because I didn’t have any wrapping paper, was to wrap the gift with some old newspaper. People really liked it and I got a lot of compliments. I also added a newspaper bow to complete the look
This year i use old book sheets as wrapping paper (only for small gifts) but it looks super cute. Especially if you find an old flora/ flower book at the thrift shop 👍🏻
About the dried oranges: We use to slice apples wery thin and let them dry over a towel on the radiator, they become crispy and are a really good snack! Also when we eat tangerines we leave the peel on the radiator too, it smells good :D
We grew up using pillow cases, fabric (that was normally just as exciting as I adore sewing )or actual clothes as gift wrap. Amazing how neatly you can wrap a long pajama top around its set of pants etc.
My stepmom used the Sunday funnies because they're colorful and she would use her Xmas cards for tags. Brown paper bags cut to fit the gift with a fancy bow she made out of her sewing stash. If you did get a gift that was wrapped in regular wrapping paper you didn't rip into the gift like some crazy person. She recycled everything. Shoe boxes and gift boxes that people have her with gifts in them . This was 46yrs year ago because that's how old I am. She was a head of the recycling game years ago.
I love to put presents in reusable bags. You can get creative with the print on them and then they make perfect shopping bags to encourage the recipient to stop taking plastic.
Making festive reusable festive gift bags could also be a good option. Making a special one for each family member they can reuse every year would be an awesome tutorial. Maybe stretchy jersey pillow cases (stretchy so more room if needed upcycled with prints, appliqués, tassels and a drawstring at the top.
Love this ! I literally can save so much by using what I have in my craft room to wrap gifts instead of buying bags, bows, & gift wrap. DIYing makes less waste and I'm here for it. GENIUS!
I started making reusable fabric bows a few years ago and it was worth it. Not only do they look adorable, but we have reused them every year since. The trick to make sure they stick to the package is double sided tape.
I think the wrapping paper is a great activity friends and family can do together no matter how old you are. It makes gift giving that much more meaningful.
I’ve been wrapping in craft paper for years because I love the aesthetic. I have used twine and ribbon. My aunt has been copying me, so I might stamp them with ink this year! So smart!
I've made baskets (2nd hand) of treats ,jam,jelly, pickles, I made myself, lined them with cotton fabric I bought at the second hand shop, I'll be adding homemade bread and cookies (that are in the freezer atm) and Mason jars filled with hot chocolate mix,plus mugs (from the second hand shop).
I made my friend jams, tea biscuits and some dried herb mixes for tea from my garden and soy wax candles. She really liked it! It was my first time giving a handmade gift
Omg. Love the tip about washi tape. I had no idea it was made from plants. I'm reusing gift bags from last year's Christmas, as well as making some of my own reusable fabric gift sacks as well.
This is such a great video, thanks so much for sharing! A trick I used last year was use my kids' drawings as wrapping paper. They come home from kindergarten with drawings every single day and I just can't keep them all, so we use them as wrapping paper. People also enjoy the personal touch. I love the fabric idea, so cute!
Tea Towels are great for gift wrapping - nicely finished edges, come in different sizes, bright festive colours and patterns (can even get metallic - I have some lovely silver and gold circles on white background that pick up the lights from the Xmas tree). If it's big enough to wrap around but not to tie, wrap the towel around (gives an overlap seam down the length of it), then roll the other two ends toward the side of the gift with that seam; this becomes the bottom. Wrap a nice piece of reusable ribbon or cord in the usual X style, with the bow on top, and you're all set. Can be reused many times. My family has also slowly been collecting pretty boxes, and just tie ribbon (dollar stores have big rolls for cheap and make it through many uses) around it. We make gift tags by cutting squares out of the front of Xmas cards (as long as no writing on the back), round off the corners and punch a hole that can be threaded on twine or thin ribbon, and tied on to the bow. If you have wide ribbon, you don't need to be able to tie fancy bows; tie it like a shoelace, fluff the loops, and you're done. We do still use paper for the little kids though. There's just something about tearing off the paper that isn't the same with undoing a ribbon, or pulling aside fabric.
Love this! Great inspo. 💕 I still use the wrapping paper I bought five years ago. Once it's gone , I will never buy something like that again, it's so annoying to use. For christmas, I often sew something useful and put a little present inside, so I don't even need paper, which is why it takes me so many years to go through one roll of wrapping paper.
Before this video was up I wrapped all of my presents with brown paper, twine, orange slices, brown paper tags, cinnamon sticks, and a little wood tag with the first letter of their name. They look so cute 😁😁😁
Love this video!! My mom has started using clothes pins for name tags and you could also use safty pins with paper. There are also soy based inks so those may be good to check out instead of paint.
I usually get most of my Christmas wrapping from the thrift store or estate sales, but I’ve also disassembled paper grocery bags by undoing the seams and turning them inside out (so the logo faces inward) to wrap gifts. You can also get old dictionaries (where the pages have yellowed) and tear out some of the pages to wrap smaller gifts.
For the past few years, we’ve used fabric bags. My mom had a fabric stash she wanted to use up. She just made basic rectangular pillow case type bags and we tie them with ribbon. Easy clean up and super easy wrapping
My brother-in-law always surprises us with his wrappings, because he cant remember where the wrapping paper is and refuses to buy more, because he knows he already has it, somewhere :) One year everything was covered with newspaper (only black&white pages, even aesthetically pleasing), one year it was foil. No ribbons, no bows, no frills - idk, its minimal, but charming. Even the foil got re-used as dozen or so balls for our cats, they had some extra xmas-fun chasing them around. This year Im kinda anticipating on used opaque plastic bags, since we talked about it on one of these specialty wrapping years.
I use simple brown paper and red twine and one done that for a few years and it makes me happy seeing people appreciate the designs on the paper before opening as I draw and paint them on, and the best part is its completely environmentally friendly ❤❤
I actually cut out the orange peel with a star shaped cookie cutter, clamped it between 2 pieces of cardboard and put it on too of my heater to dry them!😍 After 1-2 days they were dry 👌🏻 I'm gonna make a garland with it as well
Cotton yarn, especially smaller amounts leftover from projects, makes great string to tie up packages and is biodegradable. Little homemade cotton yarn pompons tied to presents make great bow substitutes.
Reusable grocery bags are great for gifts too, as well as tea towels or bath towels! I've even used pillow cases in the past too, either laid flat as wrapping "paper" or as a gift bag (stuff gift inside) . :)
A fun and usefull thing to add to the packaging is hand rolled incense sticks. I bundle one or two together with a cinnamonstick and some sage. Looks super cute and is also part of the gift ^^ Am definitely gonna try to add dry orange slices for colour! 🧡
Idunn goddess has a great glue recipe. It's even firm enough to glue wallpaper and it's made of water and flour. And she uses a lot of salt dough in her diys. You should definitely check her channel.
Another eco friendly hack is to use as little tape at possible when wrapping gifts and rely on the twine and folding to keep it together also makes it easier to open and save the old wrapping paper
I love these ideas. In my family we always saved gift boxes and bags. We reused them often. When I got married 7 years ago, I started doing the same thing. I also reuse ribbon from gifts people give me. I also make my own gift tags from cards and from tags you might find on clothing. I store my Christmas ornaments in really cute vintages looking boxes that I got at a store. That goes inside my bins. I have fabric bags for storing my Christmas lights. I keep them organized and labeled so I know what is indoor and what is outdoor. It’s great to help the environment. I really took helping out the environment to heart back in like 4th or 5th grade. Years later, I still care. I’m not perfect. I don’t live a minimalist zero waste lifestyle. I try my best to do what I can. I reuse a lot, I recycle what I can. I feel it’s important to enjoy life and be okay knowing things won’t always be perfect. Small changes like this seen in the video are great.
These are wonderful ideas! I actually love using bows on my presents, though. It’s like my trademark. So what I usually do, is ask for the bows back so that I can reuse them. 😋
I get a newspaper on Sunday and save the paper for lots of reasons but I keep the comic section, the car advertising section, and any place with a recipe separate for a fun readable gift wrap. I also know some places can recycle clean aluminum foil and you can use that to wrap with! Plus, it’s shiny and doesn’t require tape to be held together! Another double gift idea too is a reusable shopping bags as gift bags. Everyone loves a double gift!
Another idea is to make different size burlap sacks with a draw string closure. You can embroider them and reuse them every year. I’m going to start doing this with my immediate family, so I can collect them after we open gifts and pack them away with the Christmas decorations.
I saw on amazon, you can buy wrapping paper that has wild flower seeds in it, so when the holidays are over you can literally throw the paper in your garden, it will break down and leave the seeds to grow! Pretty cool!
I made really big drawstring bags for my siblings, parents, and I so our parents didn’t need to buy any gift wrap or bows. Best of all they are Christmas on one side and made reversible with another material on the inside which we use for a birthday bag. With there being 9 of us we estimated that in the past couple years we saved more then we spent on fabric ☺️ we actually used thrifted fabric for some of them too
My mum has a couple of massive rolls of kraft paper she uses to make patterns for clothes, but since we're not running out anytime soon, we also use them to wrap gifts sometimes. They look awesome just tied with a little twine bow! :D
Great ideas. You can also save and reuse the wrapping paper and bags from last year. You can make the gift bags from old magazines or your old gift paper.
I look at the thrift store all year long for things to use for gift packaging. I reuse holiday tins, baskets, pretty jars, and find fabric to make bags or cut into strips in place of ribbon. I love brown paper packages tied up with string :) Merry Christmas!
I’ve been using brown paper and twine for over 30 years, I add a handmade ornament to the twine bow. If the gift is small enough use brown paper lunch bags. We reuse gift bags if we receive them.
I am doing a SERIOUSLY thorough clear out to make steps to be more minimalist in 2020, and I have a few out of date Atlases/car map books. With your idea for the paper bag, I'm sorted for wrapping, matching the map to the area they live, or were born..♥
These are great! My family keeps all the gift bags we get to reuse them again the next year. Also, if you are going to get store bought wrap, at least avoid the glittery kind as that is the most difficult to recycle (and be sure to cut the right sized pieces so there isnt much left over!).
Wrapped my gifts zero-waste yesterday! I used recycled paper and twine and decorated the paper with stamps (markers can be used too) It was also so fun to do!
I love these ideas! In my family, we reuse paper gift bags. I’m hoping to make a simple sack, tied with a tube of fabric or twine, to put my gifts to them in and maybe we can start reusing/circulating those instead.
I just recently thrifted a bunch of breakables, so of course they got wrapped in plain paper. I saved it all and was already planning to use it for wrapping paper, but now I’m definitely going to potato stamp it! Also I did dehydrated cuties last year! I love how small they are and I was even able to save them in an airtight container to use again this year. Also a bit more affordable than full size oranges for anyone broke like me lol.
Another great reusable gift wrap option if you’ve got some sewing skills is drawstring bags! They’re super easy to make, and you can make them in any size or color. There are tons of tutorials on TH-cam to make them too
There are some great ideas for recycled wrap, did you know that the Japanese use fabric to wrap all kinds of things, and there are some really cool fabrics and knots that they use, I know this because I am half Japanese and have used this before. I love the bag you made, gift bags are my favorite thing. I love the orange garland, and it's gotta smell wonderful. Jute is such a fun string to have on hand, I use it for so many things, love it. I have loved watching this video, you gave such great ideas and tips and I really enjoyed them. Thanks again, see you soon, bye for now.
In the 80’s whenI was in elementary school, my friends and I used Gold Bond catalogues to paper our school books. Didn’t know we were recycling, we just thought it made out book covers look pretty.
My aunt has always gotten the newspaper so she would always just wrap presents in the funny pages. Super cute, plus you got to read the comics and just recycle after!
I just picked up 3 wrapping papers from goodwill. My family is pretty good about not completely destroying the paper because we all reuse. I have bags from prior christmases. I am going to use paper grocery bags too.
You can buy large quantities of those scarves for gift wrapping on sites like Alibaba or wholesalers. Buying them on Amazon or lush can get pricey quickly.
this will be my fourth year using kraft paper & jute string for my christmas presents! i love the simple / rustic look it gives. it also saves lots of money & is better for the planet! (i buy my kraft paper at the dollar tree)
I love they craft paper! i just wrap a lot of gift for my kindergarden students with newpaper and a colourfull page that we make with inks from used markers with alcohol and water, such a diy gift. Greating from Buenos Aires Argentina 😄
I love to use thrifted baskets to make gift baskets: I do this more for bridal showers or baby showers, but it could work for Christmas too! Also we like to make gift bags in all sizes with a drawstring at the top: among family we reuse them again and again!
The scarf one is the japanese method of gift wrapping called furoshiki ❤
I notice on the korean dramas they always tie up their bento boxes like that. It's so beautiful!
Furoshiki is one of my favourite zero waste ways to wrap stuff 😍😍😍
It is the way to go another thing is it looks amazingly lovely ❤️
Will defo be thrifting for scarves now.
I love these ideas! One thing to note although acrylic gives wonderful color payoff, it is plastic based and makes the paper harder to recycle. Consider using a watercolor instead
I came to comment this as well. I wonder if diluted food colouring would work as well? Would be less bold in colour but definitely more earth friendly.
Tempra paints also work!
Apparently using paint at all makes the paper not recyclable in many places. Ink is much better and often comes in glass bottles.
Sidewalk paint and milk paint work!
Or hand draw with pencil/crayons?
When I was a kid me and my grandma would wrap shoe boxes in wrapping paper and put the gifts inside of it. We would reuse those boxes for years and years.
My stepmom had done the same thing. Us kids got the same boxes every year 😂
Love it!!
My mother had an old Depends (adult diaper) box from my great grandma that she used for our large gifts for years. She made it a point to switch off which kid got it every year. lol
My mom would use all our old food boxes. I would often open old cereal/oatmeal boxes 😂
Camryn Hooks my grandma does that too!
I’ve been doing brown paper wrap with either candy cane twine or hemp (mostly because it’s always laying around, branches with berries, cinnamon, dried apple stars, and fir branches to decorate for YEARS! My boyfriends family so always so amazed by it and they have all started to do the brown paper too! 😊 this year I bought a very small star cookie cutter and I’m using manadarin peels (since we eat so many) and cutting them into mini stars and then drying them. ITS GONNA BE SO CUTE AND SMELL SO NICE.
Share IG pics!!
With the mandarin peel stars, you want to lay them in a single layer between felt or wax paper and press them flat for 8 hours. Once they curl up, it’s over. You do want to check them and move them around so they don’t spoil. They are so cute on a string as a garland or added to potpourri.
What an amazing idea! I’ll be trying it this year :)
such an amazing idea with the mandarin peel, i eat soooo much mandarins and always wrapped my presents with brown paper, so thats an amazing idea! thank you!
fever high becky sneaking around the loft stealing stuff is such a winter mood
and what were you smoking when you wrote that??!
My extended family always saves any gift bags and we reuse them in the future, same thing with wrapping paper. I haven't had to buy any gift wrap or bags for quite some time because of this, just have to resist the temptation to tear through the paper like a wild lynx to get at the pressies.
Holly K our family does this as well. We just keep reusing gift bags.
Holly K I’m guilty of being the bag and tissue paper collector. I’m the one in the background going “HEY HEY HEY! Use scissors!!” And “I WANT MY BAG BACK! Don’t rip it!”
That's exactly what I do!
Never bought any bag/wrap for my gifts.
We always reuse our boxes as well! Our family had the same boxes for years until my dad accidentally took them to the recycling center one year😂 At least they got recycled though. We just bought a bunch of new cardboard boxes and now we will probably use those for years!
We always reuse gift bags but currently our birthday/ generic gift back collection is almost gone! We must have given more gift bags than we received
When I first saw in some movie that people were tearing their wrapping paper i was kinda shocked. I thought everyone took the paper off neatly to save it for the next year. Maybe it's a family quirk but honestly tbh everyone should do it, it doesnt ruin the surprise of the present
My mom taught us to always tear off the wrapping paper carefully to save also! It wasn't fun growing up but I'm thankful she taught us that!
I can’t rip paper aha it stresses me out. I reuse paper and packaging
annukatu we always put items in gift boxes for Christmas and we’re always sure to save the boxes for the following year. As a kid I always thought it was to save money but those decorative gift boxes are rarely recyclable! It’s a good habit I’ve developed over the years that have my our family very environmentally concious
Same3 and all same! So glad I’m not alone 😂
@@alymckone And also-- my family would always be looking out for what box your gift comes in. There was a favorite with a snowman that was coveted. :-D
side note: becky's hairstyle is BEAUTIFUL
OMG yaaaaass
It looks.. like it .. normally does but okay
YES!
she has amazing hair. so thicc
Uh Yeet, what are you talking about? She doesn’t normally style her hair like this?
Toilet roll tubes can be turned into cute boxes for small items, like jewellery, gift cards and sweets. You can paint them or cover in pretty paper
covering in pretty paper is the opposite of eco-friendly lol. Reuse something is good, but then adding the paper isn't.
BrianaLynn7 you can add the paper in an eco friendly way. You can use recycled paper, napkins, you can wrap a strip of the paper around the box and tie with jute or you could lightly damp it and it will stick just fine. There’s also biodegradable glue
Its a good way to reuse scraps of wrapping paper
I also saw someone create an advent calendar using toilet roll tubes with a chocolate inside. She drew on the numbers and put them all in a bowl for her son
Erica B that’s such a cute idea. My dog loves when I pop a treat in it for her so she can tear it open x
Our family uses cloth gift wrap, since the noise and mess of paper overwhelms my kids who have sensory issues. Christmases have been so peaceful since we switched.
In my biology class today I learned that only 9% of recycling is actually recycled. Most is still thrown in a landfill. Made me feel STRESSED, but this vid helped
That has to be for a specific country.
I live in Sweden and the numbers are way different here. I Think it´s about 70% of the cardboard and nearly same on glas ,a bit more for paper, plastic is a little less I Think... Electronics (both small things like microwave owens, hair dryers aso and large things like stoves, washing machines etc) are really high here.
We have had special bags for food waste in all parts of the country to short time to messure but I know it´s much higher then 9%
Our whole garbage system is different then in alot of other countries, we divide stuff in fractions already in our homes and then we leave it in different cans or places Before it´s picked up and taken to huge sorting places and been taking carred of.
Wonderings ANNA thats awesome, I wish America and more Asian countries were better about it. It was probably about America’s trash because I know we sell most of our recyclables to China and then nothing happens with them
I know for sure that in Norway more than 90 %of plastic bottles are recycled. I lived there. They have machines at most grocery stores, you put a bottle in and machine gives you receipt, then you can cash that receipt or use it to pay for groceries. USA is a Wild West in recycling 😭
@@rachelamundsen8265 we have those recycling machines in grocery stores in America. I use them but so many people are too lazy to do it.
Apparently using paint makes the paper not recyclable in many places. Ink is much better and often comes in glass bottles.
This year I’ve wrapped my presents in brown craft paper and have made origami trees, stars and bows for decoration. It’s simple, but the textural element is quite effective.
The reusable wrapping is a cute idea as long as the person you’re giving it to is also eco conscious and doesn’t toss it in the bin.
Always good to try your best, if being eco conscious is important to you then it shouldn't matter if the other person isn't. You don't want to be upset buying paper you don't want to support just to cover their present. Plus your good paper will still breakdown in amounts the rubbish.
If I'm with the person when I unwrap the gift, I think it'd be okay to ask for the wrapping back. If they know you're someone who likes to reuse things, I don't think it'd be a big deal. Even so, I think it'd be okay to text them and ask if they can save it so you can reuse it hahaha. Odds are, they won't want it anymore anyway! Sometimes when I give gifts in gift bags, I ask my friends if they want the bag or not. Usually they don't care. ^_^
@@missmagic707 It absolutely should matter because single use fabric is way more damaging to the environment than a single piece of paper.
@@redvinesron I already do that! Great idea.
My tip: REUSE. Most of my friends use gift bags for wrapping and I save them and use them again. Most of the time they are totally reusable if they are not banged up.
We do the same thing with the sturdy Christmas boxes and bows at my house. Buying them every year adds up so we just save them. They have lasted us quite a few years. 😊
I work in a second hand shop, and a lady came in and bought a few tartan scarves from us, she used them to wrap her gifts and the people got an extra scarf as a pressie :)
Tried really hard this year to thrift gifts, decorations, and wrapping paper. But I did fine a few brown rolls in the works for any UK peoples. I wrapped in brown, used some holly from a local Bush, and used some tartan ribbon I got from a local sewing market stall. Means people can reuse the wrapping too :)
I hadn't thought of stamping tho... Have a few more to wrap.. Going to use this trick!
Stray away from using acrylic paint as it may render the paper unrecyclable. :)
Amy Vintage I asked for no paper for my kids birthday and people used baskets and blankets! It was awesome
@@FrankiieBeauty oooh... I hadn't thought of a blanket. My friend would like that, she practically lives in one lol
@@MsLilyPickles you could use ink I suppose. Esp if you made a lino print stamp and re used it.
I love a Thirfty Christmas'
Love your whole'green' themes! I was in a earth science club in 1969...yes I am 65 now but still LOVE to take care of planet earth!!
Seeded paper is really easy to diy and can be used to make cards, and present tags. I used it to make my business cards for my Etsy...trying to make my Etsy eco friendly ;)
"Brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things." I couldn't help but sing that in my head during that entire segment. :D
When drying your oranges you can use cooling racks instead and skip the parchment paper.
Something I tried out because I didn’t have any wrapping paper, was to wrap the gift with some old newspaper. People really liked it and I got a lot of compliments. I also added a newspaper bow to complete the look
This year i use old book sheets as wrapping paper (only for small gifts) but it looks super cute. Especially if you find an old flora/ flower book at the thrift shop 👍🏻
About the dried oranges:
We use to slice apples wery thin and let them dry over a towel on the radiator, they become crispy and are a really good snack! Also when we eat tangerines we leave the peel on the radiator too, it smells good :D
This year I'm doing reusable santa sacks for my kids' presents and I always use old newspapers I already have for wrapping others gifts. 👍🏻
We grew up using pillow cases, fabric (that was normally just as exciting as I adore sewing )or actual clothes as gift wrap. Amazing how neatly you can wrap a long pajama top around its set of pants etc.
This year we decided to keep and wrap pressies with the brown paper amazon uses to protect some packages! ❤️🌍
I use that too. Started last year. Everyone loves it!
My stepmom used the Sunday funnies because they're colorful and she would use her Xmas cards for tags. Brown paper bags cut to fit the gift with a fancy bow she made out of her sewing stash. If you did get a gift that was wrapped in regular wrapping paper you didn't rip into the gift like some crazy person. She recycled everything. Shoe boxes and gift boxes that people have her with gifts in them . This was 46yrs year ago because that's how old I am. She was a head of the recycling game years ago.
I love to put presents in reusable bags. You can get creative with the print on them and then they make perfect shopping bags to encourage the recipient to stop taking plastic.
Great idea!
Making festive reusable festive gift bags could also be a good option. Making a special one for each family member they can reuse every year would be an awesome tutorial. Maybe stretchy jersey pillow cases (stretchy so more room if needed upcycled with prints, appliqués, tassels and a drawstring at the top.
I wrap presents for children (nieces and nephews) in old newspaper! The comics section is a fun and colorful touch.
Love this ! I literally can save so much by using what I have in my craft room to wrap gifts instead of buying bags, bows, & gift wrap. DIYing makes less waste and I'm here for it. GENIUS!
I started making reusable fabric bows a few years ago and it was worth it. Not only do they look adorable, but we have reused them every year since. The trick to make sure they stick to the package is double sided tape.
I think the wrapping paper is a great activity friends and family can do together no matter how old you are. It makes gift giving that much more meaningful.
I’ve been wrapping in craft paper for years because I love the aesthetic. I have used twine and ribbon. My aunt has been copying me, so I might stamp them with ink this year! So smart!
Really loved the editing in this video. You guys keep stepping up your game.
Agree. This was a fun video to watch :)
I've made baskets (2nd hand) of treats ,jam,jelly, pickles, I made myself, lined them with cotton fabric I bought at the second hand shop, I'll be adding homemade bread and cookies (that are in the freezer atm) and Mason jars filled with hot chocolate mix,plus mugs (from the second hand shop).
I made my friend jams, tea biscuits and some dried herb mixes for tea from my garden and soy wax candles. She really liked it! It was my first time giving a handmade gift
Omg. Love the tip about washi tape. I had no idea it was made from plants. I'm reusing gift bags from last year's Christmas, as well as making some of my own reusable fabric gift sacks as well.
This is such a great video, thanks so much for sharing!
A trick I used last year was use my kids' drawings as wrapping paper. They come home from kindergarten with drawings every single day and I just can't keep them all, so we use them as wrapping paper. People also enjoy the personal touch.
I love the fabric idea, so cute!
Tea Towels are great for gift wrapping - nicely finished edges, come in different sizes, bright festive colours and patterns (can even get metallic - I have some lovely silver and gold circles on white background that pick up the lights from the Xmas tree). If it's big enough to wrap around but not to tie, wrap the towel around (gives an overlap seam down the length of it), then roll the other two ends toward the side of the gift with that seam; this becomes the bottom. Wrap a nice piece of reusable ribbon or cord in the usual X style, with the bow on top, and you're all set. Can be reused many times. My family has also slowly been collecting pretty boxes, and just tie ribbon (dollar stores have big rolls for cheap and make it through many uses) around it. We make gift tags by cutting squares out of the front of Xmas cards (as long as no writing on the back), round off the corners and punch a hole that can be threaded on twine or thin ribbon, and tied on to the bow. If you have wide ribbon, you don't need to be able to tie fancy bows; tie it like a shoelace, fluff the loops, and you're done.
We do still use paper for the little kids though. There's just something about tearing off the paper that isn't the same with undoing a ribbon, or pulling aside fabric.
I op-shopped my tea towels. They were all brand new.
Love this! Great inspo. 💕
I still use the wrapping paper I bought five years ago. Once it's gone , I will never buy something like that again, it's so annoying to use. For christmas, I often sew something useful and put a little present inside, so I don't even need paper, which is why it takes me so many years to go through one roll of wrapping paper.
Before this video was up I wrapped all of my presents with brown paper, twine, orange slices, brown paper tags, cinnamon sticks, and a little wood tag with the first letter of their name. They look so cute 😁😁😁
Love this video!! My mom has started using clothes pins for name tags and you could also use safty pins with paper. There are also soy based inks so those may be good to check out instead of paint.
I usually get most of my Christmas wrapping from the thrift store or estate sales, but I’ve also disassembled paper grocery bags by undoing the seams and turning them inside out (so the logo faces inward) to wrap gifts. You can also get old dictionaries (where the pages have yellowed) and tear out some of the pages to wrap smaller gifts.
Love that these are completely doable and small things we can do to lessen our impact on the environment.
For the past few years, we’ve used fabric bags. My mom had a fabric stash she wanted to use up. She just made basic rectangular pillow case type bags and we tie them with ribbon. Easy clean up and super easy wrapping
My brother-in-law always surprises us with his wrappings, because he cant remember where the wrapping paper is and refuses to buy more, because he knows he already has it, somewhere :) One year everything was covered with newspaper (only black&white pages, even aesthetically pleasing), one year it was foil. No ribbons, no bows, no frills - idk, its minimal, but charming. Even the foil got re-used as dozen or so balls for our cats, they had some extra xmas-fun chasing them around. This year Im kinda anticipating on used opaque plastic bags, since we talked about it on one of these specialty wrapping years.
I use simple brown paper and red twine and one done that for a few years and it makes me happy seeing people appreciate the designs on the paper before opening as I draw and paint them on, and the best part is its completely environmentally friendly ❤❤
I actually cut out the orange peel with a star shaped cookie cutter, clamped it between 2 pieces of cardboard and put it on too of my heater to dry them!😍 After 1-2 days they were dry 👌🏻 I'm gonna make a garland with it as well
Cotton yarn, especially smaller amounts leftover from projects, makes great string to tie up packages and is biodegradable. Little homemade cotton yarn pompons tied to presents make great bow substitutes.
Reusable grocery bags are great for gifts too, as well as tea towels or bath towels! I've even used pillow cases in the past too, either laid flat as wrapping "paper" or as a gift bag (stuff gift inside) . :)
A fun and usefull thing to add to the packaging is hand rolled incense sticks. I bundle one or two together with a cinnamonstick and some sage. Looks super cute and is also part of the gift ^^ Am definitely gonna try to add dry orange slices for colour! 🧡
Idunn goddess has a great glue recipe. It's even firm enough to glue wallpaper and it's made of water and flour. And she uses a lot of salt dough in her diys. You should definitely check her channel.
Another eco friendly hack is to use as little tape at possible when wrapping gifts and rely on the twine and folding to keep it together also makes it easier to open and save the old wrapping paper
I enjoy putting gifts in tote bags so that the wrapping doubles as a gift. 💗
The hemp part (10:23) had me in tears! I didn't see that coming at all 😂
I love these ideas. In my family we always saved gift boxes and bags. We reused them often. When I got married 7 years ago, I started doing the same thing. I also reuse ribbon from gifts people give me. I also make my own gift tags from cards and from tags you might find on clothing. I store my Christmas ornaments in really cute vintages looking boxes that I got at a store. That goes inside my bins. I have fabric bags for storing my Christmas lights. I keep them organized and labeled so I know what is indoor and what is outdoor.
It’s great to help the environment. I really took helping out the environment to heart back in like 4th or 5th grade. Years later, I still care. I’m not perfect. I don’t live a minimalist zero waste lifestyle. I try my best to do what I can. I reuse a lot, I recycle what I can. I feel it’s important to enjoy life and be okay knowing things won’t always be perfect. Small changes like this seen in the video are great.
These are wonderful ideas! I actually love using bows on my presents, though. It’s like my trademark. So what I usually do, is ask for the bows back so that I can reuse them. 😋
You can also use the end of celery (cut off the stalks) for a stamp! looks like a flower
I get a newspaper on Sunday and save the paper for lots of reasons but I keep the comic section, the car advertising section, and any place with a recipe separate for a fun readable gift wrap. I also know some places can recycle clean aluminum foil and you can use that to wrap with! Plus, it’s shiny and doesn’t require tape to be held together! Another double gift idea too is a reusable shopping bags as gift bags. Everyone loves a double gift!
More eco-friendly than parchment paper would be silicon baking mats! Love all of these ideas
Love these tips! Last year I made re-usable muslin produce bags to wrap my gifts in.
That potato stamp was giving me major Anne with an E season 2 vibes.
Yes, I just saw that episode!
Another idea is to make different size burlap sacks with a draw string closure. You can embroider them and reuse them every year. I’m going to start doing this with my immediate family, so I can collect them after we open gifts and pack them away with the Christmas decorations.
It’s so important to raise awareness on how important, easy, and not to mention cute eco friendly alternatives can be! Thank you guys so much
I really like your approach on ecofriendly journey. No targeted shame but only positivity and inspiration. Keep up the good work!!
I always give people gifts in those reusable bags that people use to go grocery shopping. My mom likes hearts so I always give her some w/hearts
I saw on amazon, you can buy wrapping paper that has wild flower seeds in it, so when the holidays are over you can literally throw the paper in your garden, it will break down and leave the seeds to grow! Pretty cool!
Twigs bundled together and tied with string make great rustic ornaments and package decorations. I'm making a garland with them and cotton right now.
I made really big drawstring bags for my siblings, parents, and I so our parents didn’t need to buy any gift wrap or bows. Best of all they are Christmas on one side and made reversible with another material on the inside which we use for a birthday bag. With there being 9 of us we estimated that in the past couple years we saved more then we spent on fabric ☺️ we actually used thrifted fabric for some of them too
My mum has a couple of massive rolls of kraft paper she uses to make patterns for clothes, but since we're not running out anytime soon, we also use them to wrap gifts sometimes. They look awesome just tied with a little twine bow! :D
Great ideas. You can also save and reuse the wrapping paper and bags from last year. You can make the gift bags from old magazines or your old gift paper.
Cotton shopping bags are also a great option for a gift bag or a thrifted tote, basket or purse 👜
bonus!! the comics section of the newspaper is a super easy and fun wrapping paper
Wow i never realized how much waste from wrapping paper goes to the garbage during this time!! Thank you for the video!
I look at the thrift store all year long for things to use for gift packaging. I reuse holiday tins, baskets, pretty jars, and find fabric to make bags or cut into strips in place of ribbon. I love brown paper packages tied up with string :) Merry Christmas!
I’ve been using brown paper and twine for over 30 years, I add a handmade ornament to the twine bow. If the gift is small enough use brown paper lunch bags. We reuse gift bags if we receive them.
I am doing a SERIOUSLY thorough clear out to make steps to be more minimalist in 2020, and I have a few out of date Atlases/car map books. With your idea for the paper bag, I'm sorted for wrapping, matching the map to the area they live, or were born..♥
These are great! My family keeps all the gift bags we get to reuse them again the next year. Also, if you are going to get store bought wrap, at least avoid the glittery kind as that is the most difficult to recycle (and be sure to cut the right sized pieces so there isnt much left over!).
Wrapped my gifts zero-waste yesterday! I used recycled paper and twine and decorated the paper with stamps (markers can be used too) It was also so fun to do!
Definitely using these! I’m an elderly caretaker and all my clients I visit have newspapers so I have collected a lot of that for rapping as well.
use what you have! love it so much
Years ago my mom made TONS of fabric gift bags and it still all she uses to 'wrap' mine and my brothers gifts!
I love these ideas! In my family, we reuse paper gift bags. I’m hoping to make a simple sack, tied with a tube of fabric or twine, to put my gifts to them in and maybe we can start reusing/circulating those instead.
I just recently thrifted a bunch of breakables, so of course they got wrapped in plain paper. I saved it all and was already planning to use it for wrapping paper, but now I’m definitely going to potato stamp it! Also I did dehydrated cuties last year! I love how small they are and I was even able to save them in an airtight container to use again this year. Also a bit more affordable than full size oranges for anyone broke like me lol.
Another great reusable gift wrap option if you’ve got some sewing skills is drawstring bags! They’re super easy to make, and you can make them in any size or color. There are tons of tutorials on TH-cam to make them too
There are some great ideas for recycled wrap, did you know that the Japanese use fabric to wrap all kinds of things, and there are some really cool fabrics and knots that they use, I know this because I am half Japanese and have used this before. I love the bag you made, gift bags are my favorite thing. I love the orange garland, and it's gotta smell wonderful. Jute is such a fun string to have on hand, I use it for so many things, love it. I have loved watching this video, you gave such great ideas and tips and I really enjoyed them. Thanks again, see you soon, bye for now.
My family always just has the receiver of a gift close their eyes as they are handed a gift if we don’t have wrapping around. No waste that way!
Hahahaha I swear I heard Kelsey’s voice saying “Rude” hahahahaha
In the 80’s whenI was in elementary school, my friends and I used Gold Bond catalogues to paper our school books. Didn’t know we were recycling, we just thought it made out book covers look pretty.
those little rosemary wreaths🥺🥺
My aunt has always gotten the newspaper so she would always just wrap presents in the funny pages. Super cute, plus you got to read the comics and just recycle after!
I just picked up 3 wrapping papers from goodwill. My family is pretty good about not completely destroying the paper because we all reuse. I have bags from prior christmases. I am going to use paper grocery bags too.
you could also wrap your gifts in old newspaper! looks amazing!
In the Philippines, we save the paper bags from grocery stores and later on use them as wrapping paper in christmas 💕
That velvet blue wrapping paper would BE the gift!!
I love using leftover paper bags! Also if you have kids you can have them draw or paint on craft paper and use that :)
You can buy large quantities of those scarves for gift wrapping on sites like Alibaba or wholesalers. Buying them on Amazon or lush can get pricey quickly.
The hemp part killed me 😂
this will be my fourth year using kraft paper & jute string for my christmas presents! i love the simple / rustic look it gives. it also saves lots of money & is better for the planet! (i buy my kraft paper at the dollar tree)
I love they craft paper! i just wrap a lot of gift for my kindergarden students with newpaper and a colourfull page that we make with inks from used markers with alcohol and water, such a diy gift. Greating from Buenos Aires Argentina 😄
I love to use thrifted baskets to make gift baskets: I do this more for bridal showers or baby showers, but it could work for Christmas too! Also we like to make gift bags in all sizes with a drawstring at the top: among family we reuse them again and again!