Simple Sustainable Gift-Wrapping Ideas for Christmas
Do you need some simple sustainable gift wrapping ideas so you can feel earth-conscious and have gorgeous gifts this Christmas?
I was so sick of seeing all that wrapping paper all over the floor on Christmas morning. It seemed like such a waste - and also, that moment after Christmas when everyone ran around doing the huge paper-pickup after our family Christmases!
I decided to change it up, start small, (think habit-stacking) and start working out simple, cost-effective and authentic, sustainable ways to wrap presents so we weren’t just buying and scrunching actual trees at Christmas!
This post will share some different ways we have used to wrap and/or gift presents in the last 5 years (when we make the effort, sometimes we are not perfect, of course!)
If you want to see the video, jump up onto the Youtube channel here!
Sustainable Gift Wrapping Ideas to help you save time and be eco-friendly this Christmas! #motherhood #sustainable #Christmascraft #giftwrapping #christmasgift
Simple, Sustainable Gift Wrapping Ideas for Christmas
1: Use teatowels to wrap up your gifts.
One amazing sustainable hack that I use often, especially for extended family, is to wrap some of our presents in tea towels.
The key to this is to make sure you've got some beautiful ribbon, and a couple of packs of new tea towels. They might be just simple, cheap ones - but ones you can use to wrap around things and be more sustainable this Christmas.
Just a short little note on this sustainable gift wrapping idea. If you know people that you are gifting are design conscious - and I know we've all got people in our family that are probably not going to smile at the, you know, snazzy ‘lightning bolt’ green and purple designs. They're going to want a little bit more plain, probably - or at least it’s a safer bet. So, just do that. It just shows that you care, and that you've thought about it.
Make sure you might go, all right, I'm going to get like a pastel brown or a light pink or a light blue or mint green or something like that - a plain color or a really muted design. You can actually show that you know them, and knew they had lots of light blues in their house, for instance. And blessing them as much as you can.
2: Using a recycled gift bag
This one is a tried-and-true sustainable gift wrapping favourite in the Hodge household over here - the recycled gift bag! I am completely unashamed to say that we reuse any clean and like-new gift bags (obviously not the ones that are old, ripped or tatty!) - and I know many people who do the same.
This is super useful for birthdays as well - and we keep gift bags from the kids’ birthdays and Christmas, so we can simply fill a gift bag instead of using one-use wrapping paper.
It’s even been funny at some family Christmases, seeing the big gift bags I bought the previous year being reused by my sister-in-law, and she realises we’ve regifted the same bags back to her daughters. Funny - but not embarrassing, and definitely eco-friendly and sustainable.
If you think it might be embarrassing regifting these back to the same family members (obviously the gifts are new!), then keep a box of one family and the other for 2024, and share them to the opposite family for 2025. It’s no big deal - and if the worst your family can say is that you regift your Christmas gift bags in order to be sustainable, it’s going to be OK!
3: Create a hamper with a thrifted basket.
This one is so easy, and also a family favourite. I love creating little hampers (see the Youtube video to see what I created!) and filling them with smaller items and treats I know my loved ones will just adore. I often search out cute woven baskets at opshops (or thrift stores, if you’re in the US) and create a cute hamper for others.
If you need some ideas for a hamper, there’s a list below ready to go!
-soap or hand creams
-Candles or scented things like essential oils, incense sticks and oil
-Yummy food items such as sauces, yummy cheeses and charcuterie, or quince paste
-Books, a notebook, a sweet novel, and a pen
-A scarf in their colours, makeup, nail polish or a simple face mask
There are so many options available for this one, and you can make it as simple or as complicated as you like!
These simple, sustainable gift wrapping ideas for Christmas are so easy, often cost-effective, and have a sustainable, homemaker flair that can also help us sustain the Earth - which is something God wants us to do as well.
Want more ideas to create a more holistic life with less stress on yourself and those around you - both physically, emotionally and spiritually? Listen to The Mum Wellbeing Podcast right here, or find out more about my printables and products or blogs at the links below!
Miranda xx
