After Christmas, I buy all the red, green, gold and silver paper and bags I can find at a very cheap price, sometimes at 75 to 90% off. They can be used for occasions all throughout the year. Red for Valentines Day, silver and gold for weddings, any of the colors for birthdays! Sure can save money this way.
By dorothy wedenoja from New Creek, WV
This page contains the following solutions.
This wrapping paper idea came from one of my friends years ago. Use outdated atlases and maps for colorful, cool-looking, and good quality wrapping paper. I use mostly for birthday gifts, but cut out a silhouette of Santa in his sleigh and/or reindeers and attach for Christmas gifts.
Embellish a used book when passing it along to someone else. Here, I wrapped the book with a scrap of patterned paper and satin ribbon with silk flower on top.
I did this for my sister's bridal shower, but you could do this in a birthday or another fun holiday theme! For a wedding gift tower:
So much money can be saved by reusing, being inventive and being green on wrapping gifts. Christmas presents cost so much money.
Use colored masking tape instead of ribbon to wrap gifts.
After running out of tape during a Christmas present wrapping marathon I decided to try hot glue. It worked so well I haven't used tape since.
A great holiday tip that became a tradition. Make a family box, box with separate lid, wrapped separate, for easy opening, fill with movies, games, new ornament, books, anything your family will share. It's great for video games.
Because of our consumer society, wrapping paper can be a huge expense. We may want to consider "downgrading" the packaging and wrapping of the things we purchase in the coming year. I recently heard of a great idea: instead of wasting what amounts to tons (collectively) of wrap and ribbon, why not use seasonal dish clothes or towels to wrap some items?
Use silk flowers instead of a bow on gifts. When ribbon streamers are added to a silk flower and it is tied on a gift, it becomes a gift in and of itself, and can be kept and placed in a decorative vase.
These plastic gift bags are so nice! I bought this one because it was so colorful. I plan on buying a matching blue fleece throw and adding a little stuffed Olaf character.
This time of the year, after Christmas, the stores all have Christmas throws on sale. I got several from a dollar store for $2 each last year.
When wrapping gifts, for whatever event or occasion, instead of using a obvious gift bow, think of using something else, that would be more useful to the recipient...
Many companies are now using crumpled plain brown paper instead of styrofoam peanuts when they ship merchandise. Instead of putting the brown paper in the recycling bin make Christmas gift wrap.
When wrapping Christmas gifts there are always those smaller items that you don't have a box the right size for. Last year I used White Lunch Sacks. You can get these at most dollar stores and they work great to wrap a bunch of stuff.
