I bet you would never guess this about me but every year I like to wrap all my Christmas presents so they match. Back in the day when I wasn’t on monetary (and time) budgets I would buy several coordinating papers with matching ribbons and tags. My presents looked like something out of a Martha magazine.
These days I don’t really have the money OR the time to do that. However, just because I’m on a budget now doesn’t mean I’ve stopped caring about presentation. These days I’m just finding more creative ways to make my presents presentable.
Here are some of my top time and money savers for gift wrapping:
1. Buy small presents. No really, think about it, if you can get away with 3 rolls of paper as opposed to 7 you are automatically saving monies. It’s not that I refuse to buy bulky gifts but it certainly enters my mind when planning my purchases.
2. Don’t buy actual wrapping paper. Find a cheaper alternative such as brown kraft paper, newspaper, pages from magazines, or even plain old white art paper (the kind you buy for your kid’s craft table). You can dress up the plain paper with stencils, stamps or even let your kid color it. Other alternatives to wrapping paper are left over fabric and wallpaper, both of which can be found for amazing discounts at craft and thrift stores or in your basement/attic perhaps.
3. Get creative with the dressings. If you have a Hobby Lobby near you look out for their ribbon sales, these are always a good way to stock up. Also check out the actual “craft” section, several years ago I bought a tube of small metal bells that I’ve tied on all my presents for two years. You can also find some cheaper decorations in the kid’s craft section.
4. Use reusable shopping bags. I must admit, I didn’t come up with this one on my own, my MIL started doing this a few years ago. She buys the holiday themed fabric shopping bags at her grocery story for $1 and then dresses them up with curly ribbon and tissue paper. It looks super cute AND it’s far less wasteful.
This is truly just a sampling of the many ways you can cut back on gift wrap this holiday season. What are some of your tricks for saving time and money on gift wrapping?
I reuse for several years & also like the green wrapping bags – that will be my gift wrapping idea this year….
A friend just introduced me to a store in Toronto called Creative Bags. They have wrapping options for literally every occasion. The more you buy the cheaper it is. I bought large brown craft paper bags which my kids will decorate with paint, stickers, glitter, etc. It may not be the cheapest option but it’s fun and personalized. I love the dollar store for tissue, ribbon etc., and right now they have a great assortment of tiny decorations which would make lovely additions to gift wrapping.
I love to wrap and even have a wrapping station- thanks for the ideas.
I love wrapping gifts, so much that I don’t think I ever used a gift bag! And yes, I would co-ordinate the gifts too, back in the day. I love using tissue paper – especially for kid gifts, since they never seem to care much anyway. Satin ribbon always makes me smile…
I am so wrapping challenged… it’s not funny.
I’m all for the gift bag!
I’m with peach…but I LOVE this reusable shopping bag idea – two gifts in one….
so it might sound kind of tacky, but i like to use regular paper bags from a grocery store, but inside out so it’s just brown with no advertisements. sometimes i’ll print designs on it, but others i just keep it plain. to that i like to add a “natural” looking ribbon/twine and a tasteful neutral bow of some sorts. it comes out looking very tasteful and organic.
Within my in-laws family it is accepted practice to use and reuse gift bags until they start to look tatty, so we pass them around and around for several years, which is nice for saving time, money, and of course, gets us green points. See if your family would go for that plan, too. (We get ours at the dollar store, so they aren’t too pricey, either.)
And that reusable shopping bag one is something I’ve used for my own family, where green counts – they appreciate the extra bag, and sometimes, I even fill it with tasty consumable treats instead of things they may or may not use. If you have someone on your list who really doesn’t need anything, it’s a nice way to go, actually.
And for little crafty items for decorating – dollar stores are great for this stuff. They also often carry small boxes that you can package gifts in that are pretty and also sturdy enough for the giftee to reuse. I like them lined with wax paper for cookies, or tissue paper for other gifts, and they run $1 – $1.50, so while not SUPER cheap, they are cheaper than a plate, and nicer than a lot of other options. And well, fast.