Christmas Gift Tags And Wrapping
Want to keep the Christmas budget down this year? One great way is to give up on supermarket wrapping paper. Sadly, as they usually have a glossy effect, they cannot be recycled either. There are quite a variety of things to try with normal paper (whether white or coloured) to personalise it. Even better, most can be done with kids, so get those craft kits out!
- Keep ribbons of all sorts throughout the year. A white wrapping with a bright coloured bow always has that wow effect. You could always add a few pearls too if you want something a little more delicate. If you are only left a small length of ribbon; why not glue it on the bottom of a blank gift card to liven it up?
- Get pictures of your family and friends and arrange them as a collage then print them on A4 or A3 paper. Such a nice way to remember holidays together too!
- Doilies can make great paper cones for truffles or sweets. You could use them as a stencil too, making lots of small circles in different colours on normal paper and writing messages in them.
- If like me, you often end up with a whole collection of unused buttons, here is a handy way to turn them into something sweet. Glue them on a simple wrapping paper (white buttons of all shapes on a red paper is particularly lovely) in the shape of a heart or the person’s name. It’s effective, thoughtful and personal.
- Old stamps can be quite useful too. Steam them off envelopes by placing those above a boiling kettle. Why not try arranging them in a Christmas tree shape? You could also use a hole-punch to create beautiful confetti to fill a gift box. Butterfly shaped ones can be pasted on top with their wings folded slightly as if they were ready to fly away.
- Wrap your present in white paper and simply ask the kids to draw and write the message on it. This will buy you 15 minutes of peace and grandparents are sure to keep this as a souvenir.
- Get a few Asian or Indian newspapers. The exotic writing makes a fun wrapping too.
- My daughter particularly loves to cut out triangular shapes in patterned paper to create paper snowflakes. Arrange them onto some coloured or painted paper to create the perfect wrapping paper at this time of year.
- If you bake; use a small, clean set of alphabet stamps to print your message in the dough, making a hole to pass a ribbon through later. Although a yummy idea, please remember these can be quite fragile; I tend to do several sets for the same name, just in case I let one fall on the floor!
- Offering a travel book? Look out for maps in charity shops or simply print one from the web to follow on the theme.
- Cake tin boxes, silky scarves, cute cotton bags or even a lunchbox for children make easy wrappings that can be reused. You could personalise a blank one by printing pictures/design on iron-on transfers. A gift inside a gift makes everyone double happy.
Have fun making these this season, and it’ll be sure to save you a few pounds at this expensive time of year!
Photography by: Laineys Repertoire, s.red and 19Melissa68
Recent Comments