People will spend weeks searching for and planning on perfect Christmas gifts for friends, family members or spouses. You have written out your budget and have stayed within that budget for the first time ever in the history of Christmas. Then you realize, sure, I have all the gifts, but now I have to wrap them. If you have walked into any store during Christmas time, you may have realized that wrapping paper is not exactly as inexpensive as it once used to be. Long gone are the days of few Christmas designs for wrapping paper; now there are metallic papers, foil papers, tissue papers and hundreds of Christmas themes and designs to choose from. For something that will be ripped off in mere seconds, wrapping paper sure can be pricey. If you want to stay within your budget this year, try some of these gift wrap ideas.
Before Christmas rolls around, ransack local garage sales and flea markets for old baskets or tins. While local crafts stores and hobby shops will sell their baskets for a few dollars each, most people will sell their old undamaged baskets for close to nothing. Not only will the baskets be inexpensive, they will also give your gift a hint of elegance. Simply place your gift inside and add a small bow to the basket handle and you have yourself a beautiful gift.
At a crafts store, buy some inexpensive butcher paper (enough to wrap your gifts) and some cheap sponges and poster paint. When you get home, use a small knife or sharp scissors to cut out Christmas-themed shapes from the sponges. For example, you could cut out mittens, snowmen, stockings or Christmas trees. Dip one side of the sponge shape into a thin layer of the paint and stamp the butcher paper. Create a pattern of sorts using the different shaped sponges on the butcher paper. Allow the paper to dry and you will have a beautiful roll of homemade wrapping paper.
Know the brown paper bags you send your kids and their lunches off to school in? Use crafts you have around the house to decorate the bag. The decorations can be as simple as gathering the top of the bag and wrapping some ribbon or raffia around it. If you have children, get them involved by giving them glue, glitter, paints and markers and letting them go to town on the paper bags. You can also fold the paper bag top down and glue a red velvet bow on top for an elegant effect.
If you are giving a gift like a sweater or blanket or towels, instead of wrapping them, why not fold them tightly and tie a raffia or ribbon bow around the gift. Some gifts are so nice, they don’t need to be put in a box and wrapped.
Maybe you have access to pictures or photos of the gift recipient? If you also have a printer (even if it is only black and white), print out several photos of the recipient and tape them together to form a sort of makeshift wrapping paper. This will eliminate the need for a gift tag, as well, since the recipient’s face will be splattered all over their gift.
If Christmas has quickly passed you by, instead of closing up shop, get yourself to some after-Christmas sales where unsold wrapping paper rolls will be deeply discounted. Those five dollar gift wrap rolls may now be only a dollar or two. Buy them in bulk and store them for the next few Christmas holidays!
