Eco-Friendly Gift Wrap Ideas That Still Look Beautiful

Gift wrapping has a very short career. We buy it. Cut it. Tape it. Admire it. Then somebody tears through it in approximately nine seconds. And into the trash it goes.

This is especially impressive at Christmas, when a perfectly normal living room can produce enough discarded paper, ribbon, boxes and bows to suggest a small department store exploded near the tree.

Fortunately, eco-friendly gift wrap doesn't mean handing someone a present wrapped in yesterday's newspaper and announcing that you've saved the planet.

Although newspaper can look surprisingly good. You can wrap gifts beautifully while buying less, reusing more and throwing away considerably less afterward.

And you probably already have plenty of wrapping material hiding in your house. Let's start there.

1. Use What You Already Have

2. Reuse Gift Bags, Tissue Paper and Boxes

Gift bags were practically designed for reuse. After opening a gift, remove the old tag, fold the tissue paper if it's still usable and save the bag.

Do the same with sturdy gift boxes. A good gift bag can circulate through a family for years.

Eventually nobody remembers who originally bought it. At that point, it belongs to Christmas.

Just be selective. If the tissue paper looks as though it survived an altercation with a terrier, let it go. Eco-friendly does not mean storing trash.

3. Choose Simpler Wrapping Paper

If you need new wrapping paper, look for simple paper-based wrap without unnecessary coatings.

Some decorative papers contain:

• Foil
• Glitter
• Plastic coatings
• Metallic finishes
• Laminated surfaces

These additions can make wrapping paper difficult or impossible to recycle, depending on your local program.

Check local recycling rules before assuming paper belongs in the recycling bin. And consider skipping glitter.

Glitter is remarkably committed to remaining in your home. Use it at Christmas and you'll still be finding evidence under the sofa in March.

4. Use Kraft Paper

Plain brown kraft paper is inexpensive, versatile and surprisingly attractive. Dress it up with:

• Twine
• Reused ribbon
• Greenery
• Pinecones
• Stamps
• Children's drawings
• Homemade tags

It also works for birthdays, weddings and other gifts. Change the ribbon or decoration and you've changed the occasion.

You don't need six rolls of paper devoted to six separate holidays.

5. Repurpose Paper You Already Have

Before buying wrapping paper, look around. You may be able to use:

• Newspaper
• Old maps
• Paper grocery bags
• Clean shipping paper
• Children's artwork

Old maps can make especially attractive packages. Children's artwork is perfect for gifts to grandparents.

And brown packing paper from online orders can look remarkably good with twine and a sprig of greenery. A few wrinkles are fine.

Call it rustic. Rustic covers a multitude of wrapping imperfections.

6. Let Kids Make the Wrapping Paper

Give children plain kraft paper, paper grocery bags or other suitable paper and let them decorate it. Use:

• Crayons
• Markers
• Stamps
• Paint
• Stickers you already own

Now wrapping presents becomes a holiday activity too. And nobody expects artistic restraint from a six-year-old with a red marker. Nor should they.

7. Wrap Gifts in Fabric

Fabric is one of the easiest reusable alternatives to wrapping paper. Try:

• Fabric squares
• Scarves
• Tea towels
• Cloth napkins
• Bandanas

Fold or tie the fabric around the present. You can also use Japanese-inspired furoshiki wrapping, which works especially well for awkward shapes.

Best of all, the wrapping itself can become part of the gift. A cookbook wrapped in a tea towel? Useful. Attractive.

No paper required.

8. Use Reusable Cloth Gift Bags

If you want a system you can use year after year, cloth gift bags are hard to beat. Buy them once or make them from fabric you already have. Keep several sizes.

After Christmas, fold them and store them with your holiday decorations.

Next year: Insert present. Tie bag. Done.

After wrapping approximately 14 awkwardly shaped gifts with paper, this begins to feel like advanced technology.

9. Make the Container Part of the Gift

Sometimes you don't need wrapping at all. Put the present inside something useful. Try:

• Basket
• Tin
• Jar
• Decorative box
• Tote bag
• Storage container
• Mixing bowl
• Flowerpot

Match the container to the gift. Kitchen tools can go in a mixing bowl. Garden supplies can go in a flowerpot. Beach items can go in a tote.

The packaging gets a second life instead of heading directly for the trash.

10. Reuse Ribbon and Choose Simple Ties

Ribbon can last for years. After gifts are opened, save the good pieces. Roll or fold them loosely and use them again.

For new packages, simple cotton or jute twine works beautifully with kraft paper.

But don't save every tiny ribbon fragment because technically it might have a future purpose. That's how clutter introduces itself.

Save pieces you'll realistically reuse. Let the scraps go.

11. Decorate With Natural Materials

Instead of disposable plastic bows, add a simple natural decoration. Try:

• Rosemary
• Evergreen
• Cedar
• Eucalyptus
• Pinecones
• Dried orange slices

Use materials that are safe and readily available to you. You don't need much.

A little greenery tucked under twine can make plain brown paper look beautifully festive.

The goal is attractive gift wrap. Not a botanical installation requiring structural support.

12. Make Gift Tags From Things You Already Have

Before recycling old Christmas cards, cut attractive sections from the fronts. Turn them into gift tags. You can also use:

• Kraft-paper scraps
• Cardstock scraps
• Paper grocery bags
• Leftover wrapping paper
• Children's artwork

Cut a simple shape. Punch a hole if you want. Write the recipient's name. Done.

A gift tag's primary responsibility is identifying whose present it is. Everything after that is decorative ambition.

13. Use Less Tape

Some presents are wrapped as though they're being prepared for ocean transport.

• Tape across every edge.
• Tape over the tape.
  
• Possibly reinforcement tape.
  

You usually don't need that much. Use enough to hold the paper securely.

Less tape makes wrapping materials easier to separate afterward and potentially easier to recycle.

It also allows the recipient to open the gift without requesting tools.

14. Build a Reusable Gift-Wrap Collection

Instead of starting over every December, create a small collection you use year after year. Keep:

• Cloth bags
• Gift bags
• Good ribbon
• Gift boxes
• Fabric wraps
• Reusable tags

Store everything together. Before buying wrapping supplies, check your collection.

This follows one of the most useful rules in an organized home:

Know what you own before buying another one. Especially tape. There is always more tape somewhere.

15. Don't Buy Eco-Friendly Supplies You Don't Need

This may be the most important rule. Sustainable products are still products.

Don't throw away perfectly good wrapping paper because you've decided to become greener. Use it.

Then, when it runs out, replace it thoughtfully.

The goal isn't to own an impressive collection of products labeled ECO. It's to consume less unnecessarily.

16. Don't Turn Reuse Into Clutter

Saving things for reuse sounds responsible. Until you open a closet and discover 63 gift bags, 41 boxes and enough tissue paper to open a small boutique.

Keep things you will realistically use. Don't save:

• Torn paper
• Crushed bows
• Tiny ribbon scraps
• Damaged boxes
• Unusable tissue paper
• Every shopping bag you've received since 2014

Reusable means you'll actually reuse it. Your home is not a municipal materials-recovery facility.

17. Store Reusable Gift Wrap in One Place

Your reusable wrapping system only works if you can find everything next year. Choose one storage area for:

• Gift bags
• Tissue paper
• Ribbon
• Tags
• Fabric wraps
• Cloth bags
• Boxes

Use a bin, drawer, closet shelf or wrapping station. Don't scatter supplies through six different rooms.

That's how you end up buying another roll of tape while already owning nine.

18. Sort Gift Wrap Right After the Holiday

When gifts are opened, deal with the aftermath while you're already there.

Make three quick categories:

Reuse

Gift bags, boxes, ribbon, cloth wrap and usable tissue.

Recycle

Paper and cardboard accepted by your local recycling program.

Trash

Materials that can't be reused or recycled.

Then put the reusable supplies away. Don't leave the wrapping-paper aftermath sitting in the corner until February.

Christmas is over. Release the living room.

Eco-Friendly Gift Wrap for Kids

Children's gifts are particularly easy to wrap creatively. Try:

• Children's artwork
• Kraft paper they decorate
• Reusable cloth bags
• Comics
• Paper grocery bags
• Reused gift bags

For large toys, consider reusable fabric sacks.

They're much easier than attempting to wrap a box approximately the size of a refrigerator.

Children aren't evaluating your ribbon technique anyway. There's a toy in there. They have priorities.

Eco-Friendly Gift Wrap for Awkwardly Shaped Gifts

Some objects simply refuse to cooperate with wrapping paper. Don't fight them. Use:

• Cloth bags
• Fabric wrapping
• Tote bags
• Baskets
• Reusable containers

If wrapping an object requires three sheets of paper, 27 pieces of tape and language inappropriate for Christmas morning, choose another method.

What Should You Buy When You Need New Gift Wrap?

Eventually, you'll need something. When you do, look for wrapping materials that are:

• Reusable
• Recyclable where you live
• Made with recycled content
• Minimally coated
• Free of unnecessary glitter
• Useful for more than one occasion

Neutral wrapping materials are particularly useful.

Kraft paper can handle Christmas, birthdays, weddings and just about anything else.

Change the ribbon. Nobody will report you to the Gift Wrap Authority.

The Five Rules of Eco-Friendly Gift Wrap

The Bottom Line

Eco-friendly gift wrapping doesn't require perfection.

And it certainly doesn't require replacing everything you own with a coordinated collection of sustainable wrapping products.

Start with what you have. Reuse the bags. Save the good ribbon. Wrap something in kraft paper. Turn last year's cards into tags. Use a tea towel around a cookbook.

Let the kids decorate paper. Skip the glitter. And when you genuinely need something new, choose something you can reuse or recycle.

The goal isn't to produce the world's most environmentally virtuous Christmas present.

It's simply to be more thoughtful about something we traditionally buy for the express purpose of tearing apart nine seconds later.

Your gifts can still look beautiful. Christmas can still sparkle.

And on December 26, perhaps your living room won't look quite so much like the wrapping-paper department lost a fight.

That's progress.

Keep Going

Want more ways to make gifts look beautiful without going overboard? See Creative Gift Wrapping Ideas.

For greener ideas about what goes inside the wrapping, see Eco-Friendly Gifts.

And for keeping the rest of the season manageable, see Easy Christmas Holiday Tips and Easy Christmas Organizing Ideas.