I don’t know about you, but I think gift wrapping is simultaneously one of the most stressful and rewarding parts of giving presents.
The problem for me is that I have a tendency to go a little bit overboard when it comes to wrapping presents (especially after I started looking up present wrapping hacks on Pinterest). Every present has to be wrapped perfectly, and I want my presents to look unique.
{RELATED POST: The Best Personalized Gift Ideas for Your Bestie}
I realized though that some people may not be as fond of wrapping gifts as I am. So I’m going to try and make the task of gift giving (or at least the present wrapping portion of it) a little bit easier this season with some insider gift wrapping ideas and tips.
Table of Contents
Environmentally Friendly Gift Wrapping Ideas & Hacks
Wrapping paper isn’t necessarily great for the environment, especially if it gets used once and thrown away.
There are alternatives to traditional wrapping paper that are more eco-friendly, though! Here are a few ideas:
Eco-Friendly Hacks
This video has a lot of really helpful tips and ideas for greener wrapping. They also give a number of interesting facts about wrapping throughout the video.
I really liked their dried oranges hack, and if you wanted to take those a step further you could make candied oranges at the same time. As a bonus, your house will smell amazing after you make them.
Furoshiki Gift Wrapping
Furoshiki is a Japanese fabric technique often used to wrap presents. The video gives a little bit further explanation and dimensions that work best.
This is a really cool way to wrap presents. It’s also like giving two presents in one, because the wrapping is another present! If you’re having a hard time finding fabric for this I’d recommend hitting up your local thrift store and getting some vintage silk scarves like they use in the video.
If you’re looking for more tying or folding methods in this technique, YouTube has tons more videos like this one!
Recycle
This sounds like basic advice, but remember that you can reuse old wrapping paper you have from last year, or anytime really.
Or if you have any old assignments or scrap paper lying around (which I somehow always seem to have) you can use those for DIY gift wrap! Just tape the papers together along the edges until you have a piece big enough to fit your present and wrap the same as you would any other present.
You could also use old newspapers that your parents or someone else may not need anymore.
Also, consider reusing old boxes you may have lying around — it’s cheaper than buying special gift boxes and they’re easier to recycle.
If you’re looking for more eco-friendly wrapping ideas, this site has a number of tips to help you wrap while being green.
Kraft Paper
This stuff is a crafter’s dream and that’s not just because it’s often made of recycled materials. It’s incredibly versatile and basically a blank canvas.
You can also get a big roll of this on Amazon for around 20 or so dollars. It’s also biodegradable.
General Wrapping Tips, Hacks, and Tricks
Okay, I did not realize wrapping a present diagonally is a thing, but it looks like this would be so much faster than traditional wrapping. I also think using a Pringles can is a really good idea for small or oddly shaped presents (although don’t forget to rinse it out first.)
This gift wrapping video is for anyone who, like me, struggles to get the perfect crease, or somehow ends up with a wonky corner on an otherwise perfectly wrapped present.
Watch this video and your presents will look perfect every time!
Some of these were covered in the first hack video, but I really liked the pull-tab idea. The accordion/creased folded present is also really cool looking. Also, double-sided tape is great for wrapping presents if you don’t want tape to show.
Christmas Cards Ideas
Punny/3-D Cards
These are some really cool card ideas. I love the jingle bell rock one, but I’m also a sucker for puns.
I do think hot gluing the rocks and bells to the card may be easier than tying it with string and you won’t see the holes or string inside the card.
I think the recipe card is a really interesting idea as well — so unique!
39 DIY Christmas Cards
This card is so simple and easy to make. The hardest thing would probably tracking down the paint chips, although you can find those at most hardware or paint stores. Any store that sells paint will have paint chips and they’re always free. Just don’t take too many at once.
This list has 38 other DIY Christmas card ideas.
Gift Wrapping Inspiration
9 Easy Gift Wrapping Ideas
These are all really cool ideas. I am in love with those paper stars/snowflakes. I also like how they used fabric for the bows because it can be reused a lot of times after the gift is initially given.
Doodle
This is a really good way to add a little character to a gift that may have some boring wrapping paper.
The image above is a present I had for a white elephant gift I gave away a little while ago. I really like how this present turned out. Originally I was going to draw straight on the paper, but I wanted the person who got it to be able to take the doodles off later so I stuck them on with double-sided tape.
If you like doodling and want to try this there are tons of winter/Christmas themed doodles on Pinterest that you can test out!
Personalized Wrapping
This is so cute! I’m in love with the Anthropologie inspiration one (although that could be because I’m a sucker for pom-poms).
I think the Urban Outfitters style may work better if you taped the lights to the box (so it’s easier to remove later).
I think these would also be great if you decorated the box instead of the wrapping because it may last longer, and they can use the box to store things later.
44 Festive Ideas
This tree is adorable, and it comes from a list of a lot of cute gift wrapping ideas. I think you should check out this list if you’re looking for some inspiration.
You could use book pages to wrap the whole present even, although if you don’t want to destroy your books you can probably find some free or super cheap ones at your local thrift store. You could also see if your campus library has any they’re looking to get rid of.
What do you think of these gift wrapping ideas?
Are there any other eco-friendly hacks I forgot to include? How do you wrap awkwardly-shaped presents?