Eco Friendly Christmas Wrapping Paper

The last few birthdays and Christmases in our house have seen a huge mound of wrapping paper, and I have been becoming more aware of the waste. We are able to recycle our wrapping paper here in the paper and cardboard collection but I know some places will not allow you to recycle it. But even if it if can be recycled we still have to account for the energy that goes into the production process, the bleaching, coloured dyes and all the extra money we spend just on wrapping paper. So for my eldest daughter's last birthday I decided not to use wrapping paper at all. I didn't want to just put the presents on the table without wrapping them in some shape or form so I used our silk play-cloths to wrap each one. One to wrap the parcel and one to tie around in a bow. It worked really well. She still got to unwrap her presents but there was absolutely no wrapping waste afterwards. The silks went back into the dressing up box and the next time they were used they had turned into a fairy skirt.

But what do you do if you don't have any play-cloths, or you want to wrap a present for someone who might not use the cloth afterwards, or you can't afford to add to the value of the gift by buying or giving away one of your own cloths? Here are some ideas:

Gift bags or boxes. These still use a lot of energy to produce but are usually very robust and can be used again and again which makes them worthwhile.

Brown parcel paper. So you are still buying paper, but as it is plain and unbleached it is more eco friendly than normal wrapping paper and you can spruce it up with a nice ribbon. Or perhaps you could get the children to paint on it or print simple shapes like stars on with a potato cut out.

Tissue paper. Again you are still buying new paper, but as it is much thinner than normal wrapping paper the raw materials stretch further. This is a good option for someone who still wants quite a traditional, colourful, wrapped look. You could use two colours and overlap them slightly, putting the overlap on the front of the parcel so that the underneath colour shows as a stripe.

Newspaper. Sounds a bit boring but if you jazz it up with a gold or colourful ribbon it can look quite special. Using a cloth ribbon that can be re-used makes it even more eco friendly. You could also pick out an appropriate picture from the newspaper to put on the front of the package.

Playcloths. Whether you have silk, muslin or cotton cloths, these make great wrapping. This could become quite costly though if you are giving it away to people outside your family.

Cheap fabric or remnants. Wrapping in fabric might sound very expensive but you can get some very cheap fabric. If you compare spending £2.50 per meter on fabric which is perhaps 115-150cm wide with what it costs for nice wrapping paper you might be pleasantly surprised. Check out the remnants bin too for reduced pieces, and remember it doesn't have to be dressmaking fabric, upholstery and curtain fabric will do just as well. If you use fabric the recipient of your gift will have an extra present in the fabric wrapping for making something fun or just playing with. Even a very small piece can be used as a doll's blanket or made into a mini monster (see instructions on Pogglers). You can make your own ribbon with very thin strips of fabric and you could even sew a simple motif on the front or stitch on the recipients name.

Not wrap at all. You could lay the presents out on the table for the birthday child to discover in the morning. You could even blindfold the child so that he/she is standing in front of them before you take the blindfold off which will add to the excitement.

But if you still want to use wrapping paper then buying recycled paper is still doing your bit. And whichever paper you use try and recycle it, save intact pieces for other presents or cut out squares and stick them on cards for a really easy do-it-yourself card.

Happy poggling!