Gifts are one of the many things that make the holiday season the most wonderful time of the year! After driving around town and picking out the perfect present for everyone, turn to our gift-wrapping guide. With money-saving alternatives to traditional wrapping paper, you won’t need to stress one bit.
Wrapping Paper Alternatives
Tired of regular wrapping paper or want to save some money? We understand! Here are five items you might have lying around the house that serve as stylish stand-ins for wrapping paper.
1. Old Maps
Grab your ladder and climb into the attic to search for old paper maps. If you don’t have any, take a trip to your local thrift shop or used bookstore to find a stack for a fraction of the cost of wrapping paper. If you want to go for an even more thoughtful touch, pick a city, town, or country that holds a special memory for you and the recipient. Bonus points if you can coordinate a ribbon or bow with one of the colors on the map!
2. Sheet Music
Is there a musician in the house? They may have a piano stool overflowing with sheet music! Extra credit if you use this option for a music-lover in your life or find sheet music for the recipient’s favorite song.
3. Brown Shipping Paper
Do you need to mail a lot of presents? If so, brown shipping paper (or brown butcher paper) is a super idea. Rolls are typically available at the post office, and you can cut the paper off as needed. If you want to add personal touches, don’t be afraid to do a little artwork. Have kids? Let them draw on or paint the paper! Your recipients will love it, and the arts and crafts session will entertain your children for hours.
4. Newspaper
If you still have a subscription to your local newspaper, this will be no problem for you. If you’re not a subscriber, don’t worry. Your recycle center should still have stacks of newspapers for you to choose from! When wrapping a gift, consider using different sections depending on the recipient or what’s in the box. If you’re wrapping a present for the family prankster, find a funny comics section. If you’re giving someone sports equipment, use the first page of the sports section to wrap.
5. Waxed Paper
Are your gifts a labor of love? If so and you’re giving away baked goods, this is an easy and inexpensive way to dress up your delicious gifts for the holidays. Waxed paper is also a nice change from zip top bags or a mess of tin foil. If you want to get fancy, you can create custom designs for your gifts! Simply press small pieces of construction paper or ribbon between two sheets of waxed paper and iron the two sheets to fuse them! You’ve now made handcrafted wrapping paper for your baked goods!
