5 Plastic Free ways to Wrap Gifts for Christmas.

I love Christmas, but it can be a very wasteful time of year unfortunately. As well as all the consumeristic obsessive buying and unwanted Secret Santa presents, the UK throws away enough wrapping paper each year to wrap the equator 9 times… That’s a lot of trees. A lot of wrapping paper these days is also not even recyclable which of course means a hell of a lot more waste is being dumped in landfill. Firstly, completely avoid wrapping paper that you cannot rip easily or is shiny or covered in glitter and invest in some paper tape. 

If you want to get a bit more creative and make an even bigger difference here are a few fun ideas to wrap your special gifts completely plastic free and even reusable. 

Reuse paper and gift bags given to you

A really basic one but often not thought of! I unwrap gifts very carefully so I can reuse wrapping paper and collect it along with other gift bags etc. 

Paper you find around the house

Newspaper, magazines even Who Gives a Crap toilet roll paper wrapping all makes great gift wrap! Get a roll of natural twine, wool or old ribbons to tie around presents to add that finishing touch. 

Recycled brown paper

For the last few years I have bought a roll of recycled Christmas wrapping paper from Oxfam. It’s super pretty (go for the brown to ensure easier recycling) and is already 100% recycled so no trees were harmed in the making of this beautiful paper. Accompany this with paper tape or Washi tape. I bought a few cute Christmas rolls from Hobbycraft (that cost 50p-£1 each) but you can also buy in bulk online. Usually I use this for gifts I’m planning on sending to people so I can rest knowing that it can be recycled easily. 

Bento box wraps or material cut offs

I recently bought a gorgeous bento box wrap from Agnes LDN. It only cost me around £2-3 and it can form part of the gift. Selfishly, I bought that one for me though. For wrapping other people’s gifts I’m using material cut offs. Second hand shops sell all sorts of interestingly patterned cloth napkins, table cloths, scarves etc, which can also make all your gifts unique. Wrap with a piece of twine, ribbon or wool to keep it together and add a finishing touch. 

Labels

Use some sheets of card to cut into rectangles (or christmas shapes!) for labels. Either punch a hole and tie to parcel or fold the corner and use a small piece of tape to stick it on. 

 

I hope these few basic tips have been useful. I’d love to see some photos of your own alternative wrapping methods – tag me on Instagram @naturallynomadic_ Get creative! And if the the wrapping becomes part of the gift or a talking point on Christmas day then that’s a bonus! 🙂