One of the more obnoxious expenses of holiday season are the costs of wrapping the presents. The wrappings are thrown away & it seems wasteful to harm any trees & create more trash just to wrap presents. I try not to spend anything on wrapping paper, gift bags, boxes, etc. & have tried to cut down on the waste of traditional gift giving. Here are some ways to cut down your expenses & your impact.
Go Reusable--Most stores are offer really cute reusable bags. The bag on the left my Mom bought to wrap my birthday gifts. It was $0.99 & holds a ton. The red gift bag was gift wrapping from a Target.com present & we've used it multiple times. Instead of a bunch of small gift bags, consider buying one large reusable bag.
Save & Reuse the Bags/Bows/Tissue You Receive-- I save every gift wrapping that I receive. After several wedding & baby showers we've acquired quite the stockpile. This is a great way to cut down on your environmental impact & your holiday expenses.
Ask for Boxes--Many stores offer free gift boxes at the holidays. Simply ask if they have any available.
Make Your Own Gift Tags--One great way to reuse the deluge of annual Christmas cards is to cut them into gift tags. It's cheap, looks cute, & gives a second life to Christmas cards.
Hit Up The Dollar Store--If you don't have a stockpile & want traditional wrappings the dollar store is a great place to purchase gift wraps, etc. inexpensively.
Buy After Christmas Clearance--Wait until gift wrappings go on clearance. Items are a fraction of the price & I've was able to get all of the cute wrapping items to the right for pennies of the original price buy buying after Christmas (& many were sustainably harvested!).
Think Creatively--Wrapping paper can be made from salvaged brown bags, newspapers, old maps, & other such items. Look around to see what you have on hand before you rush to the store.
Hopefully you don't have to spend money on your holiday wrappings & hopefully such wrappings have a minimal impact on the environment. Season's Greetings!
Go Reusable--Most stores are offer really cute reusable bags. The bag on the left my Mom bought to wrap my birthday gifts. It was $0.99 & holds a ton. The red gift bag was gift wrapping from a Target.com present & we've used it multiple times. Instead of a bunch of small gift bags, consider buying one large reusable bag.
Save & Reuse the Bags/Bows/Tissue You Receive-- I save every gift wrapping that I receive. After several wedding & baby showers we've acquired quite the stockpile. This is a great way to cut down on your environmental impact & your holiday expenses.
Ask for Boxes--Many stores offer free gift boxes at the holidays. Simply ask if they have any available.
Make Your Own Gift Tags--One great way to reuse the deluge of annual Christmas cards is to cut them into gift tags. It's cheap, looks cute, & gives a second life to Christmas cards.
Hit Up The Dollar Store--If you don't have a stockpile & want traditional wrappings the dollar store is a great place to purchase gift wraps, etc. inexpensively.
Buy After Christmas Clearance--Wait until gift wrappings go on clearance. Items are a fraction of the price & I've was able to get all of the cute wrapping items to the right for pennies of the original price buy buying after Christmas (& many were sustainably harvested!).
Think Creatively--Wrapping paper can be made from salvaged brown bags, newspapers, old maps, & other such items. Look around to see what you have on hand before you rush to the store.
Hopefully you don't have to spend money on your holiday wrappings & hopefully such wrappings have a minimal impact on the environment. Season's Greetings!
We totally have a shelf in the basement full of old bags and tissue paper. I have them categorized...Christmas, Birthday, Baby, Plain, etc. I love just walking down the stairs and picking out what I need! I also hand make my tags too! People love the personalization too!
ReplyDeleteNikki, I'm thrilled to find a kindred spirit! You are my kind of a gift giver!
ReplyDelete