Brown Paper – Environmentally Friendlier Christmas

This year we opted to forgo the fancy glitter wrapping paper in favor of using brown paper instead. The brown paper is not only stronger than the usual Christmas wrapping paper, but it’s recyclable. It has so many other uses besides wrapping. Once the gifts were opened, we folded the used paper and stored some of it for when we ship gifts. It makes a great box filler (better than plastic).

Brown Paper is Multi-Functional

The beauty of the paper is the multi-functional capabilities. I purchased a roll of2 feet wide x 150 ft long (Amazon affiliate link) paper. That was more than enough paper to wrap all of the gifts. This time we used it for Christmas gifts, but you can bet, when the various and assorted birthdays and holidays roll around, the brown paper will be used to wrap those gifts also.

With a little creativity and planning, the brown paper will look just as good if not better than the store-bought, per-event wrapping paper. With its versatility, I no longer have to store small leftover pieces of birthday, anniversary, Christmas, or any other holiday paper. I can’t tell you how many mostly used rolls of wrapping paper we stored in the closet. Now we have one roll for all occasions.

Raffia Ribbon and Brown Wrapping Paper

Along with the brown wrapping paper, we used raffia ribbons. Raffia ribbons (Amazon affiliate link) are made from strips of the raffia palm tree. The ribbon is biodegradable. It’s strong and can be used just like the popular shiny ribbons. Although, I’ve found that it does not curl by using the edge of a scissor. Oh well, that’s not a deal-breaker.

Art and Creativity

For those who like to draw, the brown paper is a canvas on which to display the results of your latest muse-inspired artwork. Or, if you don’t draw or paint, you can attach crafts or figurines to the paper. The brown paper is strong and can handle quite a bit.

In my case, I started drawing various characters for my grandchildren’s gifts. However, I quickly realized I had too many gifts and started the wrapping project too late (i.e. Christmas Eve), so instead…I attached ribbons and ornaments to the gifts. It worked out well.

Lights powered by rechargeable batteries.

Wrapping Paper – The Day After

In years past, on the day after Christmas, we would have several large trash bags filled with wrapping paper and gift boxes. This year, that was not the case. We folded the brown paper neatly and saved some for package filler (as mentioned earlier). We burned some in the fireplace and the kids used some as art paper. The ribbons also had a second life. My grandson is obsessed with Spider-Man so the ribbons became his webbing. Spider-Man had webs all over the house!

Creative Gift Wrapping

In addition to the wrapping paper and raffia ribbon, we got creative with our wrapping. My daughter shared a video with me on ways to creatively wrap gifts. I implemented a few of the easier ideas. If you want to expand your gift wrapping skills, check out the video.

All in all, I was happy with the gift wrapping outcome.

Oh, and I’m a bit late to the party, but I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Chaunnaka, Happy Kwanzaa, and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year!