It's a wrap: Giving gifts without wasting paper
Michelle Bexelius, co-founder of GreenThisLife.com
This year we did things a little differently for my younger son’s birthday. I decided that I am no longer going to wrap all the presents and then throw all that paper away. It seemed like such a waste, and for what? Do they really care what the packaging looks like? I thought to myself, no, they usually just tear into the actual gift.
So, I got the largest basket in my house, a wide laundry basket I bought at Cost Plus and filled it with his unwrapped presents. I placed a very colorful blanket on top (one with vibrant squares that a friend made for him when he was a baby) and presented it to him as his birthday basket surprise. He was thrilled, and so was I not to waste all the paper and time wrapping it. 
I am going to do the same thing for the holidays later this year. Everyone will have their own basket with a colorful blanket on top. I suppose if you don’t have a blanket that suits this purpose, you could have your kids decorate an old sheet with tie-dye and paint.
As for going to birthday parties, our family traditionally has always brought books. They are treasured for years and years and can be passed on. We also request them at our boys’ parties, rather than plastic toys that usually contain harmful chemicals, like PVC. You could also opt for toys made from sustainable wood, art supplies, or gift certificates for museums, movies and music. As they get older there are many things we can do to help our planet, like donate to causes close to their hearts such as animal conservation and restoring the rainforest.
But for now, they still like to open something.
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Cool and imaginative! For exclusive family occassions, we can also use nice colorful cloth for gift wrapping, and we can re-use it again. What a clever idea!
I had friends who used pillow cases as gift wrapping. It started as a joke but became a neat tradition - gift in the pillow case and tied up with a big ribbon.
I do this at holiday family gatherings(my inlaws just think Im cheap and lazy). It is a great idea but can't seem to do it at Christmas. Just remember all of those magical Christmas' waking up to find all of those shiny presents under the tree. Want kids to have same memories. Suggestions/
use newspaper comics to wrap presents if your kids like the suspense of guessing and unwrapping. then recycle the newspaper. also learn to fold and tuck the wrapping and tie it with string - so you do not need to use plastic tape - old chinese laundry trick
use newspaper comics to wrap presents if your kids like the suspense of guessing and unwrapping. then recycle the newspaper. also learn to fold and tuck the wrapping and tie it with string - so you do not need to use plastic tape - old chinese laundry trick
I'm making a full set of fabric gift bags for my family so that we can use and exchange sets each year and minimize paper use. Brown paper grocery bags are good wrapping, too - my kids love to draw on them and decorate them themselves!
Hi there! Your site is cool!
Holiday gift giving and decorating can be done in an eco-friendly way. For people who want to give gifts that are not excessive, choose handmade gifts, gifts made from recycled materials, or antiques. Gift giving also creates unnecessary waste. Gift wrap & cardboard tubes, tissue paper, ribbons, bows, gift bags, boxes, greeting cards and envelopes can all be recycled at your closest recycling center. UPS and FedEX will gladly take packing peanuts and other packing materials as well. Keep it green, www.southeastgreen.com.
I love it!
It's very good, thank you!
My mom first made fabric gift bags for our whole family in 1980. Almost thirty years later, we still look forward to seeing them again each Christmas. She's made a set for each of us grown-up children to use with our families as well. What a huge cost and time savings. I have posted a blog about this topic at www.greenbabyguide.com, where we believe that it's possible to save time, money, and the planet.
Our favorite thing is to use cloth napkins! My mom made us over a hundred fun napkins and we use them for everything - decorating for Christmas, wrapping presents, etc, and then we also always have cloth napkins. They are lightweight enough that they hardly affect the laundry at all, and I just throw them in with sheets or towels.