wrapping gifts

The coming holidays mean GIFTS!,,,and that usually means WRAPPING PAPER.  The bright colors and shiny finishes of commercial wrapping paper make a beautiful scene underneath the Christmas tree.  If that is your goal, go for it!  Holiday wrapping paper is probably already on the shelves ready for your purchase.  However, if you want to save paper, save money, and reduce the load in the garbage can, begin now to think of alternatives for wrapping those gifts.  In our leaner years, we sometimes made our own wrapping paper using newsprint,  printed funnies, or butcher paper.  Coloring or painting wrapping paper either before or after it is put on a gift is a great family activity.  (Hint: Be sure your paint sticks to the paper before you do a lot of decoration work!)  Grandma recently has found a use for her fabric scraps…treasure bags!  They are great for wrapping presents and can be re-useable for years to come.  Of course, you may ask which is the real gift – the wrapping or what’s inside it?

If you don’t sew, think about wrapping a gift in fabric instead of paper.  The cost could be about the same, and the fabric would still be both beautiful and re-useable.