new rule: no xmas wrapping paper...

[markio26]

in the past xmas's, i have used funny papers, etc., to wrap the gifts, then inserted them into pillow cases and tied them for the kids... unless the gift wrapping is free, or in the case of whitman's chocolates, that were purchased already wrapped... i am using throws, towels, linens, kitchen towels and oven mittens, to place the gifts into... in other words a reusable fabric.... i am not gonna have all of that paper mess, under my tree, left after the gifts are opened... i am even removing some gifts from the box too...
also, i am only sending xmas cards to close family, and pals, that live out of town.. the rest will receive hand given cards, when i see them...
what ideas do you have, that are new this year??? please comment... thanks in advance....

[PrincessPerky]

I gave my MIL dish rags one year..I wrapped all of her other stuff in em...

This year I am giving dish towels, will be wrapping her others in em.

I generally use artwork of the kids for much of it.

I always have a plethora of bags that need reused..the nephews have one with a dragon that is taped and rescued each year

the other is decorated by my kids, again rescued..poor nieces..nothing special there!

[Ima saver]

Well I have always saved christmas boxes and used them over and over again. Two years ago I bought an assortment of gift bags with tags and I use them over and over again. There is just the two of us. , so I put his presents on one side of the tree and my presents are on the other side of the tree. I got the assortment from qvc and it was quite reasonable, about $20, I think.

[Fern]

I'm skipping the cards for the 1st time this year; people i care about i'll be seeing.

won't be buying wrapping paper; i get free holiday wrapping paper from non-profits looking for a donation.

[shengmei]

Some companies like Sephora pre-wrapp anything you order from them.

I generally keep shopping bags of expensive places, like Saks Fifth Avenue, around. I never throw them away. I also keep all of my tissue papers and practically anything that is shiny or glittery.

[PRICEPLUS]

I cannot wrap gifts to save my life. I buy gift bags and use that thin paper stuff to cover the stuff inside. If you ever saw a gift wrapped by me you would understand why I use the gift bags. The bags are great because they can be used over and over!

[Hez]

I also re-use gift bags a lot, and have used newspaper comics in the past. I don't think that comics are really Christmas-appropriate, but for birthdays it's great!

[disneysteve]

One thing we do, which I think came from Tightwad Gazette, is to wrap the lids of boxes. That way, the box can be reused over and over but still looks nicely wrapped. We give the gift, then put the box right back in the closet for next time.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

We have a local salvage store that sells huge rolls of factory goof wrapping papers. The goofs are things like one color of ink running out, or the color layers getting out of sync, or unexpectedly low saturation of color. I choose from among quite a few patterns and sorts of goofs and can always find something I'd like to use.

For ribbon, I like to buy the cloth ribbon at fabric stores. There is a certain type of skinny ribbon that I can always find for 50 cents a roll.

[MonkeyMama]

I usually use gift paper because I like it. But environmentally I Am trying to be better. This year I have mostly used funny papers, plain white paper I had laying around. & apparently gift bags are in so I have been re-using them like crazy. To me they are such a waste, but nice to re-gift I guess. The tissue paper gets pretty tired so I use funny papers instead of tissue paper in those re-gifted bags.

Oh gosh - I hate cards. I can not BELIEVE how many cards we are getting this year. I feel like sending them back and asking people to save a tree. Call me grinch. I don't remember the last time I bought a card.

[Ima saver]

I really like gift bags. I can relate to Paul, I am not a good gift wrapper, but dh is! Gift bags are not as much fun cause you can' t rip them open but they look so neat!

[cicy33]

I think that if that system works well for you that is great but the paper is so pretty and the presents look so festive.

[markio26]

we have already received 6 nice gifts inside of gift bags, that we plan on reusing for xmas...i found reusable vinyl gift bags at $1.19 each and well worth it.. very pretty and handy... i think they were at wmt.

[fultron]

we mostly use gift bags...many have been getting passed back and forth around the family for years.

[markio26]

i do have some gift bags that are homemade... that we have used for smaller items for years... we purchase new pillow slips and place the gifts inside and then tie with crochet thread....... we have large xmas stockings for each family member and fill it up to the top too.............thanks for the comments everyone!!!!

[LivingAlmostLarge]

i didn't wrap a single present this year! Bwahhhaahahaa! I love when I bring presents on a plane now, because you can't wrap it. And I'm not about to spend time here wrapping.