Disclaimer: this post may contain affiliate links. It means that if you make a purchase through the links mentioned in this blog post, I may get a commission. I only recommend and link products that I personally like and use.
The holiday season is here and as someone who loves making and giving gifts, I am happy to share a list of some eco-friendly gift wrapping ideas. Seeing wrapping paper going to waste really makes me sad and a few years ago I started reusing items that I already had or buying things that I for sure knew people would use and would not throw away!
In this blog post, I also included items for decorations. You will be surprised how many ordinary things, that are around us all the time, you can use to decorate with.
Hopefully, you already got all the gifts for your friends and family, and the only thing you are worrying about at this point is gift wrapping ideas.
So before you scroll further, I wanted to remind you that I made a few notebooks through Amazon KDP. You can check them out down below, I designed them myself and truly love them. As a notebook lover, I also love the quality. Check them out ↓↓
Eco-friendly gift wrapping ideas
The items below are just my ideas and things I use to wrap or decorate the gifts. I am pretty sure there are way more eco-friendly gift wraps and packages. So feel free to suggest your eco-friendly gift wrapping ideas in the comments down below.
- Pine cones, dried flowers, cinnamon sticks, branches, orange peels, pine needles, etc., for decorating, It looks fantastic and very stylish. These items can be reused or used in craft projects. If someone wants to throw them away, there is less harm in that too.
- Parchment paper or baking paper. Those are better than plastic wrapping papers and I am confident you have one of these already at home. Unfortunately, these can not be reused but if the person you give a gift to is into arts and crafts, they will definitely use it. I am speaking from my own experience!
- Fabrics, tote bags, Christmas sweaters, tablecloths, etc. You can find them at the thrift store or get a new one. Or you can get a blank tote bag at Michaels and either paint it yourself or let the person decide what to paint on it. By the way, tote bags from Michaels come in different colors and you can also buy them in bulk. I think it’s a great gift for creative people and those who love unique things.
- Baskets. These are very stylish and because there are so many baskets, you can definitely find something for everybody. You can thrift them or buy new ones, get a basket for organizing, or an old-school picnic-style basket.
- Cardboard boxes that you received your order in or shoe boxes. Below is the gift box I gave my husband a few years ago, I painted it and decorated it with the candy canes I had and some pine cones and pine tree branches I found outside. He absolutely loved it and we still have the box because it looks very cool!
If you don’t have access to forests, parks, or natural resources or you live in the city, here are some pine cones, dried flowers, and orange slices I found.
As a reminder, if you’re going to forage branches, pine cones, etc., don’t break anything. Look for the items that are already on the ground.
- Pages from old books or newspapers. If you can find old newspapers with the date it will make it even better. Book pages can be great for small gifts. You can thrift books of any size at pretty much any thrift store. A book with images can be great for your creative friends.
- Hemp rope
- …or any other type of eco-friendly rope, really. You can also reuse the ropes, threads, or yarn you have at home.
- Reuse old gift bags. There is no shame in that and if you feel weird about it, you can just let other people know that “look, I am going to reuse gift bags I have and you can do the same for my gifts, I don’t mind”. I think reused gift bags are the ultimate definition of eco-friendly gift wrapping.
- Jars, pots, or cups – if you have a small gift, you can use a jar that you most likely already have at home or buy a nice cup that will be used by the person. You can wrap the cup in a nice kitchen towel or tablecloth. You can also decorate the jar with pine cones, cinnamon sticks, pine needles, orange peels, or fairy lights. It can be a great gift for those who love cooking and baking.
- Make pomander balls to decorate your gift with. Almanac has a great article explaining what that is and how to make the pomander balls.
These were my gift wrapping ideas for Christmas or any other occasion, honestly. Let me know if you have any eco-friendly gift wrapping ideas, and share them in the comments down below, I always love learning new things!
Read more: