Worth repeating: Alternatives to gift wrap
I wrote this post eight years ago, in 2017. When I re-read it this morning, I actually got excited about some of the ideas I’d come up with for non-traditional gift wrap. So I wanted to share it gain today!
I just left The Container Store. This time of year, their displays feature Gift Wrap Wonderland, where they have rolls upon rolls of beautiful gift wrap. I love The Container Store, truly I do. But as I looked at all that wrap I thought to myself, “Why do people need to spend all this money and storage space just to wrap gifts?”
When I got home, I started thinking about alternatives to purchasing gift wrap. There are so many! This is the list I put together in about two minutes. Can you add anything to it?
- Gift wrap from last year
- Gift bags, rather than wrap (they take up less room and are so easy to re-use)
- One type of wrap, like kraft paper or a solid color. Then you don’t need multiple rolls.
- Newspaper comics, if you subscribe to a newspaper
- Aluminum foil
- Kitchen parchment
- The liner paper from a gift box (my favorite is the illustrated paper that comes inside my monthly Barkbox!)
- Completed pages from coloring books
- Decorated printer paper or newsprint or a former grocery bag
- Kids’ art that you might otherwise discard
- A lovely piece of cloth
- Roadmaps (who uses those to navigate any more?)
- A family tree printed from your genealogy software
- Beautiful wall calendar pages from a previous year
That’s just off the top of my head. If you love spending money on gift wrap and finding a place to store it in your home, please don’t let me stop you. But when you get a little creative, you can save money, use your storage space for something else and charm the gift recipient with your creativity.
Photo by David-Olivier Gascon on Unsplash
Tagged with: gift wrap, recycling, worth repeating
Comments
I bought some of that type of gift wrap years ago, Sharon. It’s so nice. It looks like you’re set!
Janine Adams December 15, 2025 10:40 AM
Once upon a time I might have enjoyed wrapping Christmas gifts, but those days are over. After several years of promising myself that I would never wrap another gift, I finally splurged on drawstring linen bags in green and white. Some were from Etsy.com, some I sewed from “fat quarters” of fabric and plain tea towels. I make them fancy with ribbons in various colors. (This year it’s copper, dark green and wine.) Buying the fabric and the bags is expensive the first year but then, except for replacing one that goes to another home from time to time, it costs nothing. I only wish I’d done it sooner.
Margaret Lukens December 15, 2025 12:10 PM
Margaret, I actually love wrapping gifts and volunteer to wrap my friend John’s gifts every year. But I love your idea of fabric gift bags. Genius!
Janine Adams December 16, 2025 05:23 PM
About Janine
Hello! I’m Janine Adams — a certified professional organizer based in St. Louis, and the creator of Peace of Mind Organizing®.
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Great ideas! When my daughter was in elementary school, they sold gift wrap as an annual fundraiser by the PTA. I still have some of those rolls of giftwrap — and she just got out of graduate school! I guess I’m more likely to use a gift bag these days.
Sharon Lowenheim December 15, 2025 10:04 AM