{"id":20584,"date":"2013-12-05T07:07:34","date_gmt":"2013-12-05T12:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/frugal-living\/?p=20584"},"modified":"2020-05-05T16:45:55","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T20:45:55","slug":"frugal-gift-wrap-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/frugal-living\/frugal-gift-wrap-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"Frugal Gift Wrap Ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spending money to buy a loved one a gift makes a lot of sense to me. Spending a lot of money on wrapping those gifts? Not so much. Over the years I’ve discovered numerous frugal gift wrap ideas to save money.<\/p>\n

Buying gift wrap can add up. And did you know that most wrapping paper is non recyclable.? So not only am I paying a lot but I’m filling landfills too. But here is the real problem, nobody wants the gifts they wrap to look ugly!<\/p>\n

Several years ago I didn’t want to spend any money on gift wrap. The paper is almost always thrown away and I would rather spend that money on more gifts for the ones I love. We are also trying very hard to stay within our budget this Christmas season. My husband and I both have a tendency to go overboard with gifts, but not this year!<\/p>\n

Since paper grocery bags are free and plentiful at my house I used them to wrap the present. I spent about $8 at Michaels on ribbon, because my goal here is to think green not look cheap.<\/p>\n

One thing I realized is because the bags are thick, I needed to use more tape. But this is a positive because thicker bags mean less chance of paper being torn open during shipping or kids peeking.<\/p>\n

I would love to show you a before picture, but…. my family does claim to read this blog now and again, so I am only able to show you the after picture.<\/p>\n

\"brown<\/a><\/h2>\n

If you don’t have any paper bags- kraft paper works as well, but it isn’t free. A large roll costs about $12<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, saving money, helping the environment and having stylish and interesting gift wrap are not mutually exclusive! Here are a few ideas that I think you might enjoy.<\/p>\n

More Eco Friendly and Frugal Gift Wrap Ideas<\/h3>\n

\"recycled-map-gift-wrap\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

Wrap using Maps<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Comics<\/a><\/h2>\n

Use the Sunday Comics<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Recycle Old Calendars\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Turn old envelopes into small gift bags.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Paint-Your-Own-Christmas-Wrapping-Paper\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Paint Your Own Wrapping Paper<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"dishtowel-wrapping-paper\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Gift is the Wrapping<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"easy<\/a><\/p>\n

Easy Fabric Gift Bags<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"frugal<\/a><\/p>\n

T-Shirt Gift Bag<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Reader Suggested Frugal Gift Wrap Ideas<\/h3>\n

From Kate<\/a> and Nancy: As far as gift wrap, you can use the Sunday comics (they are colorful) – I did this in college, with masking tape and binder twine – for regular gifts. For Christmas, you can reuse old wrapping paper or have your kids decorate (paint, rubber stamp, crayon) butcher paper. I have a gift bow stash that would make you laugh – I save any ribbon that looks remotely reusable. Why not – after all, I mail most gifts and the bows get squashed anyway!<\/p>\n