Our clever media partner Peppermint Magazine joins us to share their guide to sustainable gift wrapping this season! Read on for their mega list of wonderful wrapping tips to help you have a sustainable, stylish and creative Christmas!

The Wrap Up:

So you’ve spent the time sourcing the perfect sustainable presents from local makers for your family and friends but have you given any thought as to how you’ll wrap them? 

150,000km. That’s how much wrapping paper Australians alone go through each Christmas. It’s enough to wrap around the Earth’s equator nearly four times. And the worst part? Sorry to break it to you friends but the paper isn’t your run-of-the-mill, chuck-it-in-the-recycling-bin type. Most of the time it’s covered in plastic and glitter and all kinds of nasties making it, yet another, single-use item. It’s enough to make you go full Grinch… 

But don’t fear! Gift wrap doesn’t have to be a dirty word. It also presents the perfect opportunity to get creative, put your own unique twist on your gifts and spend some quality time with your little ones. Here we’ve pulled together a fun list of wrapping tips to help you have a sustainable and stylish Christmas. Here goes!

PAPER

Hopefully you have a stack of old editions of your favourite magazine (wink wink, nudge nudge) stashed away somewhere. If you, and all your friends, have finished reading them, why not tear out your favourite pages to use as wrapping paper – go on, we won’t judge you.

Yesterday’s news as today’s wrapping paper? Surely that’s front-page worthy.  

If you’re all about the aesthetic and like your gifts wrapped monochromatically – head to your local art store. Grab some black paper and show off your creativity with a chalk pen, or use simple brown kraft paper with twine. You can jazz it up by foraging in the garden for twigs, leaves and fresh flowers. 

Want to look really impressive without much time or effort? Grab some paper lying around the house and create an origami star box!

For all those weirdly shaped gifts you never know how to wrap, make your own gift bag out of recycled paper.  

Make any gift go from blah to boom by topping it with a paper star decoration or whip up a pretty paper flower!

We’d never recommend desecrating a beautiful old book (gah the thought makes us shudder) but if you have one that’s unusable, it makes for gorgeous, and recycled, wrapping paper.  

Who needs a plastic ribbon when you’ve got recycled paper on hand? A quick search on Pinterest, some crafty folding and hey presto, you’ve got a paper bow. 

FABRICS

The Japanese art of Furoskihi dates back to the 1930s as a way to transport clothes, gifts or other goods. Experiment with different wrapping styles for a unique and practical reusable gift wrap option (we heart the Hope Knot Wrap from Rachael Sarra at Lush).

Giving handmade gifts this festive season? Don’t throw out your fabric offcuts – use them to wrap your creation. 

As if we needed an excuse to go vintage shopping but scarves sourced from your local oppy make for the perfect wrap (and double as a head scarf!).

Your old t-shirt destined for the bin is primed for another life as gift wrap! Simply cut it into squares and voila… job done! 

KITCHEN / GARDEN

A new or vintage tea towel is the gift that keeps on giving. And if you use one to wrap another present, hello two gifts in one!

Got a cupboard filled with branded shopping bags from throughout the year? Cover the brand logos with stickers or cut-out shapes and they’ll be ready for anything. 

Brown bags also make the perfect canvas to get creative with potato stamp art – fun for the whole family! Or make an impact with some simple but stylish typography – ours was illustrated by Helen Kelly of Brisbane Hand Lettering, who has lettering sets and plenty of inspo!

Jars are great for DIY pressies such as cookie ingredients, salt scrubs or jams: decorate with a strip of paper and string, a handmade tag or some recycled ribbon. 

Sandwich bags or brown bags saved from stores are great for small kids gifts – draw on an animal face, pop on some ears and suddenly the wrapping is just as fun as the present!

Last year’s cards taking up drawer space? Cut the side off with the writing, hole punch the corner and turn it into a swing tag.

If DIY is not your strong point and you still want to buy wrapping paper – never fear, gift wrapping can still be sustainable with a little care! Look out for local makers (like The Scenic Route, Salsa Verde and Ellen Walsh Designs) or charity brands, opt for recycled paper and try to steer clear of metallic options, as they can’t be recycled. And of course, despite the excitement, open carefully instead of ripping into the present so you can give the paper a second (or third or fourth…) life! 

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