Reuse, Recycle, Re-Wrap: Six wrapping paper alternatives for the holidays

The joys of Christmas morning come and go in a blink. Tearing the red and green shimmery paper to shreds just for it to be crumpled into a trashbag and placed out on the curb in a matter of minutes has always seemed like a waste to me. I’m all for ways to become more eco-friendly in my day-to-day life, and what better time to do this than the holidays? 

I decided to ditch the peppermint-patterned paper this year and test out six different wrapping paper alternatives using materials I found around my house — saving money and the environment all in one. 

Chip Bag

My family and I eat our fair share of salt and vinegar chips, so instead of tossing the emptied bag into the trash per usual, I cleaned off the greasy chip residue and put it to good use. It took me at least seven minutes of scrubbing to get the salt and vinegar smell to go away — and even with that, a slight tangy aroma still lingered. Turning the bag inside out to its silver side, I wrapped a small jewelry-sized box. It was simple to use, functioning almost exactly like real wrapping paper. The stunning silver mylar reflecting the glow of my tree’s lights made the extra cleaning time worth it.

Sheet Music

Way back when, I was quite the piano star, but my books of sheet music have been left untouched since I was seven. Tearing out a few pages to wrap some small gifts was an adorable and simple look — perfect for any music-lovers in your life. Bonus points if it’s sheet music for a Christmas song! 

Tissue Paper Layers

Wrinkled sheets of tissue paper always seem to find their way back into gift bags from birthdays and other holidays. A bit too crumpled for this year’s bagged gifts, I instead decided to take old tissue paper of various colors and wrap them in layers around a box. It made for a soft and simple look adorned with a shiny ribbon to top it off. 

Grocery Bags

The leftover Trader Joe’s and Chipotle bags sitting in the corner of my pantry were finally put to good use for this next wrapping paper alternative. The thick brown paper makes it challenging to avoid air pockets and make tight creases when folding — but with enough patience to make it as tight as possible, this is a great wrapping option. In my opinion, “Free Chipotle” and the Trader Joe’s label don’t exactly scream “Christmas,” but if it means saving the environment, I’m all for it. 

Spare Fabric

Rummaging around our craft supply closet, I came across a few random scraps of fabric from my fourth grade sewing phase. I selected a red velvet material, along with a white polka-dot fabric, for my present wrapping attempt. Let me tell you, this was by far the most difficult material to work with. I envisioned an adorable, plush-looking package tied with a bow, but was left with a loosey-goosey mess that my little sister could certainly peek through when gift-snooping. My first mistake was using regular scissors, which made for an annoyingly long time to cut the amount I needed — a big contrast from the easy glide through wrapping paper. As for taping it together, tape is definitely not what you want to use. If I were to try this again, I’d use fabric glue or hot glue. If you’re wanting to test out this eco-friendly alternative, make sure to have your best fabric scissors on stand-by. 

Newspapers

Among the many random and unused items in my house are various stacks of old newspapers — mostly Harbingers. I cut out some basic, word-heavy newsprint along with colorful comic strips to wrap up a few different presents. Similar to the texture of wrapping paper, the newspaper was easy to tightly fold and made for a classy look that went well with a shiny red bow in the middle.