When the holiday season arrives and we encounter beautiful holiday-related merchandise, including a plethora of gift wrapping options, it is tempting to purchase new items instead of turning to what we already have in our supply. I like to take inventory early on in my prep for the holidays to ensure that I avoid making unnecessary purchases. So, this weekend, I reviewed what I have and organized my wrapping paper and ribbon.
I keep my gift wrap in a vertical organizer I acquired several years ago.
My ribbon is organized in a rubbermaid box with a small internal container for shorter ribbon pieces and other accessories.
I am happy to report that I will not require any wrapping supplies this year as I plan to be creative with what I’ve got. I came up with a couple of ideas for embellishing my humble gift wrapping options with a few items I found around the house. I call this double-duty gift wrap because not only am I dipping into my existing supply, but I am also looking for things that I no longer use or need in order to re-purpose them. I used an old pin to add a bit of “wow” to a simple blue ribbon.
I found this hair accessory, which I have had for a good 20 years. I no longer wear it. I think it will make a package for someone special a little more unique.
Buttons, which most of us have for some reason or the other, can also be put to work. You can glue gun or sew them on to the ribbon.
I am rethinking the use of gift bags for wine. (If you already have those bags in your supply, by all means use them!) Those bags serve a very narrow purpose and many, I am certain, end up in landfills. What about using practical reusable materials such as kitchen towels to wrap the wine. You can often find towels at a great sale price or might have some new ones on hand. I tied a pretty ribbon around my experiment and ta-da!
I came across some other double-duty-worthy gift wrapping options in the blogosphere. Here are some of my faves:
Make ribbon out of fabric or yarn scraps.
Image source: fabric ribbon; yarn ribbon
Newspaper!
Image source
No-longer-needed puzzle pieces could make a beautiful adornment to a package as well.
Image source
Have you organized your gift wrapping supplies already? Are there interesting ways in which your gift wrapping does double-duty?
