To boycott wrapping paper this Christmas ?

[MostlyAmbridgeandcoffee]

It’s terrible for the environment and completely pointless ! Who’s with me? Old newspaper or pretty reusable cloth instead? My little one turned 1 this weekend and the cardboard and wrapping paper rubbish at the end of it all made me feel a bit ill! Does anyone do this already and have any tips ?

I use brown paper too. We did potato print the paper when the kids were little, now we don't bother.

We have a whole drawer full of ribbon - some of it is cheap plastic based but it doesn't matter as it's been kicking around for at least a decade and will keep getting used for decades more. Plastic is not "bad" if you can use it dozens of times. One year we came up with a colour coded system as we had no gift tags, we used some of the spare baubles from the christmas tree and tied them onto the ribbon. Green for DH, red for DS, blue for Dd and so on. Worked really well and added some sparkle.

Have a peek in your local charity shop too. This morning I was pricing loads of donated reels of ribbon, chiffon type scarves, even old A4 envelopes which would be ideal for smaller gifts. We have a basket with gift bags at 3 for 99p. If you're vaguely crafty, there are loads of ideas.

I buy less presents every year, to be fair that’s easier as your kids get older anyway. I prefer to spend money on food and drink treats instead. I’m going to buy the patterned brown kraft paper, it’s definitely recyclable hopefully our council will accept it.

Not RTFT but think you're better off boycotting the stuff to wrap than the wrapping itself... Give experiences instead or agree not to do gifts, or make charitable contributions instead to a charity of their choice (I understand this may not wash with children!).

Having said that, we do have some lovely handmade stockings, and don't wrap things that go in there, that is one potential solution.

Bought a second hand Playmobil set last year and we set it up on the table the night before and just put a blanket over it for them to pull off. They loved it, it helped avoid any potential issues with the box already having obviously been opened / ripped, and it was ready to play with right away. We set up garden toys in the back garden for them to "find".

I have used old silk scarves to wrap gifts in the past too. You can usually pick up in charity shops for £1 or less. We have some fabric wraps which we use between our family members only so they get passed around.

I really do love wrapping paper, the way beautifully wrapped presents look and I love doing it myself, so it's not easy to resist and I sometimes worry people think I'm being skanky, but it's just so wasteful.

We all use gift bags. Never throw them away, use them again next time.

We use reusable cloth bags, which also works for family birthdays.

How is buying scarfes and cutting them to size any better? If there not cut you could use them again but if they are they will probably e chucked.

@june2007 well first of all they’re already reused as I bought them secondhand.

Secondly, people can reuse them to wrap gifts. Once someone’s seen the idea they will think ah! I don’t have to use paper, I can use this. And so it continues.

I thought the main problem with recycling wasn't so much the paper (apart from glittery/ metallic stuff), but more to do with the sellotape and the glue on it? Therefore I think you can recycle paper, but should remove tape first. I did see a website that sells compostable tape though, so may try that.

I use brown recyclable packing paper.

I like presents to be hidden (DH doesn't get this -"I got you what you asked me for and now you want me to hide it?"). I find I can get some good paper (recyclable) wrapping paper from charity shops. Sometimes they are surplus stock but I got some really lovely 70s or 80s paper which had obviously been sitting in someone's attic. It's very retro and a huge roll of it!

Also I reuse thicker good quality wrapping paper to rewrap smaller presents. This works better for birthdays but I do save the best paper.

This is eye opening love Christmas but so true we have so much tat. Definitely going to cut down this year luckily my kids are older now. Love the experience gift idea thanks all.

And how is potato stamped brown paper any better for the environment than the Santa printed generic non glitter/non metallic paper? Ok so one is more fun and prettier, but both will be recycled.

I agree with this. Ours is accepted for recycling provided it's in a clear bin bag. It's once a year, not an every day occurrence. My kids love opening their presents and take their time to see who each gift is from before opening. If I just shoved them all in an old bag it would be over in a flash and it wouldn't feel at all merry or christmassy.

Much more important to cut down on the number of presents that need to be wrapped surely, 300 presents sounds obscene.

300 presents?

Obviously you're better at it than I am. That would be about 20 hours work for me.

300 may sound obscene but I have a lot of family, it's not just one child getting that many presents. Admittedly I do buy more than I need to, but there are no rules on how many presents you can buy.

I usually buy them about 5/6 pairs of pyjamas each, plus slippers and a new dressing gown. Then I can replace their old ones with these. They would need them anyway but they love opening gifts so why not wrap them up.

@BadLad that's questionable 😂 I struggle with odd shaped things and they never look great. I never bother with ribbons and bows as I think the paper is pretty enough and I dont have the patience lol. I tend to wrap as I buy throughout the year though.

@pinky 300 presents to wrap and 5/6 pairs of pyjamas each

The kids need new pyjamas, I just wait until Christmas to replace them all. By the time it comes around, their old ones are usually washed out/too small. The 300 also includes replacing clothes and shoes which again, needs doing anyway but is saved until Christmas. We replace things and take all the things they've outgrown to the charity shop after.

I would like to point out that without counting the exact number, there are over 50 family members I buy for. The kids have a lot of cousins and I like to buy small gifts for mine and DH's (8 combined) siblings too. There's also my parents, DH's parents and our (5 combined) grandparents. It's not all about recieving for me and I'm in a position to be able to give and I enjoy doing so.

@pinky I think I am just shocked that a child would have 5/6 pairs of pyjamas. Even as a grown-up I don't have that many! But good on you for being generous.

I never bother much, can't be arsed wrapping something, only for it to be ripped off. I'm shite at wrapping too.

My Dsis who is very arty gave me a small gift a few Christmases ago wrapped in plain brown paper that she hand painted with Holly leaves. It was beautiful and while I can't reuse it, I can't throw it away either.
Brown paper has so much potential

@pinkyyy I usually buy them about 5/6 pairs of pyjamas each, plus slippers and a new dressing gown

Every year?! How can they wear out, essentially, one pair of pjs in 60 nights sleep?!
Why not buy a dressing gown which is slightly bigger so it lasts a few years?

300 presents to wrap????

surely it is the whole consumerist lifestyle that needs addressing not a few bits of wrapping paper. You can indulge yourself at Christmas but not by necessarily buying lots of stuff that most people do not need.

On the one hand some people are thinking about paper. On the other side the rise of advent calendars with beauty products in them are on the rise. More landfill.

there are over 50 family members I buy for

I get a headache just thinking about what to buy for two sets of parents and three adult kids in their 20's and their partners! We don't buy for anyone else. I don't send cards either, apart from close family as above, I'm a right Grinch .

Actual I only have to think for my parents, we refill a wicker hamper every year for my in-laws, they love it.

Pinkyyy I’m sorry but that is just obscene. That amount of consumerism is part of the problem. Why don’t you treat people in a different way, maybe with a nice meal,experience vouchers... also the “I’ll still buy them something small” is equal for tat.