What a lovely thread.
For gifts that are from me or my family I've always let the kids decorate sheets of paper themselves. It's not recyclable but they'd be doing crafts anyway so it seems like a good double use and a festive activity.
Saving up jars is good. You can bulk buy ingredients and fill them with cocoa, marshmallows, homemade truffles and a nicely cross sectioned biscuit mix that they just add fat too, mix and bake. Have also done home made lip balms, face scrubs and masks and bath bombs.
We were recently given a gift in a beautiful fabric gift bag which i love. Thinking to making some for gifts for people I know will reuse them. In the past I made mini stockings to put small gifts in.
It's also nice to give eco gifts, bamboo straws, zero waste toiletries and cosmetics, reusable cups, rechargeable batteries, reusable wipes and make up pads, bamboo toothbrush.
One year we made our own crackers containing cabochons I'd made.
This year I'm going to a wreath making event.
I also buy most things second hand.
I think an often overlooked one is good wage. Trying not to over shop and over serve is tricky at this time of the year.