I think it is time to stop using wrapping paper. What are the alternatives?

[Meglet]

I'm going to be good and stop using wrapping paper once my current bits are used up, the sight of all of the waste in the bin after xmas (and birthdays) makes me .

Does anyone have any inspirational alternatives?

I'm off to google compostable paper to see it it exists........

We use brown paper as wrapping paper.

To tie the presents - we don't use tape -we dip string in either red or gold paint with glitter sprinkled in it.

We made some salt dough stars at the weekend which have been painted red or gold which we tie from the string and use Holly Leaves as tags, which we write on with a gold pen.

Dc's did the string and stars at the weekend and had lots of fun doing it.

The brown paper can be re-used or torn up for composting.

We tend to re-use gift bags in our family, to the extent that if we buy a new one, no-one writes on the actual tag! In fact I now have some small fabric bags that can be re-used.

And recently I created a hamper for my MIL for Christmas, as many hampers have chocolate, which she can't eat (causes migraines). Instead of using shredded paper to pack the items in, I used a couple of new tea towels, carefully drapped to protect the items, so less waste and more practicalities.

All this would be solved if recycled, recyclable (ie non shiny) gift paper was more widely available. The most eco-friendly could then wrap up with string/ribbon/raffia so it wouldn't get damaged unwrapping and can save it for re-using next year.

A lady rang into Jeremy Vine the other day though and did recommend using the most plasticated shiny gift wrap for maximum re-use potential .

I reuse wrapping paper. And save tissue paper from shoes boxes when we buy those. And have used newpaper and ribbon.
But I did a lot of 'hampers' this year (saved cardboard boxes and decorated them)
Hanaflower - thanks for that link - I got sucked in there to your friend's blog

You wouldn't be trying to see to us, would you?

Sorry - sell

I stopped wrapping the kids Christmas presents a few years ago purely because I hate wrapping presents. They all go into a pillowcase at the end of each bed.

We reuse wrapping paper until it's barely decent not to. Even my 2 year opens presents really carefully by gently peeling the tape off. Gift bags get multiple reuses.

Other than that, you can wrap things in tea towels that become part of the gift, and tie with raffia. I've given people their presents in jute shopping bags that I also give them as part of the present. Any nice horticultural paper can be used, tissue paper, newspaper with a motif sprayed or stencilled on. I even use the bag they thing came in if I know the person really well.

My mum used to hand out nail scissors to everyone on Xmas Day - we were all trained to cut neatly along the sellotape & carefully fold the paper!

Some pieces were 5 years old, postcard sized & being used to wrap individual satsumas before being finally discarded...

I still do this, only buying a roll or two of non-shiny paper each year for the biggest parcels. All gift bags are carefully saved. Even stuff like ribbons & tissue from shop packaging can be used for kids' crafts after Xmas.

& cut out gift tags from the cards with pinking shears.

I usually end up composting the trimmed off bits from paper & cards.

I use brown paper and string (these are a few of my faaaavourite things! ) and encourage recipient to reuse paper. I don't use tape on it.

I watched a tv prog years ago, before being eco had gone mainstream, where a v. lentil-weavery family hid all their DS's presents around the house, instead of wrapping them. It was a brilliant idea, the little boy loved it!

The little boy had to run around the house and find them all, to be clear..

I've been making some furoshiki to wrap presents up with and will continue to. Japanese tradition states they should come back to me filled with presents

I'd never heard of furoshiki, just Googled. They're lovely, I think I'd like some for myself!

We use brown parcel paper that you can get cheaply from loads of places. The kids potato paint it with stars in non toxic paint, and we use some plain. Everyone's pile has presents in layer, one starred one plain etc...tied up with ribbon. We reuse the plain paper to line the chicken house and then compost it and use the painted stuff as kindling for the fire. Voila.

Oh and in fact I think we even managed to get hold of some recycled brown paper this year! Having read this thread we might use some newspaper too!

I use brown paper which can be recycled.

I use some of DD's pictures/paintings taped together. She's prolific!
And I reuse bags etc we are given.

Zombie thread!

But I second furoshiki, really simple and easier to reuse fabric and it looks great!

There are lots of tutorials on YouTube.

My cousin married into a family who live a very simple non materialistic life and they are very eco friendly. They wrap everything in magazines and newspapers. For childrens presents they ask for old comics and use those.

A friend of mine always wraps gifts in saved magazine articles either saved for the pictures or the content e.g. Recipes.

For Fathers Day, I gave my partner his gifts in babygrows - unpoppering them to get the presents was fun.

Pages from old AA or RAC maps make fun wrapping paper too

I reuse the kids pictures including the ones of a large roll of paper they have on a drawing board. Also I save the brown paper that comes in a lot of deliveries as packaging. It's great because it's perforated so you can tear it to the right size. I'm going to get the kids to Decorate it for Christmas paper.
I do always think I must look like a right weirdo though when there are loads of immaculately wrapped presses at a kids party and then ours in some random reused bit of paper! One year I saved all the full page pictures that were in the centre pages of the guardian (which was delivered to work everyday) for a few weeks before Christmas and these looked really good as wrapping paper.