Eco Friendly Christmas Gift Wrapping Guide 2021

As we know Christmas and especially gift wrapping can be extremely wasteful. Most traditional wrapping paper can't be recycled due to dyes, glitters and coatings that may be on it. Swapping traditional, single use wrapping paper and gift bags to a more eco friendly option not only cuts down the impact you have on the climate, it's fun, creative and really personalises whatever gift you've chosen. 

Eco Friendly Gifts under £10 

Read on to discover inventive sustainable ways you can wrap your Christmas gifts this year. 

Recycled Brown Paper

Brown paper is one of the most readily available eco-friendly materials and usually sold on a large roll for a couple of pounds, recycled brown paper can look super stylish and sleek. Because brown paper is usually quite stiff it's easy to fold and makes wrapping extra easy too with no need for tape, just a little ribbon or twine and your chosen finishing touches.

Two Gifts In One

If you've got notoriously difficult bottles to wrap consider using a pair of socks to wrap them in. Not only do you get a stylish, easy and protective wrapping, your recipient gets 2 gifts in one. To use socks as wrapping paper;

1. Place the socks inside each other
2. Place your bottle inside the socks
3. Gather the excess material at the top 
4. Add ribbon or twine to keep them in place and attach your label. 

Use Fabric As Wrap

Fabric makes great wrapping material. It's easy to find and can be cut with pinking sheers to any size or shape. It's great for wrapping odd shapes as it's so flexible. You can pick up some beautiful scarves from charity shops and markets and recycle them into gorgeous gift wrap. Either pop in your gift and tie the scarf itself, use a contrasting ribbon or for an extra special touch fasten it with a brooch or lapel pin that you can also pick up from your local charity store and provides the perfect keepsake. 

Tins and Jars

Save those tins and jars throughout the year and they'll be super handy for all kinds of gifts come Christmas. Jars filled with sweets, treats or small soaps and bath bombs. Jars and tins can be decorated with ribbons, hessian, leaves or anything your imagination was come up with. 

Saved Packaging 

Keep any of the packaging from parcels you receive throughout the year and reuse it for your Christmas gifts. Tissue paper, dust bags, boxes and the protective stuffing paper can all be saved and repurposed to either wrap your gifts or pack hampers. If any of the packaging is creased an iron on low heat will flatten it out again easily. 

Maps

Often found in charity shops old maps not only look brilliantly stylish as wrapping but provide a talking point and can be treasured by the recipient, especially if the map given holds significance for them. Dig out your Dad's old AA route map and see how creative you can be. 

Wooden crate hampers

Wooden crates can be picked up from fruit stalls, greengrocers or markets. They make the perfect base for creating luxurious hampers with the addition of some shredded paper or fabric. Once you've lined them add your treats before covering with more of your lining. A great idea would be to create a picnic basket and use the blanket as lining and covering. 

Newspaper

Although they're not something we typically buy these days, newspapers make super interesting gift wrap, much like the maps and with some well thought out finishing touches look stylish and striking. Bright, bold accessories are a must with newspaper. Puzzle pages are a perfect added extra too. 

Eco Friendly Finishing Touches

Before you start on your eco-friendly gift wrapping it’s a great idea to go in search of a few natural items to add the finishing touches to your gifts no matter how you choose to wrap them. These make sure your gifts stand out, look beautiful and are fun to collect at the beginning of the Christmas season.

Examples of things to collect would be:

• Holly sprigs
• Pinecones
• Clippings from evergreen trees
• Twine
• Dried leaves