Hopefully by now, your Christmas presents are purchased. Some of you ultra-organized folks likely had them purchased and wrapped months ago. But some of the rest of us are just now getting around to thinking about wrapping gifts. 🙂
If you’re one of those people, don’t despair! Here are six simple and frugal ideas to dress up your packages without spending a lot of money:
Make a Bow Out of Wrapping Paper
Dress Up Brown Paper Packages With Yarn
You can find more frugal gift-wrapping ideas from The Happy Housewife and My Blessed Life.
Do you have your gifts wrapped yet? Or am I the only person who still has some gifts left to wrap? 🙂
Practical Application:
1. If you haven’t done so already, get the rest of your gifts wrapped in the next 24 hours.
2. Once you’ve wrapped your gifts, be sure to label them clearly with the recipient’s name.
3. If you’re attending multiple Christmas gatherings, divide your wrapped gifts up into boxes or tubs by event (label these boxes/tubs with the event name) and then stick them by the door so that you can just grab the appropriate tub or box on your way out the door and you’re good to go! (Since we have young children who like to unwrap gifts, we’re keeping our wrapped gifts at the top of our coat closet. That way, it’s almost impossible to forget them since we have to put our coats on before we head out the door!)
I’ve had a lot of fun being creative with my gift wrapping this year!! With all the ideas I’ve seen on Pinterest, I’ve chosen ones I know I can do, or ones that I can simplify and yet still make look cute!!
We bring the gifts for at Grandma & Grandpa’s over early so it’s less to think about when Christmas arrives. The only downfall is if you have to return one because you find out cousin’s parents have bought one of the same gifts. Then you have to go and search for that gift under the massive pile of presents!
My aunt used to use inexpensive freezer wrap and red ribbon that was on sale during the year to wrap the most gorgeous Christmas gifts. These were the most beautiful gifts, try it.
Just made a bow out of wrapping paper after seeing this post. It turned out so cute! I never knew that paper curled so well. I can cross bows off my after Christmas shopping list. Thanks for a great idea on using scraps of wrapping paper. Love it!
I only just started last night, and I got my wrapping paper last year at target after Christmas. My favorite time to get gift wrap and Christmas cards! I never pay full price for those cards if I can help it.
I’m totally doing handmade when I have little kids to help! I remember making wrapping paper from brown craft paper with my mom as a kid, and even though none of our relatives probably appreciated it then, I know my mom will when it’s her own grandkids!
I love wrapping and making packages look festive but the time commitment for some of those projects is over the top for me! Seriously, it would stress me out beyond belief to try to hand craft each individual bow when I know I can buy a big spool of ribbon on clearance and just tie a normal bow and then actually be able to reuse it year after year (because fabric packs away better than a paper bow. So, these ideas are beautiful and *possibly* frugal, but they don’t look all that simple!
I also re-use gift bags, but unwrapping a box is more exciting for children, IMO so I try to wrap as much of their stuff as possible.
I am so sorry, but putting wrapped gifts (or unwrapped gifts) into your vehicle for several days is asking for your car to be broken into. That is NOT a good idea. Please do not do this.
You’re very right! I realized that wasn’t the smartest suggestion so I updated the post and edited that part so no one gets their presents stolen or their vehicle broken into.
Thanks for voicing your concern!
I appreciate your making the changes to the article, Crystal! That idea just made my heart jump into my throat. Safety at Christmas is extra important. Some people live in higher crime areas than others, so this issue is somewhat regional.
We have used
white butcher paper that my son paints on,
newspaper,
brown paper bags
fabric (you can wrap and tie it with yarn or tape it)
I buy yarn or fabric at the thrift store so it’s super cheap.
reused gift bags, bows, tissue paper, boxes. (you can also get some of that stuff at thrift stores. Cheap and recycled!)
Don’t forget: the other side of the paper is white. Combine that with a festive ribbon and viola! instant wrapping no matter the holiday.
I read Peter Walsh’s tip for wrapping paper. He says to only buy three colors that work for more than one holiday. Red is good for Valentines, Xmas, etc. then white(any) and green(xmas, easter, spring) or brown. Then make the ribbons do the heavy lifting.
Maybe someday!
I’ve also used fancy duct tape to make mailed packages more festive. Wrap it like a ribbon and created a bow, too.
also, you can get end rolls of newsprint for free or very cheap from the newspaper. great for crafts and/or wrapping.
I love the Newspaper idea! So cute and free to boot:)
I wish I had read this post before I paid $5 for a roll of paper at Target. We have plenty of newspaper!
All that Brown paper that Amazon uses for filler makes great wrap too ! You might have to iron it but it does make great wrap!
The red ribbon on newspaper makes it look extremely elegant and the green and white on brown looks amazing as well as just plain twine for an antique look. Go natural and old style if you have to cut cost. Buy some multi colored yarn on sale early in the year it goes far for dressing the packages. If you do put the tubs in the cars cover them with a tarp. Folks are so desperate to get things they will steal anything just to have a Christmas for themselves. Not certain how stealing a gift is ever possible for someone as it is Christmas as in Christ Birthday and let’s all be christian’s here but we all know it does happen.
“Father forgive them they know not what they do”
Happy Holidays to all!
After reading this post yesterday, I made myself finish wrapping all the gifts last night after the kids were asleep. Feels GREAT to have one more thing crossed off the list!
Woohoo! Way to go!
I wrap the kid’s stuff since they have so much fun opening it. But for gifts for adults, I reuse gift bags. When we are giving gifts, if the bags are still in good shape, I fold them up and store them until I need them. I reuse tissue paper if it is still in decent shape but I also get some at Dollar Tree from time to time as that does not usually keep as well as the bags. If someone has already written on the tag attached to the gift bag, I tear it off and just stick a label to the bag (somehow I got a bunch of free Christmas stickie labels a few years ago that we are still using; don’t remember how). You can also stick a stickie label on top of another tag and reuse! For birthday parties/baby showers, etc. sometimes I staple a tiny piece of paper to the bag with a To: From:. I have some cute little tiny pieces of stationary (post it size) that were given to me here and there. I do this for kid’s birthdy parties and let my 4 year old write his own name under From. I feel like reusing the gift bags is better for the enviroment too–keep reusing them until they are torn = less to throw away. I REALLY like the felt reusable bags–they can be passed along several, several times keeping bags/wrapping paper out of our landfills.
We reuse gift bags all year long too. This year we somehow ended up with no tissue paper or bags left (I guess that’s good, it means we’ve been giving a lot!) so I had to go buy some. However, when I labeled them, I attached the sticker to the top of the tissue paper that was sticking out, instead of the bag. That way, the recipient can easily reuse the bag, and if they’re super-frugal, just cut of the top strip of tissue paper where the name tag is placed to reuse the paper.
I like the idea of felt or fabric gift bags too, but I wouldn’t be shocked if most people just throw them away.
I like the attach it to the tissue paper idea! When I staple the little post it notes, I am hoping they will just tear it off and reuse the bag. It kills me when I am at a party or shower and the recipient says, “Oh, just throw all the bags away!” Both for enviromental and frugality reasons!!
I am almost done wrapping gifts – still waiting for a couple things to arrive!! Oh well.
I love wrapping presents – one of my favorite things. One thing I make sure to do is re-use!!!! I buy cheap bows, boxes and paper from the dollar store and then on Christmas morning I make piles of things to keep – the bows, the boxes, the tissue paper, the bags, etc. I don’t re-use the paper, but I re-use just about everything else. That way, I always have a supply of bow and boxes and don’t have to re-buy them every year.
Also, if you can find cheap material (christmas-y or just christmas colors) you can make cheap and easy Christmas bags. My mom used to buy material on after-christmas sales, then she would sew up three sides of squares to make basic bags. Tie with ribbon and you’re done! Not as much fun for little kids – but adults and teenagers don’t really care and you can re-use them every year!
Good ideas! I live overseas and can’t get Christmas wrapping paper here.
My kids are 8 and 11, and I have taught them to wrap gifts and they did almost everything this year! My husband & I took turns monitoring the wrapping depending on whose gifts they were, and the kids love the idea of keeping each others’ gifts a secret (it’s fun to know something your big sister doesn’t!). They did a nice job, they are very proud of themselves, and they learned a life skill. No, my gifts are no long perfect works of art, but they are finished and I don’t have the stress of wrapping added to my already full Christmas to-do list. Hooray!
My kids are 2 and 4 and they were so excited to help wrapping this year. My presents are not beautifully wrapped but the kids had fun and it helped with fine motor skills! They had fun and that’s all that mattered!
I have 4 more gifts to wrap which I plan to get done today. Otherwise we are all set to go.
The funnest wrapping we ever did was a few years ago when the girls were littler. I save several brown paper bags from Aldi and cut the plain part out neatly then opened it up to be on large page. The girls decorated and colored the brown paper, put their names and ages on it. We used this paper to wrap up the gifts going to Grandma’s, Grandpa’s and Great Grandparents. The paper turned out being much more special than the gifts inside. 🙂
This is the first year ever that my gifts are wrapped and ready to go. It is also the first year ever that I had a real Christmas fund that I had been saving since April. I think having the finances planned took a lot of anxiety out of present purchasing. The only stress was putting money back in the bank regularly to cover online purchases ; ) the gifts were wrapped as they arrived!
I read a great idea this year. Some one had stacks of pillowcases that her late grandmother had made and uses them for wrapping gifts for extended family. They pass these around keeping the ones their gifts came in and using them the next year. My grandmother made tons of pillwcases too and I always think of her when I see them in my linen closet. It would sure be easy to slide in the gift and tie on a ribbon!
Beautiful wrapping! But 1) who has that much time to tie that many knots for one gift let alone multiple ones!?! and 2) it seems like a waste to make something so pretty that’s just going to get ripped open and then thrown away. 🙁 I’m more of a dollar-store-paper-with-tape-to-hold-it-together type of girl. Oh well. At least my gifts are wrapped!
Wow I love all the ideas, especially the curled wrapping paper bow. I had no idea paper would curl like the ribbon does. Ha you learn something new everyday! Hope you have your family have a very blessed Christmas!
I’m a little uninspired when it comes to Christmas, which is a pity I guess.
I love these ideas, but I haven’t bothered with ribbon and bows in years and this year, I haven’t even bothered with tags. I just write the recipient’s name right on the paper!
It’s not pretty but cuts down on waste and is easy. I try to write the To: and From: on a place where it might seem appropriate – e.g. on a Snowman’s tummy.
My frugal wrapping ideas:
Save and reuse gift bags – most people don’t remember the bags came from somewhere else.
Buy Christmas wrapping paper after Christmas for the following year.
Of course my husband forgot I did this last year and went out and bough a roll this year. At least we won’t have to buy any paper next year. In fact we may be able to go two years without buying any wrapping paper.
My favorite is to save and reuse gift bags. I am so lazy and will put gifts in a bag unless they already come in a box. I don’t want to go out and buy gift boxes. I guess I’m a Scrooge – I despise wrapping!
You’re not the only one. I do wrap a lot, rather than gift bags, because gift bags take more room when hiding in places before Christmas.
But I just quickly wrap in my clearance paper, stick on a self-adhesive label, and maybe put on a self-adhesive bow. My presents almost look as if a man wrapped them! But you know, kids could care less, and it just all gets torn off.
Basically, I’m just not a very crafty person. But I can see that some people really enjoy making things, so these are great ideas for them!
I am the same way! These are beautiful ideas, but I don’t have the energy after work to invest in extravagant wrapping that will be ripped open in a few seconds.
With you on this!
I save and reuse all gift bags, too — but I also save boxes (the ones that will lie flat if they are folded down). My mom used to do that, too (I can’t remember how many Christmases the joke was that somebody was getting that hairdryer again — because she was reusing the box again), and, since we travel for Christmas, boxes are a lot easier to pack and stack in the car than gift bags. I just keep all the folded boxes and saved gift bags together through the year — in one giant gift bag. I save tissue paper, too. Came in handy this year for the awkwardly shaped gift for my husband that didn’t fit in any of my saved boxes: I had to really stuff the top of the gift bag with tissue paper to obscure it.
I like to use one wrapping paper pattern for all of the gifts that I am taking to a party/home. That way, I know all of those gifts are from me in case tags fall off. Also, I can use a different wrap for each event so that I can easily organize them. It also cuts down on having piles of different wrapping paper and scraps everywhere. Sound boring? Well, you can add embellishments to each package so that they look different but, since the paper just gets ripped off, it doesn’t bother me!
My mom used to wrap all the presents up with one kind of wrapping paper for each kid (there were six kids) and not put any tags on them so we wouldn’t know which gifts were ours (thus, eliminating some of the shaking…) On Christmas morning we had a little stocking in our room that she’d leave a clue in to start our scavenger hunt to find one present that would have our wrapping paper so we could match it up to our other presents. I LOVE this idea.
I just finished wrapping presents yesterday. I wrapped most of them the night before last and made sure that each of our kids has the same number to open from us (just three-and a few of them are combined in a box so that there is just three… 😉 Santa will bring them each two and they’ll get a bunch from family too. They aren’t under the tree yet because I have four small kids and don’t want them to think if they are under there that it’s Christmas.
Then they are having their own little exchange (We have four kids, so they are each giving to the sibling one up from them Baby gives to toddler, toddler to first grader, first grader to third grader, third grader to baby. They are loving that!)
Wow. I LOVE both of your ideas! We always loved scavenger hunts. The “give to the next sib” is a great way to get the kids into understanding gift-giving but not being ridiculous about the amount of stuff kids get. Thanks for sharing!!
I love this post!!
I don’t know about putting the stuff in the car in advance though, unless the car is in a garage – I know someone who once had all of the presents stolen out of their car while they were inside eating dinner. Maybe just have the totes by the door, under the tree, or in a front closet so they’re ready to go but in a safe place.
Ha! You are not the only one! I’m overly excited that we have a 2-month old little girl that’s about to experience her first Christmas, but I’m painfully behind on my wrapping responsibilities (plus lots of other things!) I’ve found that just hiring a sitter for a few hours is money well spent and eliminates a large amount of stress!
We’ve been trying to wrap our gifts soon after buying them. Not that we’re buying that many.
I still have a few more gifts left to buy/make though, including something for my husband!
Our kids have a big roll of newsprint. We wrapped gifts in it and then tied them with ribbon or twine. I stamped some, my kids colored others. We haven’t purchased wrapping paper in years.
It took us about two hours to wrap our gifts for four children. I’m able to wrap two gifts for every one that DH finishes 🙂
He’s helping and that is what counts!
Definitely!
These ideas are so cute!
I haven’t even started wrapping :O
Love these ideas. I often feel like buying bows is a waste- they get used once & then thrown away- so I like having alternatives.
I like using real ribbon. I don’t have a lot, but I keep what I have and what I get, and the children just give me their ribbons when they are done opening gifts. I also have a few reusable boxes that we have been given over the years (some are covered in cloth and others are already decorated). I keep all of these and reuse them each year.
Very cute ideas. I use the bin approach to traveling with gifts – protects and hides them from curious eyes.
We use the Sunday (colored) comics or even black and white comics or gift bags re-used year after year.
I like the idea of putting the gifts into tubs. This will especially come in handy when we need to bring home all of the unwrapped gifts that our family receives. The kids always seem to open things with multiple parts/small pieces that we’re left scrambling to gather up at the end of our gathering. It would be nice just to toss them in a tub and sort when we get home. Thanks!!
Laundry baskets work great too! 🙂
We have an art easel that has a spool of paper to color on. I save all the paper that my daughter has colored on and use it to wrap gifts. Not only is it frugal, but it has a nice personal touch too 🙂
What a great idea! Can I steal it?
Of course! I think I got the idea from another blog some time ago, but I can’t remember which one it was.
I buy those 12 packs of mini-ornaments at the dollar store and stick them on the packages with the bow. It makes them look more interesting plus gives another small “gift” to the recipient! Also, this won’t work for right now, but I write down what color wrapping paper I have and hit the clearance racks after Christmas to buy coordinating bows, ribbon, etc. so I can make “pretty” presents and make sure I have stuff that matches! I adore wrapping presents, and only wish I was more creative. I have to make do with matching colors!
I kind of do the same thing…A couple years ago, I bought a huge roll of red curling ribbon. I still have tons left on the roll, so I only buy wrapping paper that goes with red ribbon. A bit less creative than you, but nice and easy! 🙂
mid january toys r us puts there christmas paper on sale for 90% off. i bought 10 or so rolls last year and it cost somewhere around 1.50. my kids know that i dont waste money on birthday paper (unless its non-family) so for the cheap cost of christmas paper gifts all year round get wrapped in it
When shopping at stores for wrapping paper on clearance, I try to look for paper that can be used for other events as well. Last year I picked up a roll of silver wrapping paper that had black swirls on it(very formal looking) for 5 cents. I can use it for a wedding or anniversary gift, as well as for Christmas gifts. I also found a solid green-good for Father’s Day or male birthday and Christmas.
Do you see where I’m going here? I purchased 10 rolls last year for 50 cents, and I have used them for a lot of occasions. So next time you see the paper clearanced, see if there’s something that you can use for more than just the Christmas holiday. You can dress the paper up or down, using ribbons, bows, rubber stamps from thrift shops, trinkets ,etc.
I just did something similar last night. I was at Target looking in their dollar section for gift bags, and they were all sold out. I happened by the section that has party supplies, and there’s kids’ “treat bags” in bright colors, and a 10 pack is only $4. WAY better than a dollar each! They’re sturdy, have a nice handle, and large enough to hold a few dvd’s or small toy. The best part is, they’re plain, so they can be used year round for birthday or other gifts.
What a great idea, Sarah!
I have gift bags, in a variety of sizes that I picked up at CVS 6 years ago, after Christmas. They were 90% off. I use these, and wrap only 2 gifts per person. I have medical issues, and I have to set limitations for myself. I have used these bags, over and over since buying them. As every one opens their gifts, they re-fold the bag and place them in a stack. Once all the gifts are opened, I just put them back in the under bead storage container, to await another year of use. When I recieve gifts, for anniversary or birthdays, I save those too. They get recycled too.
These are such cute ideas! We have to mail our gifts to family, so I’ve got mine wrapped already. I re-used wrapping paper, tissue paper, gift bags, and even my two-year-old daughter’s coloring book pages for wrapping! I’m going to have her decorate the outside of the USPS flat-rate box before I mail it.
My grandmother always wrapped gifts in the funny pages from the newspaper, for every birthday and holiday. A bow or ribbon can dress them up nicely too.
Crystal—Thanks for the free printable gift tags! I’ve never tried printing labels before, but it was very useful in preparing all of our gifts for mailing! 🙂
I’m not wrapping anything this year. I decided last year I was tired of the hasstle of wrapping gifts – where did I put that tape… the scissors were right here a minute ago….!
This year I bought fat quarters of Christmas fabric and ribbon and made drawstring gift bags that I can use again next year or if the person getting the gift wants to keep the bag to reuse she/he can. My husband loves it because he doesn’t really like to wrap at all.
crumb…I am apparently the only one out of this group who is pretty unprepared … just got me some wrapping paper yesterday (the kraft paper thing freaked me out as I just donated 2 rolls…what was I thinking??)
One tip I read recently is to use different wrapping paper for different places you are taking gifts to. Then it is easy to sort the gifts to go to certain places and you can still have presents under the tree until it’s time for the get together.
That’s exactly what I did for the first time this year. However, I cannot place our gifts under the tree yet because of our frisky kitty who loves paper!
Love this idea!
If you are like me you’ll forget which color is going where! That’s a great idea though, we do that for our kids instead of using name tags!
I do this too for the presents for my kids. Every kid gets a different color of wrapping paper (or character) so it’s easy for them to find their presents Christmas morning. My children are also smart enough to realize the wrapping paper that is used so I have to hide the paper that Santa uses so it’s not the same as any that’s under the tree. I also sort different sides of the family by the different wrapping paper to make it easier on myself.
Santa doesn’t wrap gifts at our house!
We do the same with the different wrapping paper for the kids from us. Santa doesn’t wrap gifts at our house, makes it way easier on us and the mess! I just hide santa’s gifts in a tote with a lid and they haven’t snooped yet. Then we fill the stockings and place the too big gifts under the tree.
I read that hint a couple of years ago, and it has worked great for me for our gatherings with both sides of the family. (This year, one side of the family is in green and one side in red, though, since I ran out of the same style red wrapping paper from last year on the last gift for my sister’s kids — when I was wrapping them late last night.)
I’ve done the newspaper and maps gift wrap before. We generally mark a few places on the maps of places we love or where we have been together as a family. It’s entertaining in it self. Luckily we live in a touristy town where these maps are giving out for free and list all the well known attractions. Great idea love the personalized bows!
Cute ideas! (Although making your own bows sounds a tad time-consuming for me – maybe that’s my lack of creative skill showing through!) What works for me is buying my gift wrap at the Dollar Tree (believe it or not they have some nice wrap) and then tying a simple bow around the packages with pretty ribbon. Easy, inexpensive, and beautiful!
Be sure to look for the length of the wrapping paper at the Dollar Tree. It ranges from 20 feet to 40 feet. Just by making sure you get the longest available you can cut the cost in half! Also, this year I made Santa bags for each of my children for a little over $10 each. I bought $10 velour bags off of Amazon and ironed on their names. This seriously cut down on time and expense. I only wrapped 3 of the easiest boxed presents for each child and the other gifts are loose in the bag. Mine get tired of unwrapping after the third present anyway and the gift wrapping savings will add up to make the Santa bags worth the money in a few years!!
Did anybody try to Make a Bow Out of Wrapping Paper? I am not sure I am doing it right!
I haven’t wrapped yet, but I like to use all the kraft packing paper that comes in packages for my business. If I need a gift bag instead of wrapping paper, I get two kraft gift bags for $1 at Deals. I plan to doll up the packages with handmade tags. Hoping I have time and don’t slap sticker tags on, ha! 😉
When our kids were still at home, I would sometimes use a new Christmas ornament to decorate the package. I also would take Rolos or Hershey Kisses – put double stick tape on the bottom of them and make them into candy cane or tree shapes on the front of the package for some added fun.
Cute idea! I have to put all gifts with food (Hershey Kiss/Rolo attached) on top of our entryway bench or the dogs will eat it! One year my sister was here for Thanksgiving. She always buys way ahead and gave me our wrapped Christmas gifts and my parents’ (since she knew they’d be visiting us for Christmas). Luckily I asked if Dad’s was food (we get him cashews and chocolate covered nuts a lot). It stayed wrapped on top of the bench for a month!
Great ideas! I’ve been done for more than a week with my wrapping. I would caution though of leaving wrapped gifts or anything of value in your vehicle this time of year. I’d wait until right before you go to avoid making your car desirable to thieves. We’ve had several car break-ins near my work this year where people smashed windows and took shopping bags. Maybe have them sorted and in their tubs/large bags in your entry way or home office area, or in the room where you keep your purse and keys. 🙂
Very good point!
I used brown craft paper to wrap, red yarn and wooden buttons. The buttons held the yard to make tying bows a breeze. They turned out really cute.
My mom would also use brown craft paper and sponge paint with Christmasy stencils to make the cutest gifts.
I love craft paper! My parents gave us a couple of rolls and we used it to wrap rosemary olive oil bread that we took out last night for gifts for friends.
Where do you find the best price for it? I would love to have more for wrapping gifts throughout the year and I love the way it looks.
My Dollar Store sells the brown craft paper year round.
I’m still waiting on a few things that are set to arrive this week, but I’m done wrapping everything else. I try to start wrapping the week of Thanksgiving, and only do a few gifts a week so I don’t get overwhelmed. I suppose I’m one of “those” who likes to plan ahead, though 🙂
Another thing we enjoy doing is wrapping gifts in white butcher paper, then giving my 3 year old Christmas stickers, crayons, markers, and Christmas stamps, and letting her decorate away. The grandparents love opening these works of art!
Hahaha! I am still MAKING gifts! I usually wrap gifts on Christmas Eve 🙂
I actually wrapped a few gifts already, though.
I made up a sheet of free printable gift tags that will be available on my site by the end of today (it will be added on my free printables page.) They’re black and white, so if, like me, you don’t have any color ink, you can still have some really elegant gift cards.
Tags are up here is anyone would like them: http://theprudenthomemaker.com/ChristmasGiftTags.aspx
Thanks!!! I don’t have a color printer, either, so I can never take advantage of the cute printables on the web.
One year, I was so organized that I wrapped the gifts according to where they were going – my parent’s house was one style, my in-laws was another, Christmas Eve pajama’s was a third, and then the ones for home all matched. (A great way to use paper that you pick up for super cheap the prior year.)
I’m waiting to wrap everything on Christmas Eve this year. I’ve never done that before, but I just figured it’d be easier to bring everything down stairs, wrap it and put it under the tree all in one fell swoop!
Only if you can trust that your kids will stay asleep!