Repurpose your Christmas wrapping
In a matter of hours, you're going to be snowed under a pile of wrapping paper, cards, boxes, tags, bags, envelopes, ribbon and gift packaging. Before you heave it all into a bag, consider giving it a new purpose. Not only will this make you feel good, it can also save you money.
Re-wrapping
- Many people celebrate Christmas morning at home before heading out to parties held by friends and family. You may even already have been to a few work gatherings and a Christmas Eve event. This should give you plenty of materials to help you wrap the gifts that are going out later in the day or that week. You can also reuse the materials to cover hostess gifts for your New Years Eve party!
- Fold the wrapping paper into envelopes that can hold gift cards or money. Keep an eye out for generic colors, as these can be used for other holidays.
- Shred up the paper and use it to line gift baskets.
- Repurpose the wrapping into storage for your ornaments, cards, tags, scraps, tape, and decorations. You can use the festive paper to cover cookie or coffee tins, reuse the boxes and gift bags to hold items, and wrap your ornaments in leftover paper to keep them safe before packing them away.
- Carry all of your Christmas gift bags over to the family gatherings. They can be useful when you're trying to haul all of your gifts back home!
- Use the paper to protect items that you need to ship.
- Cut out colored strips, shapes and scenery that you like. You can use them next year to make your own cards or gift tags, or in your scrapbook alongside your Christmas photos!
- Make your own ornaments out of pretty wrapping paper. You can even make place cards, or cover vases, bowls, and flower pots to use when making festive centerpieces.
- Sift through your cards. Cut off the front with the image, as long as the sender did not write on its other side. You can use this to create your own postcard, gift tag, or custom thank-you card.













