With Christmas fast approaching, any time I walk in to a supermarket at the moment I am greeted by hundreds of tubes of wrapping paper all wrapped up in plastic. There's not a whole lot of paper in each roll, but a whole lotta plastic wrapped around them all. There are some great way to present gifts to people without the use of disposable wrapping paper. Even before I got in to this whole 'eco' experience, the thought of handing over $5 for a sheet of printed paper at a newsagent to wrap a gift that would be thrown away just didn't add up.

For Gift Giving Within The Family Home

  • Buy some fabric and ribbon and use these to wrap gifts and then save and re-use them. Head in to any fabric store and they will have remnants available to purchase at a great price.
  • I have always thought it was fun to do the whole "close your eyes and hold out your hands" and turn it in a guessing game for some fun.

For Gift Giving To Others

  • Reusable shopping bags are a great way to give gifts. You can certainly do more than just put something in a bag. Get creative and fold corners, use safety pins to get the bag to hug the gift and use the handles to tie off in place of a bow.
  • Re-purpose anything you have been given previously, whether it's wrapping paper, tissue paper, a brown paper bag something came in. You can make rustic looking wrapping out of some twine and something you can give a second life
  • Check the remnants bin at fabric stores, ask crafty friends if they have left overs. If you know anyone who has done wallpapering and has some scraps left over, anything you can give a second go at life before it's discarded is a great idea

For Gift Giving with Homemade Treats

  • Did you know beeswax wraps are waterproof and help keep food fresh? Bake a stack of cookies for a neighbour and give them wrapped in a beeswax wrap. Tell them what they're used for and you might just create an eco warrior!
  • Natural woven baskets are a great way to hand over gifts, just make sure it's a useful size and isn't going to get tossed
  • Wrapping a home baked treat in a tea towel is a beautiful re-usable gift and they can be bought in bulk in many stores. Be sure to wash them first. If they're touching food directly, our natural cleaning products aisle  has plenty of choices
  • Glass containers like those we stock from Kilner and Glasslock are a great way to hand over rum balls and all kinds of home made treats. From the round Kilner jars through to their new oven safe lunch box style oven safe containers, you're bound to find the perfect jar and it's something that will get used again. A simple swing tag tied on with natural fibre twine will give it a festive touch.