Eco-Friendly and Pinterest Worthy Holiday Wrapping Ideas

As the holidays quickly approach I seem to have a nagging task in the back of my mind.. wrapping presents! I love gift-giving. But first comes the wrapping. Although this task can seem daunting, I find it fun to turn it into a craft or a time to be creative. 

A lot of wrapping paper contains glitters or plastics that cannot be recycled in any way. Plastic pollution heavily affects wildlife, particularly birds. If you can, do your part this holiday season to make sure the wrapping paper you use is environmentally friendly, plastic-free and can be recycled. 

And trust me- brown paper wrapping is far from visually displeasing! 

Here is the proof! 

I typically use a base of brown recycled paper and then add personal touches that make the wrapping fun! For bags, I save paper bags I have been given while shopping throughout the year, to repurpose them at Christmas as a gift bag. I also reuse tissue paper or paper wrapping that I have received. I will give some examples of added touches that make recycled paper wrapping Pinterest worthy. 

Start with wrapping in recycled brown paper.

Make reindeer! Take some tree clippings (either from a real Christmas tree or your yard/ nearby forest), red pom-poms and a black Sharpie and ta-da, absolutely adorable reindeer gifts! This can even be a fun craft for kids, pre-wrap some gifts in brown paper and get them to help you turn them into a reindeer family. 

Photos for gift tags. You can get photos printed like polaroids and use them as gift tags! Pick your favourite photo of you and that person from this past year, print it and stick it on their gift. Everyone will know who it is for, and afterwards they can keep the photo and cherish the memory. 

Tree clippings! Put them everywhere! The pop of green makes the brown paper look beautiful and guess what- it's free! After unwrapping you can simply take them off and return them to nature. 

Add biodegradable twine. Instead of using plastic ribbon, consider using biodegradable twine to give gifts an extra special touch. 

Add stamps or plastic-free stickers. Adding Christmas themed stamps or plastic-free stickers is another way to add even more excitement and beauty to your gift wrapping. Sprinkle them everywhere!! 

I know this is getting really fancy here.. but you'll see in the above photos that I have even added something little to the outside, like tying a handmade scrunchie from a local artisan (this one is from Madame Babu) to make it even more beautiful. 

There really are endless ways to make wrapping both eco (and bird) friendly, and beautiful and personal at the same time. Make it your own, add personal touches. 

To learn more about how plastic pollution affects birds, read our blog about it here. 

Wishing you all the very best this holiday season. Stay safe and enjoy time with loved ones when you can. 

We would absolutely love to see any of your creative wrapping ideas! 

Warmly, 

Heather