Eco-Friendly Holiday Gift Wrapping Ideas

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Make this holiday season memorable with these eco-friendly holiday gift wrapping ideas that are not only creative and festive but reusable, year after year.

Eco-Friendly Holiday Gift Wrapping Ideas - Shopping Bags

Festive and Creative Eco-Friendly Holiday Gift Wrapping Ideas for All Shapes and Sizes

We all know that wrapping Christmas or holiday presents is a must and certainly there’s an art to it. But there’s also a downside to this annual activity: lots of waste.

Now you don’t have to go all humbug and ban wrapping paper, but it is sobering to consider that according to Sundale Research, Americans purchase more than $7 billion worth of wrapping paper annually. That’s an extreme amount of wrapping paper meant for the landfill.

It’s time to consider other ways to decorate the outside of our packages.

But if you think that you’ll lack the beautiful presentation that you are striving for, especially if you go for an alternative approach this holiday season, fear not. Your gifts will not lack in beauty.

Instead, you can be reassured that the packaging option that you do pick will be appreciated even more when you pass on a gift wrapped with care and consideration for the benefit of our earthly home.

Moreover, these ideas are great for DIYer’s like myself, as well as many other folks who want to invest in low impact gift wrapping ideas that are ideal for all sizes of packages, from extra large to small that can be used again and again.

So are you ready to make this holiday season memorable? If so, be inspired to help the environment by considering one (or more) of these amazing, eco-friendly holiday gift wrapping ideas:

1. Christmas Drawstring Bags

Drawstring bags are great for all sorts of sizes of packages that you need to wrap. And to seal it couldn’t be simpler, just pull with equal pressure on both sets of strings and you are done.

Eco-tip: After the holidays, you can reuse these bags to pack away garland and strings of lights, or even use as an overnight bag where your kids can stuff a sleeping bag, favorite blanket or pillow for overnight stays at friends or grandparent’s house.

2. Holiday Glow-In-The-Dark Gift Bag

What I love about these bags is that they are not your ordinary gift bags. Being glow-in-the-dark, they offer a bit of whimsey. Just slip in your gift, with some eco-friendly filler, and a tag and you’re good to go.

3. Bee’s Wrap Reusable Food Wraps

You might think food wraps are, well, just for food–not so! These handy wraps fold easily and because they have a wax coating, they adhere nicely without the use of tape. I like this option because this product comes in all sorts of colors and designs. Perfect for whatever occasion beyond the holidays that you can think of.

And, once the gift has been opened, you have yourself a quick and easy wrapper for sandwiches, to cover bowls and more.

4. Gift Wrap that Grows and Blooms Colorful Wild Flowers

This gift wrap is amazingly simple in style but packs plenty of blooms when planted.

5. Heavy Duty Grocery Tote Bags

You’ve seen these in the grocery store but they can easily double as a great eco-friendly holiday tote for large and small packages. And, while these, below, are made with primary color, you can buy similar tote bags with even more beautiful designs.

6. Nesting Fabric Boxes

Nesting boxes have been around for centuries and what better way to pack presents than using this environmental friendly box. Now, this set, below, is made with fabric but you can find in many stores similar products made with paper, metal, wicker and more.

7. Glossy Reusable Gift Totes

Silver and gold totes are the rage during the holidays, so this bag will definitely add bling to your holiday gathering, not only for gifting but also bringing your favorite treats to parties.

8. Foldable Heavy Duty Nylon Bags

These heavy duty nylon bags are perfect for those wanting whimsical packaging for holiday packages. And, once opened, they can be folded into small packs that take little or almost no storage space–ready for the next opportunity for gifting.

9. Extra Large Canvas Gift Sack

Just like the Jolly Guy in the red suit, these canvas sacks are strong enough to handle large packages with ease. And, with the easy close drawstring, you can pack and wrap in just seconds.

10. Neoprene Unicorn Lunch Bag

Wrap your smaller packages in a reusable lunch bag–yes, you heard me right–a lunch bag. Most bags like the one below offers a sewn handle and a gusset base that can stand up to long travels on planes, trains and automobiles.

11. Japanese Wrapping Cloth – Furoshiki

Furoshiki has been around for centuries and has been the go-to for wrapping all sorts of packages from lunches to gifts. It is an art in itself, whereby the tying can be altered to handle any irregular size gift.

12. BYOB Stretchy Fabric Bags

Wine bags can be delegated not only to wrap wine, beer and spirits bottles, but you can also use it for packaging perfume bottles, and food gifts like jams and jellies.

13. Holiday Pillow Covers

Now this eco-friendly wrapper is definitely one-of-a-kind. But this little know tip can make your holiday presents stand out where others fail. Most pillow covers have either a button, zipper, or velcro closure in the back or the bottom of each cover form, making this one of the easiest and quickest package wrapping ever!

Eco-tip: And, once the gift has been opened, you can reuse this as a pillow cover–perfect for adding a bit of holiday cheer to your living space.

RELATED: Festive Holiday Pillow Covers Ideas (affiliate link)

14. Red and White Striped Pillowcases

Pillowcases are an unsung hero for Christmas wrapping. Who would have thought that a striped pillowcase could add such a festive flair under your tree. Just twist the opening and tie with colored jute or twine.

15. Collapsible Laundry Tote

A toy box, laundry tote, gift box? Who knew? And, it’s multi-purpose, which means you can gift and give the benefit of instant storage for those that need it. Sweet!

16. Holiday Lodge Fabric Panels by Deb Strain For Moda

Quilters have long known the beauty that fabric brings to sewn goods, but now you can use these same fabric panels as wraps for your holiday presents. Just center your gift and pull up the sides and tie–it’s that simple and easy peasy.

Holiday Lodge by Deb Strain for Moda Quilt Fabric Panel

17. Benson Mills Holiday-Inspired Tablecloth

Saving the best for last–okay–you’ve got a bike or trike that needs to be wrapped and you want eco-friendly packaging–what to do? Think outside the box with a table cloth that can double as your “wrapping paper.” It’s large enough to handle the big stuff and washable too. And, when your sweet ones have unwrapped they gift, you have yourself a showstopper table topper.