Oh, hi! Are you also getting low on holiday wrapping paper? 😂🎁 Ever searched Etsy for personalized recycled gift wrap? No? You haven’t? that’s weird. What about pinterest? Well, it doesn’t really matter either way. Because boy oh boy do I have an idea for you! You’re about to put on the pinterest-mom crown, my lady. Brace yourself. 🤣
(PS if you’d rather see this in video, click here to watch my instagram reel!)
Backstory (because every blog post needs one, amiright)
I took a Japanese Gift wrapping class last year (I was still living in Japan at the time, it’s not that random, I swear 🤣). We learned all about using what are called furoshiki cloths to wrap gifts, and also all of these fancy paper folding techniques and how to cut and tape paper properly. The main takeaway for me though was learning about the attention and care that goes into wrapping gifts in the Japanese culture. Like symbolism and all, people. It is kind of magical, as with many parts of the culture here!
What happened was
So as I was frantically wrapping gifts at 10pm one night recently, (definitely being naughty and not applying what I learned in my gift-wrapping class) I ran out of my $6 roll of American greetings paper. My grandmother sends fabric bags that she makes so we can re-use them, but I was out of those, too!
Then, I walked into the kitchen, feeling defeated. Until I looked right at the DIY paper roll holder I made for my daughter. There, shining under the fluorescent kitchen bulbs, was a great idea. A beautiful, never-ending paper roll full of colorful scribbles from an enthusiastic toddler. (If I could peel her marks from the walls I would have even more to work with. 🤪).
DIY Personalized Recycled Gift Wrap
Yes people, I am talking the best dang DIY personalized recycled gift wrap you could ever have, from the hands of your own creative little babes. *Do not recommend using artwork without asking first, as it might be akin to throwing it in the bin without asking, so hear me out first!
Here’s the game plan:
Ask your children if they want to help design wrapping paper to make gifts this year special! If they say no, skip to the part in this post that says “make it eco-friendly.”
Grab an inexpensive paper roll, turn on the holiday jams and let them go to town with their favorite mark-making tools. Tell them who the gifts will be for and talk to them about their favorite memories of the holiday season. ❄️⛄️ (I.E. don’t just leave them to their own devices, you could make this a new holiday tradition! Or not, but at least use it as an opportunity to connect with your child during the holiday season, or if they are really good at not drawing on floors and walls, okay, you can pour yourself a glass of eggnog)
*Don’t forget to draw your own wrapping paper for gifts for them, too, since you just told them how special it will be for other people to receive hand-drawn wrappings!
Make it eco-friendly
If your very eco-conscious (or trying to be, mad props either way), ask your children to help you find paper to recycle and draw on instead, OR ask them if you can use some already existing drawings around the house. Using the old drawings works for those who turned your offer down to make new drawings earlier.
While you’re at it, if your scrambling for a last-minute gift, check out these embossed hand and foot prints you can make!
Happy Holidays!
