Repurposed Gift Wrap with a Story
Repurpose items from around your home into low waste / reusable holiday gift wrap.
(Original post from 2020)
We haven’t bought wrapping paper or gift bags in years. Even though we live in a small space and don’t have many spare supplies of any sort sitting around, it’s still surprisingly easy to shop our own home for items that can be repurposed as playful packaging.
While the end result is rarely perfect, there’s so much to love— it’s original, it’s free, and it generates less waste. (Related post: Playful Low Waste Gift Wrap)
These handmade bars of soap were wrapped with completed pages from one of West’s work booklets, and topped with salvaged ribbon and tree clippings.
What I enjoy just as much as the searching and wrapping is passing along the stories behind each repurposed ribbon, book jacket, muslin bag, or fabric scrap.
Dust jackets remain my go-to for wrapping presents for kids. (We store most of these paper covers beneath our mattress throughout the year to flatten out the lines, and then grab one whenever we need some colorful packaging.)
While the illustration art is the attraction for the recipient, there’s usually a tale behind the rest of the bundle for the parents / guardians to share.
This method of wrapping is also friendly for folks who aren’t hugely into DIYs (that’s me). Plus it’s also safer this year than going to the store, as we’re meant to shelter at home whenever possible.
Below are a few glimpses of this year’s very quickly completed wrappings, as well as cleverly designed bundles that needed no wrapping whatsoever.
Above: Brown paper biodegradable tape from Net Zero Co.
Almost everything used above has a story to tell— a ribbon that has been passed down through multiple generations and households. A remnant that once held a stone that traveled the country. A string that once wrapped the weighted blanket that helped improve my sleep habits. A spare/unused shoelace from a pair of sneakers designed by a well-known creative and dear friend.
(And, of course, customized boxes of dog treats that shows the sweet faces of our pups— why would we want to cover those up?!)
Repurposed Gift Wrap with a Story
We haven’t bought wrapping paper or gift bags in years. Even though we live in a small space and don’t have many spare supplies of any sort sitting around, it’s still surprisingly easy to shop our own home for items that can be repurposed as playful packaging.
While the end result is rarely perfect, there’s so much to love— it’s original, it’s free, and it generates less waste. (Related post: Playful Low Waste Gift Wrap)
These handmade bars of soap were wrapped with completed pages from one of West’s work booklets, and topped with salvaged ribbon and tree clippings.
What I enjoy just as much as the searching and wrapping is passing along the stories behind each repurposed ribbon, book jacket, muslin bag, or fabric scrap.
Dust jackets remain my go-to for wrapping presents for kids. (We store most of these paper covers beneath our mattress throughout the year to flatten out the lines, and then grab one whenever we need some colorful packaging.)
While the illustration art is the attraction for the recipient, there’s usually a tale behind the rest of the bundle for the parents / guardians to share.
This method of wrapping is also friendly for folks who aren’t hugely into DIYs (that’s me). Plus it’s also safer this year than going to the store, as we’re meant to shelter at home whenever possible.
Below are a few glimpses of this year’s very quickly completed wrappings, as well as cleverly designed bundles that needed no wrapping whatsoever.
Above: Brown paper biodegradable tape from Net Zero Co.
Almost everything used above has a story to tell— a ribbon that has been passed down through multiple generations and households. A remnant that once held a stone that traveled the country. A string that once wrapped the weighted blanket that helped improve my sleep habits. A spare/unused shoelace from a pair of sneakers designed by a well-known creative and dear friend.
(And, of course, customized boxes of dog treats that shows the sweet faces of our pups— why would we want to cover those up?!)
Choosing a Single New Toy
Time and time again, Adam and I are reminded that our child (who is now 3½) rarely needs new toys to keep him happy— even in the familiar and rather confined setting of our tiny home and garden. Instead, he simply replies upon a handful of crucial goods: library books, toy trucks, rocks, bubble solution, and toy building materials.
While other objects and activities certainly entertain him and spark new experiences, these are the cornerstones to which he always returns.
We get new library books weekly. (And last week we stocked up on the largest haul yet since we’re now practicing social distancing.)
I try to keep West’s collection of trucks on a random rotation, so he doesn’t become weary of or reliant upon one distinct style or another.
Lately I’ve been considering what items we should ideally have here in our home to entertain West in case prolonged distancing / confinement is recommended to help keep our community’s most vulnerable members safe during the pandemic.
With the exception of library books and a wooden pulley, he hasn’t gotten anything “new” since the holidays.
Since then, I’ve had my eye on a bundle of magnetic, wooden Earthtiles from Big Future Toys.
Not only are they beautifully designed, but I appreciate that they can be used for hours of structured or unstructured creative play and in numerous permutations.
They’re made of non-toxic wood that’s sustainably sourced from FSC-certified sources, and with every purchase from their site, Big Future Toys plants a tree.
But before introducing ANYTHING new into our home, we consider what happens to that item at the end of its life cycle.
Ultimately we decided on these tiles, as we’ll undoubtedly enjoy them with West for years, and can then extend their use by donating them to our library, or returning them to Big Future Toys for refurbishment and rehousing.
We’re giving away a set of these brilliant lil’ tiles over on Instagram. Visit the post to enter for a chance to win what has quickly become our favorite toy here in the tiny house.
