Have You Tried Wrapping a Gift Without Wrapping Paper? Use These Alternative Methods to Wrap a Gift and Create a Lasting Impression on Your Loved Ones (2020)

28/07/2020 Newest

If you have never considered wrapping your gifts in materials other than expensive wrapping paper, now is the time to consider that option. Using eco-friendly and reusable materials like gift bags, newspapers, ribbons, handkerchiefs, etc. you will not only be doing your bit towards protecting the environment but also making some serious savings. The best part is, that all this can be achieved without compromising the visual appeal of your gift in any perceptible manner.

Table of contents

Want to Gift without Wrapping Paper? Here is What You Need to Know
Alternative Methods of Giving a Gift without Using Wrapping Paper
Additional Tips on Cool Ways of Wrapping Gifts

Want to Gift without Wrapping Paper? Here is What You Need to Know

Source shutterstock.com I Gift wrapping

Be Creative: The excitement that comes with gifts does not often depend on the present, but with its presentation. Wondering what could be inside the box creates a longing to open the box. You can use almost anything to the best of your imagination. Depending on the kind of the gift and the personality of the person you are gifting, you can use available old-school but colourful materials and ideas around you. One can use homemade envelopes, old colourful fabrics, yarn and grocery bags to wrap your gifts. The point is in creating beautiful, sophisticated items out of simple ordinary things. For instance, you can use a piece of old clean fabric to make a rose flower and use it to wrap your gift. Be sure to personalise the gift to the occasion and the receiver, for instance, by using yarn to write their name on the box.

Consider Environmental Conservation: Most wrapping papers are made of plastic, which is not recyclable or even reusable; this, makes it an environmental pollutant. Most municipalities do not accept gift wrappers made of plastic. Hence, it is always a good idea to check out alternative methods of wrapping gifts that are eco-friendly, sophisticated, and cost-friendly. Reuse some materials such as silver food packaging bags that make fantastic gift wraps. The most frequently used material is newspapers, which are a convenient way to wrap a gift since, in all cities, newspapers are printed daily. The following are some eco-friendly materials that can be used as gift wraps:
- Old maps and calendars
- Vintage cards
- Cookie tins and jars
- Kitchen towels
- Tissue paper
- Ribbons
- Clay flower pots
Gift wraps ought to be recyclable or reusable instead of being disposed off into landfills. Unwrapping a gift takes a few seconds, but at a large scale during the holiday and festive seasons, it can add tons of pollutants to the environment. However, it can be avoided by using eco-friendly materials that can be stored for future use during the next season.

Keep a Budget: A budget is supposed to help you spend within your limits to avoid overspending with gifts and gift wraps. While planning on gifting, it is crucial to use a budget, since people spend a fortune on unplanned gifts, especially during the holidays. To cut on the budget, one could consider shopping for gifts long before the holidays and look out for significant days like Black Friday when gift items amongst other products are priced at low prices. Wrapping the gifts yourself is much cheaper than having them done in the store. Low-budget wraps include plain paper, brown paper, pretty paper bags, and carrier bags with classic patterns, which saves you money and can be decorated and customised at home with cheap but cute homemade materials.

Aim to Save: Saving on money always begins with buying quality products in the beginning. It is advisable to check on the quality of the wrap to avoid buying gift wraps that see-through, crinkle, or tear, which will waste your money trying to replace them or using additional material to complement the cover. You should also be keen to save on the material by using the right sizes for the right gifts. Cutting the wrong size of the content will always cause wastage, and one can minimise the quantity of wrap being used by ensuring that the gifts are correctly placed. For instance, if you are gifting a cloth, you can fold it into a smaller size or even better, you can consider the ready to wear alternative of gifting.

Delight Your Loved Ones with these Innovative Gift Wrapping Techniques and Leave an Impression for a Lifetime. Everything You Need to Know About Gift Wrapping and Personalising Your Gifts (2020)

Alternative Methods of Giving a Gift without Using Wrapping Paper

Source shutterstock.com I Giving a Gift without Using Wrapping Paper

A Woven Yarn Could Serve the Purpose

Source personalcreations.com I Woven Yarn Gift

To wrap a gift using a ball of yarn is a brilliant idea that not only makes the gift look presentable but also sophisticated. To cover a gift using yarn you need to:

Choose the right/preferred colour of the yarn ball to use. Multiple threads of different colours could be used. For instance, for a Christmas gift, red and green coloured yarn could be blended to make a brilliant wrap.
Wrap your gift box with yarn at the middle horizontally.
Use a different colour yarn to weave vertically by passing the thread below the horizontal yarn to produce a pattern.
A pom-pom can be made by wrapping the yarn around your fingers a number of times depending on the size you desire to have, cut the yarn and tie it into groups with a string or simply use a topper made of wool.

Make a Miniature Gift Box for Your Loved Ones and Create Everlasting Memories (2020)

Use Ribbons to Reflect Your Creativity

Source shutterstock.com I Ribbons on gift wrap

Decorations, specifically ribbons, give you a chance to get creative since you can just do a basic wrap or do a woven look. To do a basic wrap, here are the steps to follow:

Across the top of the box, drape the ribbon horizontally, leaving more fabric hanging over the side of the box. Don't cut the ribbon yet.
Without flipping the box, pull the rest of the ribbon under the box, and once the fabric comes to the other side, pull it back to the front.
Bring the ribbons toward the middle of the box and cross them across the front of the box such that the fabrics appear vertically oriented.
Lifting the box, wrap the ribbon around the back then the front of the box.
Measure and cut the ribbon against the size of the first piece.
Across the front under the twisted part, pull the ribbons at an angle to make a knot.
Fold both ribbon ends into loops and tie them into a bow in the middle.
Tighten the bow and cut off the extra ribbon.

Learn How to Gift Wrap a Pen: 8 Pen Gift Wrapping Ideas and 3 DIY Gift Wraps to Make Unwrapping That Pen Extra Special (2021)

An Old Colourful and Clean Handkerchief Would Add Some Colour

Source romper.com I Old Colourful and Clean Handkerchief Gift Wrap

A colourful handkerchief, perhaps a vintage one, can be used to wrap a gift. This is how:

Choose a clean, colourful vintage handkerchief with a beautiful design that suits the recipient of your gift. These are available at online shops or antique stores if you don't own some already.
Depending on the size of the vintage handkerchief, select a right sized gift placed in a gift box to be covered in the handkerchief.
Place the gift box on the handkerchief and wrap the box in the handkerchief.
Tie the top of the handkerchief into a knot with a piece of ribbon or a portion of lace that matches the colours in your handkerchief.
Optional - add some finishing touches by attaching some artificial flowers or old jewellery from an antique store, to suit your imagination.

8 Simple and Elegant Mint Party Favours to Wrap-Up the Party & Some Special DIY Party Favour Ideas for the DIY Lover

A DIY Bag to Hold the Gift Never Fails

Source romper.com I Gift bags

DIY bags are a cheaper way of holding or rather wrapping a gift. Instead of going through the trouble of wrapping the present, you could just use a DIY bag to carry your gift. There are many ways to make a DIY gift bag that looks presentable and sophisticated, depending on the size of our gift. Here is one of the ways to create one:

Cut out a square of the preferred material or wrapping paper that matches the width and the height of the gift box.
Fold the top of the wrapping paper to make the edge to be the gift bag top.
On the wrapping paper’s bottom right side, place the bottom of the paper box such that the folded edge is on the top.
Place glue on the edge of the gift bag.
Push the box forward to form the bottom of the box.
Fold the right and left creases towards the centre to crease the bottom towards the centre.
The sides form the bottom of the bag, to secure the bag, apply tape to the bottom crease after folding it upwards.

Old Newspapers Give a Unique Vibe

Source shutterstock.com I Old Newspapers Gift Wrap

Gather all the materials you need: a scissors, the gift, and the newspaper of your choice. For a much easier task, box the present to have an evenly shaped gift.
On a sheet of paper, place your gift upside down and fold the two opposite edges towards the middle without overlapping the paper too much, then cut the excess paper and repeat this with the other two opposing sides.
Once you have the size, you desire, fold the edges to the middle and tape them down.
On top, fold in the smaller edges to create triangles.
Fold in the triangle towards the middle and tape it down.
Choose a topper or a fun bow. You could use a ribbon as a topper and successfully wrap your present.

Friends are Like a Second Family! 10 Surprise Gifts for Friendship Day to Tell Your Best Friends They Mean the World to You + Tips on Gift Wrapping (2019)

Use of Maps Gives to be More Creative

Source romper.com I Map as gift wrap

Old maps come in handy with wrapping gifts, which is a cheap way that is presentable. Here are the steps to follow while making an excellent wrap for your gift:

Gathering supplies that include a map, glue, ruler and scissors.
Measure the gift and measure an additional 3-4 inches of the map.
Place the gift on the map and fold the flaps on both sides of the present together.
To finish the wrapping, do a final folding on the top side by first taping one of the flaps, then folding the last flap on top of the other, and apply tape on it.
Decorate the gift and customise it depending on your imagination and the preference of the recipient. You can apply colour, glitters, or even better, use lace to make a bow.

Use Real Stockings

Source funcheaporfree.com I Stocking gift wrap

Instead of wrapping gifts and in addition to just hanging those pretty Christmas stockings as decorations, you could use these stocking as gift boxes to hold your presents. Why go through the trouble of stuffing them into the socks? Small gifts such as rings and jewellery can be stuffed into stockings and gifted. Here is one way of doing it:

Place the gift into a tiny gift box.
Place the gift box inside a stocking.
You can customise the hose by writing the name of the recipient on the sock.
Hang the stocking by the tree.

When You Don't Have the Time to Wrap It, Bag It Instead! Give Out Gifts in Style with 10 Incredible Gift Bags for Return Gifts (2019)

Use Natural Plants

Source shutterstock.com I Natural plant gifts

Natural plants are an incredible way of wrapping gifts, especially during Christmas, which is an ethical and eco-friendly way to wrap gifts. Real flowers are used to minimise the use of artificial flowers. To use flowers amongst other natural plants to wrap a gift, here are the steps:

Get your plant or the flower from the flower shop or the garden.
Place your gift in a homemade envelope if the gift has an uneven shape.
Use the flowers or twigs to make a mesh.
Place the mesh made of twigs or flowers over your gift and use a tape to hold them together around your present, and you are done.

Additional Tips on Cool Ways of Wrapping Gifts

Source shutterstock.com I Cool Ways of Wrapping Gifts

Most of the time, people tend to get creative when racing against time, especially when they need to prepare gifts for holidays and festivals. Sometimes, being creative is the only option, since most gift retail shops are customarily closed at emergency hours to crucial moments such as Christmas Eve. Luckily, we are here to help you out.

Know All About Gift Boxes with Paper: Top 10 Paper Gift Boxes to Pack Your Gifts in And 3 Ways to Make It Extra Special!

Have Adequate Knowledge of the Gift Recipient

Source shutterstock.com I Choosing gift based on the recipient

Knowing the recipient of a gift is very crucial when choosing the material or the method to use when wrapping a gift for them. People's tastes and preferences differ, therefore it is prudent to find out what people like the most before deciding to gift them. Ideally, the people you gift are close friends, relatives or colleagues whom you ought to know pretty well. For instance, you could gift a close friend who loves fashion using a colourful vintage handkerchief to show how much you care for their love of fashion. In many cultures, the way gifts are wrapped are as essential as the gift, and usually, acquaintances judge the level of relationships by how gifts are wrapped.

Tips on Gift Wrapping and How to Achieve the Perfect Finish: 10 Quirky and Time Saving Gift Wrapping Ideas to Embellish Your Presents

Consider What You Are Gifting

Source huffpost.com I Wrapping paper alternatives

The size, as well as the nature of the gift, should be paramount when deciding the kind of material used to wrap the gift. A small gift such as jewellery could be stuffed in a stocking as a surprise. If you are gifting a fabric, all you need is just a ribbon or a lace to tie it at the top. When gifting something fragile in nature, a hard material such as a carton can be used to prevent it from breaking. Gifts that are uneven in shape can be placed in a gift box before wrapping them to make the task much more manageable and to ensure that the end product is presentable.

From our editorial team

Make an Impression with Your Gift

Using a material other than a standard gift wrapping paper can leave a profound impression on certain people who are very sensitive towards the environment. It also gives you an opportunity to show your creativity in using available materials innovatively without compromising the aesthetic appeal of your gift in any way. We hope this BP Guide would have helped you to understand the various ways you can achieve this objective.