Green Gift-Wrap: More Than a Christmas Color, it's Eco Friendly

Green gift-wrap could simply be that shiny chartreuse roll you grabbed at the discount store, or it could be more. It could be gift-wrap that is green because it is reusable, and thus not contributing to more waste and further polluting the environment. It feels quite natural to rip through paper in anticipation of the surprise inside, but it's no surprise that commercial gift wrap is a waste of resources. How many birthday parties and Christmas mornings have been followed by setting out at least one black garbage bag full of crumpled package decor? It's not a lovely finale to a lovely celebration, is it?

You can give pretty packages that will not take away from our planet's beauty. An added bonus will be more green in your pocket because you won't be purchasing gift-wrap and costly embellishments. Below are a few ways to go green in gift-wrapping.

Use your holiday catalogues - They're filling the mailbox whether we have requested them or not, and they are full of colorful pages. Use your favorite pages to wrap small gifts and you'll be surprised at how great they look. If you are giving candles, pencils, or anything cylinder, think about rolling a sheet around the object and then twisting the ends like a candy wrapper. If you are giving more than one gift, stack them and tie the bundle with a ribbon or some kitchen string. The key to using ribbon and string with a green mindset is to use pieces that are long enough to easily reuse. Bows always look pretty left with long tails, or you can wrap an existing length of ribbon twice around a small box.