When one thinks about the festive season, the one thought that comes to mind is “excess” or over-the-top living. However this coming festive season, that does not have to be the case. We would like to challenge you to stick with the slow and conscious lifestyle that you have become accustomed to or intentionally chose to embrace throughout the course of the year. This is no time to forget about slow and conscious living, it is especially a time you should be trying to live more consciously, more slowly. When it comes to gift-wrapping it might seem like the options are limited at first (which is why it appears like such an onerous task to be conscious about your gift-wrapping choices) however there are innumerable eco-friendly ways in which one could possibly package gifts.

In this article we are going to try to make your life easier by providing a couple of interesting ideas. These ideas or methods are not only eco-friendly but are easy on the pocket too.

Here’s a list of some of the ideas:

1. Brown Paper

Brown paper is quite affordable and it can be the perfect canvas for adding other interesting details such as quirky or kitschy drawings or colourful twine which will naturally stand out against the brown.

2. Newspaper

Try and see if you have an excess of old newspapers around the house to use as a wrapper – the print will be sure to stand out and your gifts will look great.

3. Repurpose shipping cardboard boxes

Using the boxes you have received from purchasing items is a convenient and easy eco-friendly idea for wrapping large gifts.

4. Use jars

Jars are a great way to present gifts especially for the kinds that might have to be eaten. You can add a cute cloth or recycled/recyclable paper for a decorative effect.

5. Decorate with organic elements

You can make use of natural elements such as cotton buds, leaves, pine cones, sticks or branches etc. Some of these can even be spray painted with a colour of your choice just to zhuzh up the colour, look and feel of the item.

6. Paperbags

Paperbags are also another easy gift-wrapping idea – they just need a little decorating such as adding some colour to them through painting, adding some twine, recyclable ribbons and other small ornaments.

7. Use fabric gift bags

Reusable gift bags and tote bags are the perfect example of zero-waste gift-wrapping. The other wonderful thing about fabric gift bags is that the party receiving the gift can get to use bag for more gifts.

8. Use Furoshiki method

This is a Japanese technique used to carry belongings. You can wrap an item the furoshiki way by simply finding a two-sided square cloth which you can fold using basic folding skills.

9. Biodegradable paper tape

Biodegradable paper tape will be the item that holds together your packaging – it is therefore a must-have. What is incredible about biodegradable tape is that it usually comes in various fun colours, textures, pattern and prints.

10. Twine

If you cannot find any old fabric you can use as a tie, you can resort to using twine that is made from either cotton, hemp or other natural fibres – this can be reused over and over again for several years.

There are definitely dozens of other ways of gift-wrapping sustainably; this list was merely to get you started and just to give you an idea of what eco-friendly gift-wrapping may be.