Tips for a greener and more cost effective Christmas!

Tips for a greener and more cost effective Christmas!

20 December 2011 – Did you know that the average person wraps 20 gifts during the holidays and that if just three of those presents were wrapped in reused paper or a paper alternative, the paper saved could cover 45,000 football fields?

So here are some tips for a greener and more cost effective Christmas from ecostore!

1. Make a present extra special by wrapping it inside something else like a beautiful sarong, scarf, table cloth or pillowcase or by putting it inside a basket or terracotta pot.

2. Old jars make great really good gift containers too, (especially if you fill them up with yummy things to eat). Just soak and remove old labels. There are lots of options for lid and jar decorations – including cut out circles of fabric and attaching with string or a rubber band.

3. Old maps, calendars, posters and flyers make unique and interesting gift-wrap. If you’ve got kids, then you’ll probably have heaps of their drawings and paintings stored away. These make beautiful and unique gift-wrap and are a good talking point.

4. If you put oddly shaped smallish items inside old cereal boxes, it makes them much easier to wrap.

5. Decorate paper grocery bags with felt pens and crayons, or magazine cut-outs. The bags can then be cut up and used as wrapping paper or used as handy gift sacks for all your Christmas loot.

6. Try to use a small amount of cellotape (or none at all) when wrapping presents. That way the paper’s less likely to tear when the presents opened and the paper can be reused.

7. For some thoughtful finishing touches on your presents – hold the parcel together with wool or string and try attaching things like – a dried orange slice or a pinecone, a small pine branch, rosemary sprigs, cinnamon sticks, found shells or if you have any old plastic leis lying around you can dismantle them and thread the individual flowers onto your string.

8. The fronts of old greeting cards can be cut into all sorts of shapes and used as name tags.

9. If you’re shopping for new wrapping paper this year, remember – there are many beautiful recycled paper options available.

10. And lastly - second-hand shops, like the Hospice shops, are treasure troves of pre-loved bits and pieces that are cost effective and help a good cause.
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