Creative Christmas Gift Wrap Ideas
Creative gift wrap ideas using items you already have around the house to make your Christmas gifts look adorable and special!
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I used to hate wrapping gifts...I was that person who bought gifts all year long, but waited until Christmas Eve to wrap gifts. It took forever and leaving it until the last minute was so stressful! Can you relate?
Wrap as you buy
Now, I try to wrap as I buy! That way, not only does it relieve the stress of wrapping so many gifts, but once they're wrapped, I tend to forget what's inside...so it's a surprise for both me and the recipient, LOL!My Christmas gift wrap ideas utilize many items you probably already have in your home, especially if you enjoy baking and crafting! Things like ribbon, cookie cutters, cute Christmas tea towels, and even dried orange slices can be used to enhance gift wrap.
This guide will demonstrate many of these items in action as I share tips to
use household items to create unique and decorative gift wrap and
embellishments that your recipients will be thrilled to receive!
Gift wrapping tips
Before we jump into the gift wrap ideas, here are a couple of my best tips as you think about wrapping Christmas gifts this year:- Purchase gift wrap that coordinates with your Christmas tree and decorations so your whole home has a cohesive look!
- Think about items you already own that you can use as creative gift toppers
- Save and reuse cardboard containers (coffee, oats, Pringles containers can all be cleaned and recycled as Christmas gift containers!)
- Purchase ribbon on clearance and use it for your gift wrapping!
- Make gingerbread or cinnamon salt dough ornaments and use on top of gifts!
11 Creative Christmas Gift Wrap Ideas
Gift Wrap Idea #1: Wrap a gift with a tea towel
This is an especially meaningful way to wrap a gift for someone who loves
spending time in the kitchen! I repurposed an empty cardboard coffee canister
for this gift
(when you're reusing food containers, make sure to carefully clean them
prior to repurposing).
I recommend a large, thin tea towel to use as gift wrap
(a thicker towel will be too bulky). Center the canister in the towel
and pull the edges up tightly. Secure top with a rubber band. Now you can
decorate with ribbon, a cookie cutter, or even a gingerbread man! The
gingerbread man I used here was made from air dry clay and then painted (see
more details
here). The cute
cookie cutter shaped like an ornament
is from Amazon. I wrapped it with red and white bakers twine and it's cute
enough to hang on the tree!
A piece of green velvet ribbon adds a little decadence to this gift, and I
tucked in a mini wooden spoon to emphasize the baking theme.
Gift Wrap Idea #2: Use gingerbread on gifts
The smell of gingerbread is just heavenly, and will make your home smell like
Christmas! If you use inedible dough like my
cinnamon salt dough, you'll have gingerbread ornaments that can last for years! If you're using
edible gingerbread, I would recommend not adding them to the gifts until
Christmas Eve! That way, they can still be enjoyed and aren't dried out! You
can wrap the gifts and even tie ribbon on in advance. Adding the gingerbread
is easy.
These gingerbread houses were cut out by hand and I used Royal Icing for the
details. If you're making non-edible gingerbread decorations, you can use a
white paint pen or puffy paint for the details.
These gingerbread ornaments smell SO good, I was tempted to take a big bite!
Gift Wrap Idea #3: Chicken Wire
See the chicken wire ribbon on this package? I bought it earlier this year, having NO idea what I'd do with it.It adds some fun texture to this plaid-wrapped package. There's even a bow, which was easy to make by just bending the chicken wire ribbon and securing it in the middle!
I added a tiny paper Christmas wreath (a garland from Target Dollar Spot that
I re-wrapped into a wreath) with some red berries...at the last minute I
tucked some of the striped ribbon under the chicken wire so it was more
visible.
Gift Wrap Idea #4: Scrapbook Paper
I love using scrapbook paper to wrap small boxes, like the kind that jewelry comes in, or even a book. One 12x12 sheet is enough, and you can find such pretty scrapbook papers at the craft store for under $1 each. Just be sure to buy regular paper and not cardstock, which is a little more difficult to work with.
This sweet wrapping paper covered in vintage angels and Christmas songs, was
perfect for a tiny wrapped package. Because the paper pattern is very busy, I
embellished it with a simple blue ribbon that matches the paper.
Gift Wrap Idea #5: Dried Orange Slices
Dried orange slices are so easy to make, and they make wonderful holiday
embellishments! I'm using them on my mantel and dining room this year, but
they also look beautiful on packages.
How to dry orange slices:
- cut off ends, then slice orange into thin slices
- pat both sides of slices to remove moisture
- lay oranges on a paper towel lined baking sheet
- bake at 200° for 4-5 hours, flipping them over every hour, until dry
Gift Wrap Idea #6: Cookie Cutter and Homespun
Remember that tea towel wrapped gift idea above? I'm piggy backing off that
one and demonstrating another way to use an ornament on a gift package. I
wrapped a strip of homespun fabric* around the package, then tied on the
cookie cutter ornament, a rusty jingle bell and a little bit of cedar that I
clipped off a garland.
*Homespun fabric is very inexpensive and wonderful to use to wrap packages
or rip into strips that you can use as ribbon. It adds a very homemade,
nostalgic feel to crafts or decor.
Gift Wrap Idea #7: Fabric Ribbon
So I'm the girl who has bins full of ribbon, a ribbon for every occasion. But
what if you don't? At this time of year, ribbon spools can be pricey. My tip is
to purchase fabrics that you love and tear them into strips! Using fabric strips
in place of ribbon is an affordable way to decorate a Christmas package without
spending big bucks!
Tearing this red ticking strip fabric produces strips that are even and have
the perfect frayed edges! Doesn't it look just like ribbon?
Gift Wrap Idea #8: Embellish Store-Bought Gift Tags
Sometimes you find something really cute at a great price (hello Target dollar
spot), but it may not be exactly right. These snow globe shaped gift tags are
a great size for a package, they just needed a little something.
Gift Wrap Idea #9: Felt Mitten Embellishment
One of the reasons that I love to wrap the majority of my Christmas gifts with
red and white gift wrap is because it just looks so festive with any
embellishments I choose.
To this fabric ribbon wrapped package, I just added one of the little felt
mittens that I recently crafted. This mitten has a little bit of sparkle from
some of that glass glitter I used on the snow globes!
If you need a little more color, why not tuck in a little strip of vintage
buttons?
Gift Wrap Idea #10: Ticking Stripe Candy Cane
I made a bunch of these chunky ticking striped candy canes this year, and am
using them all over my home. Want to see how I made them?
Check out this video. There's even an option to make them look a little bit primitive using
cinnamon.
A single ticking striped candy cane, tied onto a package with a strip of
homespun fabric, makes a charming wrapped gift, and the candy cane is a gift
in itself!
Gift Wrap Idea #11: Vintage Wrapped Gift
If your recipient loves vintage style, here are a couple ways to wrap their
package that they're sure to love! Use a vintage style wrapping paper, and
embellish the package with holiday vintage style printables and even a mini
vintage Santa mug!
I couldn't resist hanging a mini vintage Santa mug onto this charming vintage
inspired package. Wouldn't you love to receive this during the holidays?
I hope you've been inspired to see how to use everyday items to decorate your
Christmas packages and wrap your gifts creatively!
Got any creative gift wrap ideas of your own? Share them below in the
comments!
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bringing beauty to the ordinary,
I love this. I'm looking at different ideas to create a Christmas present topiary. I've got some cute ideas from this.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sherry, I'm so glad you were inspired!
DeleteThese are just beautiful! I am doing a really neutral look this year and trying to keep things simple, but this makes me miss all the red and details of lots of ribbon. Love it all! Thanks so much for hopping with me!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nancy, I love your neutral ideas!
DeleteThese are so wonderful, Cindy! Wrapped presents are decor in and of themselves! I especially love the chicken wire ribbon, it's so unique. Thanks for the great ideas! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michele, hope you have a fabulous week!
DeleteCindy - you've done it again! Love your creativity and farmhouse charm. The chicken wire ribbon and those adorable gingerbread tags are just too much! We are making gingerbread this week - we hope ours turn out 10% as well as yours did LOL. Have a fabulous holiday season!
ReplyDeleteAw, Vicky you just made my day! Thank you so much! Hope your Thanksgiving is filled with blessings!
DeleteI totally love the mix of colors and patterns! And that chicken wire ribbon! Gaaah! HOW CUTE! It's a home run, my friend. Truly fun and festive wrapping ideas. Thanks for hopping with us. Happy Holidays to you and yours! XOXO ~~ Susie from The Chelsea Project
ReplyDeleteThanks Susie, you are so sweet! Happy Thanksgiving! xx
DeleteThe gingerbread tags are so cute! What a great idea :) Hope you have a great Thanksgiving week and Christmas season!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteHey Cindy, so many great ideas! Love the cookie (of course!) but also that chicken wire ribbon! And like you, I troll the aisles after Christmas for ribbon and wrap. Lately, I've been all about Marshalls for great ribbon!
ReplyDeleteLynne, I love Marshalls too for ribbon... and so much else! Happy holidays!
DeleteI love these ideas!! They look great and they make the gifts even more special. Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kelly!
DeleteGreat work, thanks for shairng it!
ReplyDeleteWow! So many great ideas! I love the creativity of each idea! And, I need to take your advice and wrap as I buy! Thanks for a great post!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Missy!
DeleteWhat a great post Cindy. I love all of your ideas, the tea toweel, cookie cutters and the dried oranges are some of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Wendy!
DeleteCindy all these ideas are precious! I love each and every one of them. I know I will be referring back to this to inspire me in the future!
ReplyDeleteThank you Crystal, always happy to inspire! I loved your gift wrap ideas!
DeleteCindy these are all so cute! I love the little mitten topper! I never thought to use a cookie cutter either, such a sweet idea!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteCindy,
ReplyDeleteYou are so creative, and I loved all your ideas. I'm pinning like crazy over here.
Thank you Rachel, I'm so happy to inspire you!
DeleteYou have so mnay creative and fun ideas! I'll definitely be using the bottle idea. And I love the chicken wire!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
DeleteWow! I love all of the creative ways you've wrapped gifts, Cindy! All are beautiful and make each gift even more special to receive!
ReplyDelete