The Family Wallet

Do you love to present your friends and family with beautifully-wrapped gifts at Christmas? For me, half of the fun of gift-giving is finding inexpensive, but stylish, ways to wrap my gifts. In fact, I sometimes spend more time agonizing over my gift-wrapping choices than I do my shopping expeditions.

Making your own gift wrap is a great way to save money while creating really unique-looking gifts. Friends and family will know at a glance which gifts came from your house. And, while your gifts will look like a million bucks, you’ll know that you didn’t spend anywhere near as much as everyone else did.

Use Plain Paper – Plain paper serves as the perfect canvas to display your creative talents. Brown kraft paper (grocery bag sacks) will look very chic with some well-chosen embellishments and a bow made from jute string. You can stamp cute designs onto your paper or just attach a fun motif (cut from last year’s Christmas cards) to the bow.

Make Your Own Paper – Small gifts like DVD’s or books are just the right size for wrapping in paper from your home computer. But don’t leave the paper blank this time. Instead, create your own gift wrap on your computer, print it onto the paper, and enjoy your instant wrapping paper. You may choose Christmas designs from a clip art website or something as simple as the words, “Merry Christmas” written over and over again. Experiment until you have a design you love.

Use Newspaper – Many newspapers don’t include the pages and pages of comics that we had growing up, but you can still find ways to use that newspaper when wrapping gifts. If you have a financial wizard in your family, why not wrap his gift in the stock trading pages of the paper. Or, save those Black Friday ads that will soon be coming your way. The pages from toy ads will add just the right touch to your little guy’s gift; it may even give him a hint about the package’s contents.

Use Fabric – Large or odd-shaped gifts can be hard to wrap with paper. Instead of buying one of those expensive, giant-sized gift bags, why not buy one of those inexpensive flat sheets or pillowcases available at every discount retailer. For under $5 you will have everything you need to wrap that bulky gift. (Don’t forget to check your favorite thrift store, too. You may find even less expensive fabric options.)

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Filed under: Frugal, Gifts, Saving Money