back to the brown paper packages with painted on string

December 21, 2017


We did the brown paper packages last year, but we changed it up with some patterned brown paper for this year. It’s a simple way to wrap and add a bow, and we especially love the less waste factor. We also did some wrapped in black with a painted gold bow.  If you want to reduce even more, check out this video tutorial by Alli Cherry on how to wrap gifts without tape! I would have loved to have done that, but I’m in survival mode right now, and didn’t remember about the tutorial until after the fact. So… I’m filing that idea away for next year or the next time I have to wrap a gift.

Again, no need to mom guilt (or just guilt, if you’re not a mom yet) if you didn’t think about this less waste stuff right now, it’s a busy and stressful season. I’m sure all we want to do is spend time with our loved ones and remember what this season is really about, so that’s what should be on the tippy top of our minds. Plus, we can continue learning together how we can be mindful of things to make a difference, no matter what season it is.

And instead of tags, I wrote straight on the wrapping and put my newly learned brush lettering skills to work. How do you wrap all your gifts?

9 comments on “back to the brown paper packages with painted on string”

  • Mary Ann in Vemont says:

    You have NO idea how much I am loving this!!! Thank You for sharing.
    xoxoxoxo

  • Karen (Scotland) says:

    I made the (I now consider genius) decision a decade ago to order Christmas fabrics and make a whole selection of bags with ribbons attached. We use these every year – pop in pressie (no matter how awkwardly shaped), tie ribbon, thread on a gift tag with child’s name, pat self on back for making the effort a decade ago…
    I had four kids in five years and these bags save my sanity every Christmas.
    Our kids know that we buy, wrap and send all their pressies off to Santa (who decides whether to deliver or not) so no one questions the bags folded in our linen shelves all year.
    I love that there is no waste but I love the time and energy saved even more!
    Haven’t popped by for a while – off to read back your posts a bit.
    Have a lovely Christmas!
    Karen (Scotland)

    • Rubyellen says:

      I love that idea! What do you do for gifts that you give to others? Use a bag and take the bag back? Is it one bag per kid? Or one per gift? I’ve made bags to use as Easter baskets in the past and repeated them for several years, but never thought about it for Christmas.

      • Karen (Scotland) says:

        We tend to use our fabric bags within the family and they make their way back to us – aunts etc know to ask us for bags, especially for awkwardly shaped or squishy gifts.. We have a small stash of card gift bags (from gifts TO our family) that we use when giving gifts outwith our family, usually at kids’ parties.
        We gave a gift to my husband’s sister from the Netherlands and she kept the bag as part of the gift – just hoping she re-used it and spread the idea!
        It isn’t one bag per child – I just made a selection of sizes and choose the best size for each gift each year. We made a HUGE one that was once used for a small bike then a scooter then draped oround a kiddy desk. We think it’s time to chop it down into smaller bags now that our kids are bigger (but their gifts are smaller!)

        I read about a family who did this with vintage biscuit tins (cookie jars?) which I also thought was a nice idea.

        Happy New Year!
        Karen (Scotland)

  • z.c says:

    Sometimes I forget my reusable bags when i go to the grocery store so I used all the paper bags I had to wrap all of my gifts this year. They actually looked quite pretty 🙂 and I didn’t have to buy any wrapping paper at all! I ended up running out before I was done wrapping, but a coworker offered up all her bags so it worked out! It ended up looking like Trader Joe’s sponsored our Christmas lol

  • Jo M says:

    They look amazing.
    can’t wait to do this for the next gift I give x

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