20 Ways to Reuse Holiday Gift Wrap
Did you know it's estimated that in one holiday season we use enough wrapping paper to circle the globe NINE times?! Since most conventional wrapping papers are not recyclable, here's twenty clever ways (plus a few more) to reuse this perfectly good paper throughout the year.
The choice to reuse your holiday gift wrap is a commitment. These projects call for a bit of elbow grease as it is, not to mention the time and effort of salvaging the material. The benefit, though, is a superb savings in craft materials; even a relatively modest gift exchange can produce a stockload of beautiful and perfectly reusable paper and ribbons. It is a challenge—and challenges are fun! But most importantly, you'll have the peace-of-mind in knowing you did the right thing.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Challenge: save & reuse your holiday wrapping paper.
1. Party garlands! Just in time for New Years Eve or those mid-winter birthdays.
- Cut-out shapes sewn into garlands. We like stars, hearts or circles, but you can get creative!
- Paper chains (fringe, circles, hearts, or zig-zags)
- Buntings (tutorial here)
2. Swirling 3-D stars
3. Hanging numbers—we're thinking a large 2022 to welcome the New Year or for a special milestone birthday. This is a great project for leftover tissue paper, tinsel and metallic or glittered papers.
4. Make confetti poppers or confetti sticks. Take a hole punch or paper cutter to leftover metallic, foiled, glittery or tinseled paper, tissue paper, and ribbons, too. Mixing different textures will enhance the confetti.
5. Origami boxes for Valentine’s day, birthdays, and year around gifting.
6. Shred it! Great for Easter baskets, storing tree ornaments, bird or hamster cages, etc.
7. Use to create custom thank you notes - use paper scraps to decorate cards or envelope liners.
8. Kids' party hats, paper crowns, or pirate hats.
9. DIY an Advent calendar for next year
10. Chinese New Year crafts for kids
- Paper Dragon Puppet
- Chinese Paper Lantern Project
Best Practices: Tips to Effectively Save Gift Wrap for Reuse:
When unwrapping, try to resist the urge to crumple up and throw your wrapping paper in a garbage bag. Instead, start a (somewhat) flat pile and add to it as the gifting continues. No need to be tyrant about it, you can fuss over the paper later.
At a quieter time, go through the used wrapping paper to salvage the most reusable areas. Trim parts that are extremely torn, crumpled, stapled (it happens), or covered in tape. A bit of clear tape is fine to leave, but masking tape or Duck Tape (again, it happens) should be discarded. It doesn’t have to be a perfect rectangle or in perfect condition, at this point we are just looking to salvage the best, most reusable areas of the paper. Even if you find a paper in your collection to be hideously ugly, chances are it will look fine repurposed in one of these ways.
Roughly sort paper by color and/or type, depending on what makes the most sense for the crafts you are planning. You may choose to trim larger pieces down to a more uniform size for easier storage.
11. Make treat-filled hearts for Valentine's Day. A perfect use for red or red & white paper, accent with lace doily and stamp of pink hearts to switch the look from Christmas to Valentine's.
12. Make decoupage gift boxes using Modge Podge. This is a great way to reuse boxes, too! Watch this video for tips on using wrapping paper for decoupage.
13. Make gift bags for next year, a great use for leftover paper and ribbon.
14. Make gift toppers to use throughout the year! Use our paper flower templates, this poinsettia tutorial, or this paper bow tutorial to stock load a stash of gift toppers to hold you through the year. Even really Christmas-y patterns will not appear so when trimmed down and mixed up into a patchwork of patterns and colors.
15. Make a paper leaf wreath - good for darker green, gold or brown papers. Add pinecones or twig accents for a lovely winter accent. Combine with paper flowers to make a blooming flower wreath for spring.
16. Weave a basket - perfect for Easter or any occasion. Use leftover wrapping paper as an accent to mix in with a sturdier white or brown kraft paper to weave a super handy—and surprisingly sturdy—basket. Watch a Paper Basket Video Tutorial
17. Save for scrapbooking. Make a wrapping paper scrapbook - watch this video
18. Paper maché projects
19. Firestarters: These will certainly come in handy during the winter months, but please only use kraft paper or uncoated wrapping paper, such as Wrappily, as conventional glossy or metallic wrapping papers can create noxious fumes when burned.
20. Make seed pots to start the garden. Make with Wrappily wrapping paper only, our newsprint paper will biodegrade in about 6 weeks allowing you to plant the whole seedling pot directly in the ground when ready to transplant. So easy!
Happy Crafting!
For a smarter, more sustainable choice, shop our 100% recyclable and compostable wrapping paper. Wrappily is printed with soy-based inks on a recycled, premium-grade newsprint. We are proudly made in the USA, find out more here.
Featured Products
Peace on Earth/Evergreens
$10.80
Celebrate sustainably with our recycled and recyclable wrapping paper filled with hopeful holiday messages of peace on earth by watercolorist and published author, Meera Lee Patel. Reversible patterns make holiday gift wrapping fun! Paper works great for crafting, too.
Package includes three double-sided wrapping paper sheets + adhesive gift tags
• Sheet size 21.5" x 34"
• Premium newsprint + soy-based inks = eco-friendly wrapping paper
• Plastic-free PLA packaging
• Flat, folded sheet for easy storage
• No unnecessary cardboard tube
• 100% recyclable and compostable
• Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
JOIN the mission to green-up gifting!
#wrapriprecycle #wraphappy #gifthappily
Multi-Spool Paper Ribbon Set - Christmas Mix
$28.99
– Sold OutA perfect accent to your holiday gift wrapping, our paper ribbon set includes four colors: red, green, gold, and silver. This eco-friendly ribbon adds a perfect pop of color and is recyclable, compostable and made with non-toxic, water soluble dyes. It's shapable, versatile, sturdy, and has a great crinkle texture allowing you to get creative tying-on that finishing touch to your gifts.
Each roll is approximately 1.5" wide and a generous 25 yards. Multi-spool set includes four ribbon colors for a total of 100 yards.
Boughs/ Twinkle - Double-sided Eco Wrapping Paper for Christmas & Holiday
$10.80
'Tis the season to bling out. Bold boughs bedecked brightly—say that ten times fast! We love how these branches swing and swoop, creating playful graphic elements that are amplified by the cheeriest coordinating holiday confetti scene you might not have known you ever needed (but clearly did.) This holiday brilliance is the work of surface pattern designer, Nadia Hassan, who puts the wham in whimsy and the cheer in our year.
Package includes three double-sided wrapping paper sheets + adhesive gift tags
• Sheet size 21.5" x 34"
• Premium newsprint + soy-based inks = eco-friendly wrapping paper
• Plastic-free PLA packaging
• Flat, folded sheet for easy storage
• No unnecessary cardboard tube
• 100% recyclable and compostable
• Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
Pink Pinecone/ Candy Cane Stripe
$10.80
Your holiday gifts will look stunning in these playfully sophisticated patterns by Seattle designer Misha Zadeh. Celebrate sustainably with our recycled and recyclable wrapping paper. Reversible patterns make holiday gift wrapping fun! Paper works great for crafting, too.
Package includes three double-sided wrapping paper sheets + adhesive gift tags
• Sheet size 21.5" x 34"
• Premium newsprint + soy-based inks = eco-friendly wrapping paper
• Plastic-free PLA packaging
• Flat, folded sheet for easy storage
• No unnecessary cardboard tube
• 100% recyclable and compostable
• Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
JOIN the mission to green-up gifting!
#wrapriprecycle #wraphappy #gifthappily
Christmas Mix - Natural Cotton Ribbon Bows, Pack of 5
$10.50
– Sold OutYou just found an eco-friendly alternative to conventional plastic gift bows. Artisanally made of biodegradable natural cotton ribbon, these adhesive gift topper bows are cute, convenient and compostable. This box includes FIVE small-to-medium sized bows (2-3/8" & 3") in a Christmassy mix. Made in the USA. (1) 3" Red (1) 3" Red & White Stripe (1) 2 3/8" Green (1) 2 3/8" Green & White Stripe (1) 2 3/8" Red
Fox Forest/ Snow Drops
$10.80
Your holiday gifts will look stunning in these playfully sophisticated patterns by Seattle designer Misha Zadeh. Celebrate sustainably with our recycled and recyclable wrapping paper. Reversible patterns make holiday gift wrapping fun! Paper works great for crafting, too.
Package includes three double-sided wrapping paper sheets + adhesive gift tags
• Sheet size 21.5" x 34"
• Premium newsprint + soy-based inks = eco-friendly wrapping paper
• Plastic-free PLA packaging
• Flat, folded sheet for easy storage
• No unnecessary cardboard tube
• 100% recyclable and compostable
• Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
JOIN the mission to green-up gifting!
#wrapriprecycle #wraphappy #gifthappily
Colors of Christmas Natural Cotton Curling Ribbon Bundle, 5 Spools
$31.49 $35.00
All the colors of Christmas! Bundle & Save on our Natural Cotton Curling Ribbon, 50 yds total on plastic-free recycled kraft spools.
Loop it, tie it, curl it. This bundle includes: Organic Cream, 10 yds Solid Red, 10 yds Red & White Stripe, 10 yds Holiday Green, 10 yds Holiday Green & White Stripe, 10 yds
Our artisanal ribbon maker in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is committed to the highest levels of sustainability. They use water-based dyes, soy-based non-toxic inks, and cotton yarn that is 100% grown and dyed in the USA.
Noel Forest/ Wintery Wood
$10.80
What merry moose roam this Noel Forest! And on the back, a pale and dreamy Wintry Wood, these fantastical wintry scenes are from the imagination of Australian artist Esther Fallon Lau. They coordinate perfectly with rustic plaids and swirling florals in her Noel Forest holiday collection for Wrappily.
Package includes three double-sided wrapping paper sheets + adhesive gift tags
• Sheet size 21.5" x 34"
• Premium newsprint + soy-based inks = eco-friendly wrapping paper
• Plastic-free PLA packaging
• Flat, folded sheet for easy storage
• No unnecessary cardboard tube
• 100% recyclable and compostable
• Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
PLEASE NOTE: We don’t want a little smudge to come between us. Wrappily is uncoated newsprint, ink from darkly saturated patterns such as this will likely transfer onto fingertips during the wrapping process. Our soy-based inks are safe, non-toxic, and rinse right off with water. If this sounds like more than you bargained for, we suggest you select from our lighter patterned papers.
Homespun Plaid Red/ Winter Floral Evergreen
$10.80
Greens, reds, plaids, holly and evergreens—all that holiday charm makes this duo an absolute delight for seasonal gift wrapping. Use alone or pair together with others from the Noel Forest collection, Esther Fallon Lau’s festive and fantastical wintry pattern wonderland.
Package includes three double-sided wrapping paper sheets + adhesive gift tags
• Sheet size 21.5" x 34"
• Premium newsprint + soy-based inks = eco-friendly wrapping paper
• Plastic-free PLA packaging
• Flat, folded sheet for easy storage
• No unnecessary cardboard tube
• 100% recyclable and compostable
• Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
PLEASE NOTE: We don’t want a little smudge to come between us. Wrappily is uncoated newsprint, ink from darkly saturated patterns such as this will likely transfer onto fingertips during the wrapping process. Our soy-based inks are safe, non-toxic, and rinse right off with water. If this sounds like more than you bargained for, we suggest you select from our lighter patterned papers.
Winter Floral Cream/ Homespun Plaid Green
$10.80
Rustic green plaid pairs lovely with this elegant swirl of holly, evergreens, hearty winter flowers, and a snip-of-an-ode to artist Esther Fallon Lau’s Australian homeland (can you spot it?) Use alone or pair with other festive and fantastical wintry scenes from the Noel Forest holiday collection.
Package includes three double-sided wrapping paper sheets + adhesive gift tags
• Sheet size 21.5" x 34"
• Premium newsprint + soy-based inks = eco-friendly wrapping paper
• Plastic-free PLA packaging
• Flat, folded sheet for easy storage
• No unnecessary cardboard tube
• 100% recyclable and compostable
• Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
Cozy Cabins/ Jewels - Double-sided Eco Wrapping Paper for Holiday Gifting
$10.80
This wooded cabin scene is a wee bit festive, a wee bit minimalist, and a whole lot charming. Rustic and earthy with its geometric counterpart, Serendipity Jewels, this pairing completes the festive and fantastical winter scenes in Esther Fallon Lau’s Noel Forest holiday collection.
Package includes three double-sided wrapping paper sheets + adhesive gift tags
• Sheet size 21.5" x 34"
• Premium newsprint + soy-based inks = eco-friendly wrapping paper
• Plastic-free PLA packaging
• Flat, folded sheet for easy storage
• No unnecessary cardboard tube
• 100% recyclable and compostable
• Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
Christmas Lights Pop-Out Gift Tags & Twine, set of 6
$7.49 $8.00
Add a festive touch to special gifts with these double-sided hanging gift tags in the shape of vintage Christmas light bulbs. Printed with the highest standard of sustainability, these gift tags are cute and credentialed: FSC-certified 100% recycled paper, plant-based inks, and carbon-offset printed.
Set of six pop-out tags with coordinating natural fiber twine.
O Tannenbaum
$10.80
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Geometric holiday trees in bright, festive color ways. It's a Christmas classic!
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Reversible gift wrap sheets come flat and folded with complementary gift tag stickers. Sheet is 21.5" x 34". Printed in Washington on recycled and recyclable newsprint.
Feliz Flamingos/ Candy Canes
$10.80
Tis' the season to think pink. Lots of pink. These jaunty birds and jungle foliage make any tropical holiday scene complete. Paired with this maximalist's candy cane dream, we think you'll have the whole 'merry and bright' thing on lock. Feliz Flamingos/Candy Canes is a new Wrappily exclusive by surface pattern designer Nadia Hassan.
Package includes three double-sided wrapping paper sheets + adhesive gift tags
• Sheet size 21.5" x 34"
• Premium newsprint + soy-based inks = eco-friendly wrapping paper
• Plastic-free PLA packaging
• Flat, folded sheet for easy storage
• No unnecessary cardboard tube
• 100% recyclable and compostable
• Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
Home for the Holidays/ Christmas Cookies
$10.80
'Tis the season to stay cozy. String lights from the eaves and perfect your cookie icing, there's no better place to be than Home for the Holidays. This charming pattern combo playing with indoor/ outdoor homey holiday scenes is the clever work of surface pattern designer Nadia Hassan.
Package includes three double-sided wrapping paper sheets + adhesive gift tags
• Sheet size 21.5" x 34"
• Premium newsprint + soy-based inks = eco-friendly wrapping paper
• Plastic-free PLA packaging
• Flat, folded sheet for easy storage
• No unnecessary cardboard tube
• 100% recyclable and compostable
• Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
Festive Holiday Pop-Out Gift Tags
$7.19 $8.00
Printed with the highest standard of sustainability, these tags are cute and credentialed. The doubly thick 100% recycled paper is FSC-certified and carbon-offset printed. Set includes five pop-out tags with coordinating twine.
Winter Animals/Stars
$10.80
Celebrate sustainably with our recycled and recyclable wrapping paper featuring sweet wintery holiday themes of snowy animals and starry nights by watercolorist and published author, Meera Lee Patel. Reversible patterns make holiday gift wrapping fun! Paper works great for crafting, too.
Package includes three double-sided wrapping paper sheets + adhesive gift tags
• Sheet size 21.5" x 34"
• Premium newsprint + soy-based inks = eco-friendly wrapping paper
• Plastic-free PLA packaging
• Flat, folded sheet for easy storage
• No unnecessary cardboard tube
• 100% recyclable and compostable
• Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
JOIN the mission to green-up gifting!
#wrapriprecycle #wraphappy #gifthappily
Snow Scenes Pop-Out Kraft Gift Tags & Twine
$7.49 $8.00
Add an elegant touch to special holiday gifts with these double-sided hanging gift tags in the shapes of snowmen and pine trees. Printed with the highest standard of sustainability, these tags are cute and credentialed. The thick recycled kraft paper is FSC-certified and carbon-offset printed. Set of six pop-out tags with natural fiber twine.
Poinsettia/ Painterly
$10.80
-
Va-va-va-bloom! Make your Christmas gift wrapping a work of art with this festive duo designed by Nadia Hassan. Poinsettias that really pop, and the hand-painted watercolor pattern? It's a sheer brushstroke of genius. Paired with Marbled/ Mistletoe, this holiday collection artfully done.
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Wrappily's reversible gift wrap sheets come flat and folded with complementary gift tag stickers. Sheet size is 21.5" x 34". Printed in Washington State on recycled and recyclable newsprint.
Marbled/ Mistletoe
$10.80
Swirls of festive green and a classic winter botanical – make your holiday gift wrapping a work of art with this fresh duo designed by Nadia Hassan (who else would hand marble paper then turn it into a repeating pattern?!) Paired with Poinsettias/ Painterly, we'd call this holiday collection artfully done.
Package includes three double-sided wrapping paper sheets + adhesive gift tags
• Sheet size 21.5" x 34"
• Premium newsprint + soy-based inks = eco-friendly wrapping paper
• Plastic-free PLA packaging
• Flat, folded sheet for easy storage
• No unnecessary cardboard tube
• 100% recyclable and compostable
• Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
Hanukkah Doves
$10.80
Celebrate sustainably with our recycled and recyclable wrapping paper featuring the rich colors and symbols of Hanukkah by pattern designer Sandra Hutter. Reversible patterns make holiday gift wrapping fun! Paper works great for crafting, too.
Package includes three double-sided wrapping paper sheets + adhesive gift tags
• Sheet size 21.5" x 34"
• Premium newsprint + soy-based inks = eco-friendly wrapping paper
• Plastic-free PLA packaging
• Flat, folded sheet for easy storage
• No unnecessary cardboard tube
• 100% recyclable and compostable
• Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
JOIN the mission to green-up gifting!
#wrapriprecycle #wraphappy #gifthappily
Starry Night Natural Cotton Curling Ribbon Bundle, 3 Spools
$19.49 $21.00
All the colors inspired by a Starry Night - Bundle and Save on our Natural Cotton Curling Ribbon, 30 yds total on plastic-free recycled kraft spools. Loop it, tie it, curl it. This bundle includes: Midnight Blue, 10 yds Curry, 10 yds Grey & Cream Stripe, 10 yds. Perfect for Hanukkah and everyday gifting celebrations
Our artisanal ribbon maker in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is committed to the highest levels of sustainability. They use water-based dyes, soy-based non-toxic inks, and cotton yarn that is 100% grown and dyed in the USA.
Spool measurements: 1/2" x 10yds. each
Hanukkah Story by Paper Pony
$10.80
– Sold OutShare the story of Hanukkah with a whimsical scene featuring the Maccabees on one side and a bold Star of David pattern on the reverse.
Festive Holidays by Nadia - Complete Eco Gift Wrap Bundle
$69.99
– Sold OutCelebrate sustainably with a season's worth of recycled and recyclable gift wrap goodies featuring the art of cheeriest gal we know, designer, Nadia Hassan. Reversible patterns make gift wrapping fun!
Bundle includes:
• Poinsettia/Painterly double-sided wrapping paper, 3 sheets
• Festive Forest double-sided wrapping paper, 3 sheets
• Boughs/Twinkle double-sided wrapping paper, 3 sheets
• Home For The Holidays double-sided wrapping paper, 3 sheets
• (2) Festive Holiday Pop Out Gift Tags & Twine (10 tags total)
• (2) Rolls of Paper Ribbon, 25 yards each (Red and/or Silver)
JOIN the mission to green-up gifting! #wrapriprecycle #wraphappy #gifthappily
- Sheet size 21.5" x 34"
- Premium newsprint + soy-based inks
- Plastic-free PLA packaging (plus no unnecessary cardboard tube!)
- Flat, folded sheets for easy storage
- 100% recyclable and compostable
- Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
Kids Christmas Fun - Complete Eco Gift Wrap Bundle
$69.99 $75.00
Celebrate sustainably with this eco-friendly gift wrap collection of Christmas favorites for kids. Recycled and recyclable wrapping paper with reversible patterns make gift wrapping fun! Paper works great for crafting, too.
Kids Christmas Wrapping Paper Bundle includes:
- O Tannenbaum double-sided gift wrap, 3 sheets
- Warhol Santa double-sided gift wrap, 3 sheets
- Dino Lights double-sided gift wrap, 3 sheets
- Feliz Flamingos double-sided gift wrap, 3 sheets
- (2) Christmas Lights Pop Out Gift Tags & Twine (12 total tags)
- Red and Gold Paper Ribbon, 25 yards each
JOIN the mission to green-up gifting! #wrapriprecycle #wraphappy #gifthappily
Christmas Bestsellers - Complete Eco Gift Wrap Bundle
$68.99 $75.00
Celebrate sustainably with this eco-friendly collection of all-time Christmas Wrappily favorites. These coordinated Holiday gift wrapping goodies provide the height of sustainability and beautifully wrapped gifts under the tree. Reversible patterns make gift wrapping fun!
Bundle includes:
• O Tannenbaum double-sided eco wrapping paper, 3 sheets
• Poinsettia/Painterly double-sided eco wrapping paper, 3 sheets
• Marbled/Mistletoe double-sided eco wrapping paper, 3 sheets
• Stags & Birch double-sided eco wrapping paper, 3 sheets
• (2) Snow Scenes Pop Out Gift Tags & Twine (12 total tags)
• (2) Rolls of Paper Ribbon, 25 yards each (Red and Gold)
100% Plastic-free PLA packaging! Flat, folded sheet provide easy storage and eliminate the need for that unnecessary cardboard tube. 100% recyclable and compostable. Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
JOIN the mission to green-up gifting! #wrapriprecycle #wraphappy #gifthappily
Artist Series Wrap Bundle: Noel Forest by Esther Fallon-Lau
$40.99 $43.20
Celebrate sustainably with our recycled and recyclable gift wrap featuring our full pattern collection Aussie designer Esther Fallon-Lau. Reversible patterns make gift wrapping fun! Paper works great for crafting, too.
Bundle includes one package of each:
- Homespun Plaid Red/ Winter Floral
- Noel Forest/ Wintery Wood
- Winter Floral Cream/ Homespun Plaid Green
- Cozy Cabins/ Jewels
Each package includes 3 sheets + adhesive gift tags. Sheet size 21.5" x 34"
• Premium newsprint + soy-based inks
• Plastic-free PLA packaging (plus no unnecessary cardboard tube!)
• Flat, folded sheets for easy storage
• 100% recyclable and compostable
• Milled, printed and packaged in Washington State
JOIN the mission to green-up gifting! #wrapriprecycle #wraphappy #gifthappily
