Holiday Gift Wrapping Ideas- With FREE Printable Gift Tags

I am curious how many of you love to go out and spend a good amount of hard earned money on wrapping paper that is going to be essentially obliterated come Christmas day?  Me?  Am I the only one?  Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing gift wraps out there, and yes, I will and do purchase them.  The thing is, if it is within my power at all to minimize the amount spent on said paper, I am all for it.  That was my quest this year.

This is not the same woman that 2o years ago thought it was completely ridiculous to do this!  Imagine waking up Christmas morning, running down the hall to check out the goods, and what do I see?  Each and every present wrapped in newspaper.  What?  To say that money was tight when I was a child would be an understatement.  My parents worked hard, full time and even nighttime jobs to keep food on the table and clothes on our backs.  6 kids, they will drain you quickly.  I only have 4 kids and they can drain me quicker than Drain0.  I always thought my mom just wrapped those presents with newspaper in protest.  I never stopped to think that maybe she wrapped them that way because they didn’t have the money.

Now as a grown up( I will admit it, even though I don’t like it) I have seen and experienced the overwhelming weight on my shoulders to pull off an amazing Christmas without breaking a sweat.  Well, the holidays are tight guys!

So, here is my first secret wrapping tip.  Butcher/kraft paper.

*This post contains affiliate links.*

I purchased some brown Kraft Paperto use on my DIY craft paper holder .  I use this for everything.  Last year I bought a small roll, you know, the wrapping paper size, of craft paper because I wanted to wrap my presents.  Well I got exactly two presents out of that one roll.  I think I could wrap everything in my home and still have a little left these days.  i will just say I bought the big roll.

Butcher paper holds so many qualities that I love.  Its neutral.  You can decorate it any way you want!  You can stencil artwork on it.  You can also freehand some pretty heartfelt artwork.  People will love getting a personalized gift like that.

Okay, maybe I like it plain and simple.  There is something so lovely about a simply wrapped gift.

As much as I dislike buying wrapping paper, I also dislike buying ribbon.  It mean, it is so beautiful, and I do purchase it. I just get a little overwhelmed.  So this year I worked outside the box.  In my overflowing stash of fabric, I had some old curtains that I will probably never hang again.  I clipped and tore the fabric into strips.

I used this to tie around some of my gifts.

 

I also layered the fabric strips with real actual ribbon to give it a little more texture and interest.

To stick with my neutral and woodland theme I have throughout my house I added some homemade printable gift tags and a little evergreen.

I luuurve this!

I will have these printables available at the bottom of the post.

Another fun way to wrap your presents is, yes, with newspaper.  I know, as much as I cussed my mom as a child, it has a certain nostalgia and plenty of character you cannot get with traditional wrapping paper.

Plus, you can sit and read the paper if you get bored.

A little twine, and some torn curtains and you are good to go!

Now I will revisit my beef with gift tags.  Ugh, I hate buying them!  I honestly have not purchased them in at least 3 years.  I have just made my own.  This year is no different, except that I am making them before Christmas Eve.  Ya, I am a planner.

I have created a few different sizes this year, but I have to say I am loving  the larger ones!  They become less of a tag and more of an accent to the gift.

This year I loved the idea of creating some type of postage style gift tags.  I am working on some Santa postage ones as well.

I printed mine out, cut them with my paper cutter and used punched a hole in them so I could attach them.

Here are the links to my FREE printable gift tags

Large Postage Holiday Gift Tags

Large chalkboard Deer Gift Tags

Small Chalkboard Deer Gift Tags

Small Postage Holiday Gift Tags

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Print some off and try them out!  I am obsessed with simplifying this year, and reusing items I already have.  I am so excited to watch my kids open those presents on Christmas day.

I hope your Christmas preparations are going well!  I am quite behind!  Better get moving on it I guess!

Thanks for stopping by!