It’s the final count down, for the Christmas morning present tear down. In our family’s case the carnage starts on Christmas Eve. Many of us have had to scale back on making grand gestures with expensive gifts due to the economy. This year also marks, a shift in eco-awareness about how we present our gifts. How can we save trees, money, and space in the landfill? Many of us are seeking out the best way to make memorable eco-friendly presentations for our heartfelt gifts. In this two-part blog, I will share some eco-fairy ways to celebrate the pleasure of unwrapping gifts. In part I will examine gift bags and wrapping paper. Part II will include some fun ways to recycle trash into clever eco-friendly containers and a hilarious way to give greenbacks and a green message.

Lets start with the classics wrapping paper and gift bags. We all know that gift bags are versatile and pretty. They’re really just fast and easy fixes for packaging gifts, that don’t require sharp objects crisp folded edges and tape. The good news is that just because they are made from paper doesn’t mean we should abandon their easy- to- fill construction. Gift bags should always be recycled, but not by the city recycling department. We should reuse them until their bottoms fall out. By reusing gift bags we are keeping them out of the landfill. Hurray! This closes the loop on the cycle of, buy, use, and then toss. Save the bags that don’t get trashed in the excitement of unwrapping. Bag swap with friends and family. For eco-fairies, “Old to you is new to me.”

Wrapping paper isn’t so easy to keep reusing but these ideas might have you folding and taping till your hearts content without feeling guilty about using paper by the rolls. I’m not going to tell you never buy wrapping paper but I will say this: choose wisely. It should make you react in Joy. Pick something that makes a real statement. Save the paper after the presents has been opened. Be an eco-fairy and reuse the paper for scrap booking, cards, and covering storage containers. Go greener and get a roll of plain brown recycled paper and make your own wrapping paper. If you have kids get them involved in painting, stamping, and glittering. The possibilities are endless and the paper becomes a little work of art. You can also start to look around your house or office for paper. Newspaper, magazines and your child’s school art are all great starts. In the end if the eco-friendly paper sounds like ripping paper as they tear into the package then, mission accomplished.

Now it is time to talk about unconventional present presentations; which happens to be my favorite part. I have three eco-fairy ideas ready for you to try out. First project, Take-out. That’s right, save those take-out containers. Many of them make great boxes. Think, Chinese To-Go boxes. If you quickly wash and wipe dry a to-go box that had steamed rice you could be half way done with a unique and truly recycled way to package a gift. My favorite container comes from the deli counter. Those clean, clear plastic containers make fresh and simple homes for fantastic gifts. Start by washing and removing the labels from the container. If the label won’t come off clean, use paper, fabric, or stickers to cover it up. Fill the container with shredded paper, raffia, or tissue paper and add your gift and a note. Close it and tie ribbons. Just don’t forget to recycle the container afterwards.

My second idea doubles as a second gift and a craft project. Save coffee cans or soup cans and remove their labels. At this point you can cover the tins in paper, photos, paint, or fabric. Or you can leave it as a craft project for the receiver of the gift. Fill the tin with your gift, wrapping it in tissue as needed. Then wrap up the tin in fabric
eco-friendly paper. Tie ribbons at the top and you are ready to go. Once the gift is opened they can use the tin to hold office supplies, candies, or bathroom goodies. Eco-fairies can never have to many storage containers.

My third idea is an eco- remake on a classic presentation/prank my grandma Gracie pulled on my brother, Ian. My grandma gave my brother a huge beautifully wrapped present. Inside of it was one roll of toilet paper. What? I know we were confused too. Did Granny fall of her rocker? After a little hint from Grandma Ian started to unroll the T.P. After a couple of rolls one-dollar bills started to fall out. Ian really scored that year and we all had a great laugh. Why not recreate this Christmas prank with an eco-fairy twist? Buy a package of eco-friendly recycle toilet paper. You’re only using one roll, so you can use the rest or give the whole pack with the money as kind of a boobie prize. Get your hands on the cash. Small bills work the best because they draw out the excitement of the reveal. Carefully unroll the toilet paper at least a quarter to half way. Then start rolling the money and the T.P back up, trying to keep it even and looking like it hadn’t been unrolled. Make sure that you give yourself enough at the end to do a couple rolls with out the money. Replace it in the pack and wrap. Or seek into the bathroom and replace the old roll with the money T.P. Or wrap just the money roll up with a lot of bells and whistles, like my grandma did. Then wait… and enjoy the reactions the look of confusion, disgust, and then pleasure on Ian’s face is forever “wrapped up” in my Christmas memories. More importantly than buying eco-friendly T.P, the key to making this an eco-fairy prank, is using the roll that had the money in it!

Well I hope I opened your eyes to some eco-friendly and funny ways to wrap up the joy this holiday. If you have other ideas or want to share your experience of trying one of these ideas out, Please post a comment or a photo