Since having children, I have struggled with the holidays, Christmas in particular. I may seem like a Scrooge, but I find that the holidays focus too much on stuff. It's unbelievable how much stuff we accumulate over the month of December, as well as how much stuff we throw out. Waste is a huge issue. We are fortunate to live in an area that spends a lot of time promoting better waste management skills. We have a four bin garbage system and they like to recycle as much as possible. Even though our community recycles, that should be the thing we resort to last, not first. What happened to the first two steps; reduce and reuse?
In an effort to reduce waste around the holidays, I have three gift wrapping ideas to share with you today.
Number one: Spice up existing packaging.
We bought a wooden sled for our nephew, which came in a big cardboard box. I wasn't about to buy wrapping paper for one gift, so I sewed the raw edges under on a piece of fabric, and tied it on with a bow. The fabric is long enough that it can be used as a festive table runner. The tag we simply drew on with a sharpie.
Number two: Sew up some gift bags
To be fair, I made these last year. I love them though. They were made with French seams in hopes that they last forever. Last year I wrote "please reuse or return this bag" on each gift tag. I didn't get as many back as I had hoped, but a few were returned.
Number three: Gifts in a jar
Aren't they beautiful? Another thing that I struggle with is the amount of sugary processed foods we consume over the holidays. To help combat that, all of our edible gifts this year were on the healthier side.
That's all for today, from our house to yours, I wish you all the best in the new year. In our house, 2015 is going to be the year of Balance. Join us in our next post to see what we have planned for the new year.
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