Wrapping a gift is essential if you want to create the suspense of a surprise, but you can do this even without gift-wrapping paper.
In reality, there are many household items you can use for gift wrap that will make a gift look festive and neat. For some ingenious wrapping paper ideas you can find make yourself, check out the list below.
One of the easiest and most common gift wrap replacements is newspaper. Wrap a gift in a large sheet of newspaper, and fold and tape it as if you would a traditional piece of gift wrap. Using the Sunday comics section of the paper is a particularly good idea, because it will make your gift look bright, bold and colourful.
Two common kitchen items you can use to wrap presents are brown butcher paper and twine. Simply wrap gifts in brown paper and use the twine to tie as a bow and ribbon around the gift. The butcher paper and twine create a chic, natural look for the present, which can be accented by including a leaf or evergreen branch under the twine as well.
If you have extra sheet music lying around the house, it can serve as a cute, music-themed gift wrap option. Simply wrap the gift with the music and scales facing out. This is a particularly good gift wrap option for the music lover.
A cute and easy gift wrap idea is using an old map or pages from an old atlas as gift wrap. Consider choosing a map of a place that means something to the recipient, or select a map that is particularly colourful and bright.
Tin foil is an excellent choice for homemade gift wrap, especially for covering hard to wrap items like wine and champagne bottles. Simply cover the item with tin foil, leaving a bit extra at the top. Then tie a ribbon or bow around the top of the bottle at the excess foil to finish the gift with flair.
If you have small items that require a bag or container instead of gift paper, consider wrapping the gift using or empty mason jars or clean, recycled jars from your kitchen. Simply paint the top of the jar a solid colour to cover any brand markings and remove any labels. Then fill the jar with the gift and seal. You can tie ribbon around the jar as a finishing touch.
