The Gift that Keeps on Giving…

Part of the charm of gift giving, is the presentation of your gift.

A tradition that I have carried on with my kids is something I enjoyed doing with my mom.  My mother was beyond creative and uber talented in just about everything.  Something as simple as wrapping a gift was amazing.  We loved to see how she could put together something so pretty and not spend a dime AND make it a fun project for us kids!

My favorite as a child was wrapping gifts for our friends using the newspaper and fun lil bows or accents from around the house.  Little did she know she was teaching us to be environmentally friendly, creative and thrifty at the same time…then maybe she did?!

All kids pretty much love tape, gifts and ribbon, so we let our kids get as creative as they want in wrapping.  Here is something so simple, yet so great to enjoy another level of gift giving!

Kids Gift Wrap by Ward…

1.  Grab your favorite comics from Sundays paper.  In this case, I could not decide between comics and sports page, so I chose both.

2.  Grab about 2 rolls of tape, make sure the ENTIRE package is taped shut so the gift does not reveal itself.

3.  Show Mom you can do this on your own, no matter the size.  Let her help you with the newspaper bow.  Have her cut scraps then gently curl with scissors.

5.  I just wrapped my friend’s birthday gift.  I am so proud.

You can pretty much do this on any level…and you don’t have to buy expensive wrapping paper to do it. Save money and the environment by using materials you have around the house. Small changes can have a big impact: if each family reused just 2 feet of ribbon a year, 38,000 miles worth would be saved. That’s enough to tie a bow around the entire planet!

You can use all types of other ideas…craft paper gets a kick from brightly hued masking tape.  My 12-year-old niece is really into the colored masking tapes. Love how this is layered in alternating horizontal and vertical strips. The crowning glory: paper straws that the designer frayed at the ends, then tied together with bakery twine to resemble a snowflake.

Start preparing everyone-just 125 days until Christmas…but who’s counting?