by Emily Branwell

Created on: December 10, 2008

Isn't it ironic that we teach our children and reassure ourselves all the time that its what's inside that counts and not the outer appearance and yet spend so very much money on paper and bows which will sparkle beneath the tree for a week or two at most and then be torn beyond recognition? We can all wrap appealing looking gifts for our family and friends without over drafting our bank accounts. In doing so we can save a few trees as well!

GIFT TAGS: While buying a package of gift tags is most likely not going to break the bank here is a simple and extremely inexpensive idea I find adds a special touch to my gifts each year.

Living in the Northwest I am privileged to be surrounded by piles and piles of beautiful multicolored leaves in the fall months leading up to the Christmas season. I like to gather them and press them in a book which I store in a cool dry part of my dining room. When wrapping time comes I like to use a glitter pen to write the names of my gift recipients on the leaves and attach them to the packages using double stick tape.

WRAPPING PAPER: Here are several ideas, requiring various levels of preparation.

You can create a gentle, soft free style effect of wrapping paper by using water color paints and a roll of inexpensive white butcher paper (which can be purchased at in the craft section of most stores).

Another fun idea is to buy packages of simple sponges from the dollar store and cut them into Christmas shapes (you can trace your cookie cutters if the idea of free hand cutting frightens you) and use red, white, green, yellow and gold poster paints to stamp Christmas shapes on brown paper grocery bags which have been cut open to reveal the insides where there are no store logos.

Something else I have done in the past is to collect various boxes through out the months leading up to the holiday season. Every kind of box, tea boxes, shoe boxes, cereal boxes...everything is fair game. Then armed with poster paints I paint a thick base coat of a single color (you could be more creative if you've got the inclination) and use glitter glue and sequence to adorn the tops.

Beautiful scarves and handkerchiefs can be part of the gift and used to wrap smaller gifts like traditional Japanese gift cloths. For tying tips you can simply do a quick Google search and images will show you simple decorative knots.

If you feel less than creative, the comic section of the newspaper is a colorful substitute for gift wrap.

And if traditional is the way you want to go, you can always buy rolls of gift wrap of all types from your local Dollar Store for, yes, $1.00 each.

BOWS AND RIBBONS: Akin to the proverbial cherry on top bows really do make the appearance of the gift.

Its a bit time consuming but gives a great effect. If you have a newspaper lying around, you can spend a couple of hours while you are watching that Christmas special on TV or trying to learn the lyrics for your part in the choir by listening to that track over and over on your iPod. Take the paper and make a tiny little paper chain. The tinier the better. I find that using a pencil to make uniform sized rings very helpful. Use it as you would ribbon and even thread a pipe cleaner through a section to help shape it into any bow form you like to attach to the center of the package.

I also collect all ribbons and bows through out the year. I don't think I've actually purchased any since I was about eighteen.

Basically if you are aiming to be frugal you are going to need to get creative. But hey, that's all part of the holiday fun.

Happy wrapping!

Learn more about this author, Emily Branwell.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.