Frugal Gift Wrapping Ideas

May the star that shone in Bethlehem brighten our path each day. ~Theresa Mary Grass


Wrapping gifts each year is always a challenge for me because I just can't bring myself to spend a lot of money on fancy wrapping paper that gets torn and thrown away. I'm always looking for creative alternatives. Try these fun and easy felt bags this year:

Easy Felt Gift Bags

You'll need:
green and red felt
green or red yarn
large needle
scissors

Cut two 6x7 pieces out of green or red felt or another color if you wish. Sew the sides and bottom of the pieces together to create a bag. Turn the pouch right side out. Thread the large needle with yarn in a different color than the felt and weaving the yarn in and out the felt about 2 1/2" from the top of the bag. Cut the yarn leaving enough length to tie a bow. At this point you can decorate the bag with fabric paint or cut-outs made from the felt, or my favorite--old buttons! You can glue on ric-rac, sequins or other decorative items. Use the bags to put gifts in, or line it with a plastic bag and fill it with cookies.

You can make the bags smaller or larger depending on your needs. If you don't have a sewing machine you can easily hand stitch the sides and bottom and still make the bags. I did this one year by stitching on the outside of the bag with a contrasting thread and kept the stitches a little longer and even. It made it look decorative! You can also use other material and ribbon instead of yarn to create fancier bags.

Some other creative gift wrap ideas:

-Photocopy a collage of family photos on paper and wrap smaller gifts with the copy.

-Use last years Christmas cards for your gift tags. Cut out rectangles from the cards, fold in half, punch a hole and attach a piece of raffia or a skinny silk ribbon to tie it to a gift bag or tape it to a package!

-Wrap kitchen, tea, coffee or cooking related gifts in pretty tea towels, or if you are giving kitchen gadgets place them in an oven mitt and tie a gift tag to it!

-Garden themed gifts can be placed in a pretty planter, then wrapped with colored plastic wrap, fabric or tulle---gather at the top and tie with a matching ribbon. You can also place a small amount of rubber cement on the back of seed packets, allow it to dry and then stick the packet to a gift bag or card for a neat gift.

On OFL we have tips for creating a memory album:
http://oldfashionedliving.com/holidays/cmasalbum.html

~Brenda