Healthy Beauty & Style Guide

Thanksgiving is around the corner, and the holidays are on your mind. You are making your (gift giving) list, and checking it twice, and now it is time to wrap it up…concienctiously! Just how do we do it? Here we have Amity Hook-Sopko, of Green Gifts Guide.com, the expert in green gift giving, to share a few fabulous ideas. Pull up a seat, grab your list, and take some notes. This is good stuff.

Lisa

It’s the holiday season, and whether you buy or make your gifts – you’ll be ready to start wrapping soon.  If you’re into the green lifestyle, you’re most likely searching for eco-friendly or Fair Trade gifts… something that helps not only your recipient, but also the planet and the people who helped make the items you give.

 So why we would go to all that trouble choosing the perfect green gift, and then wrap it wastefully?

Many people don’t think about the impact of how they wrap the gifts they give.  Some of us think, “It’s just paper, it’s recyclable.”  But because of the laminates, dyes, glitter, etc., most wrapping paper doesn’t get recycled. 

Not to mention the fact that a roll of wrapping paper costs anywhere from $2 to $20.  Talk about throwing your money away!

Green gift giving takes it a step further.  Not only do we want to give a gift our recipient will enjoy, we make the conscious decision not to create a bunch of waste. 

So next time you’re wrapping gifts, look for ways to use things you already have.      

• Think Outside the Box – Place gifts inside a small metal gardening bucket.  Don’t worry about tissue paper or plastic wrap.  Same thing for baskets, watering cans, or flower pots. Just tie a festive ribbon around the base or on the handle and let the gift speak for itself.
•  Kitchen Classy – Wrap your gift in a colorful kitchen towel and tie a bow around it.  Oven mitts make a nice pocket to slip a gift inside.  Aprons are fun, and they already have the strings to tie up the present!  And kitchen canisters can hold small gifts.
•  Fabric Freedom – Furoshiki is an age-old tradition in Japan.  It is the art of wrapping a gift in a beautiful, useful fabric.  It’s surprisingly simple to do and looks amazing!  Fabric gift bags are another simple, chic option.  Drop your gift in, tie the drawstring, and give it in style.  And speaking of chic gifts, one of our favorite green beauty gifts is right here on Style Essentials and comes in it’s own fabric gift bag.  How simple is that?!  
• Recycled Papers – Wrapping gifts in newspaper is very practical, and thanks to Pinterest, you can find inspiration on wrapping in style!  Old travel maps or sheet music make a creative presentation.  If you’ve moved, save the packing paper to wrap a collection of gifts and add simple ribbons for a utilitarian look.
•   Don’t Toss the Box – Decorative boxes make a simple presentation.  Put those leftover boxes to use all year long by wrapping in gift boxes, hat boxes, lunch boxes, tool boxes… you get the idea.
•  Embellishments – Save beautiful images from cards to use as a gift tag for the next gift you give.  Punch a hole and tie a ribbon to dress up any present.  Or try plantable gift tags.  Made from paper embedded with seeds, your recipient can just plant the tag and watch it grow.  Don’t forget the recycled trinket or ornament to add a splash of color to your gift.

Remember – greening your life is not about adding more stress.  A roll of natural or red twine can dress up almost any gift!

 Author Bio

Amity created Green Gifts Guide with her passion for making special occasions more meaningful. She believes people are more important than things, and that gifts don’t always have to be “stuff.”  They can include experiences, the gift of our time, or even something found at a vintage or secondhand store.

Amity is a regular contributor to Green Child Magazine and was voted one of the 2011 Top 25 Eco-Friendly Moms at CircleofMoms.com.  When she’s not blogging, you can find her hanging out with her husband and two sons, volunteering at the local Humane Society, or ironing vintage maps and papers to use as gift-wrap.

You can connect with her on Facebook or Twitter.