I love wrapping gifts. I know that is a pretty divisive statement, but I do, I love it. Some of you are right there with me…while others of you are rolling your eyes, I’m sure. ;)

One of the keys to ensuring I continue to love the gift wrapping process is to make sure I get all my gifts bought early. Now…early present buying is another divisive topic, but I like to complete the *majority* of my holiday shopping in November, and let me tell you, it’s amazing! Call me crazy, or crazy prepared. Either way, by December 1, I’m ready to start thinking about gift wrap! And because I’m done so early, my gift-wrapping can actually double as Christmas decor since they’ll be sitting under the tree for weeks! Win/win! 

Gift wrap has always been a very important piece of the holiday puzzle for me because I love giving gifts that are literally wrapped in love. And what’s better than unique wrapping paper? As a creative person, this is so fun for me! I know it can feel intimidating, however, it doesn’t have to be hard! Today I wanted to share with you how I use standard (and less expensive!!) brown Kraft paper as holiday gift wrap and the different ways I style it! 

Gathering Supplies 

One of the first things I do when preparing to wrap my gifts is pull together items I can use that I already have!  This could be you going through your craft closet or some of your décor bins, or it could be looking through leftover scraps in your Christmas décor bins! I love finding pieces of faux trees or wreaths that have fallen off during the storage process from last year. I pull those extra sprigs out of the bottom of the bin and use them with my wrapping paper! 

Some other items that tend to come in handy:

⁃ sharpie pens (black, gold, silver are fun colors to use here)

⁃ any stamps you may have that are festive

⁃ paint 

⁃ toilet paper rolls or leftover cardboard 

⁃ holiday ribbon/twine/washi tape/bakers twine

⁃ greenery (faux or real) 

⁃ scissors & tape

Use Sharpie

Once I have some of these items complied, I look at what looks good together and find some holiday inspiration. One of the main pieces I took inspiration from was the design on the Decocrated 2021 Winter box! I loved the pattern on the box this season so I took out my sharpie and freehanded some snowflakes, bows, and stars! Cute right? I also love the wooden village from last year’s Decocrated winter box, so I tried to freehand those too!  I love how they turned out! Sharpie and Kraft paper are such a fun combo! The possibilities are endless! 

Use Garland & Twine

Remember those scraps of garland and wreath I told you to gather? Simply wrap your present in Kraft paper, tie it with twine and tuck a cute little sprig into the twine pocket. It’s so simple but it’s so darling!! 

Use Stamps

This is such a quick and easy way to decorate your wrapping paper. I love using a black stamp pad but you can use any color you have! Stamp randomly or in a pattern, all cute! When I don’t have the right stamps or the right ink color, I’ll use a toilet paper roll and paint - sounds crazy but I shaped this toilet paper roll into a star and stamped it with white paint. What do you think? I think it’s so subtle and yet brings the wrapping paper to life! So festive! 

 As you can probably tell, the possibilities are endless here! You truly don’t have to buy anything new to make a special gift wrap! I challenge you to source what you have around the house - I find that encourages even more creativity because I’m working within the boundaries of what I have. Such a fun challenge! 

My favorite part is seeing all the gift wrap together! I have them piled into the Decocrated Wood & Metal tray from the Winter 2021 box - I’m obsessed! I love how the patterns, textures, and colors really come together! I hope these ideas will inspire you, too! 

Happy wrapping! 

xoxo,

Becca 

About the Author

Becca is in her early 30’s and lives just outside Seattle with her husband, whom she met on Tinder (crazy, right!?), and her two kids Macey and Harrison. Life is pretty full with two young kids, but in her “free time,” Becca loves a good mani-pedi, a hike with her family in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, or a day-date to bubble tea with her daughter. You can find her on Instagram here: www.Instagram.com/drivingmissmacey or her blog: www.drivingmissmacey.com.