Toppers
Bows start to show their age, and ribbons get cut to size, so most of the classic present toppers aren't very re-usable. Here are some ideas that I found that are more environment friendly:
Old picture books make great toppers. An old book that you have no one to give to, or is ripped and ratty, can make a useful addition to your wrapping arsenal. If you wrap a gift in plain paper, and cut out a silhouette on a picture, like this one of a cat, it looks great and uses something that would have gotten thrown out.
Yarn can be a great alternative to ribbon. While yarn isn't usually recycled either, it is a natural fiber, unlike most ribbons, which have plastic in them. A similar alternative to yarn is twine.
Beads, Glass, and Bobbles make great present toppers, because they add a little bit of sparkle and look pretty, but usually just clutter up the home. If you are going to buy a little bobble or some beads for your present, a good place to look is a thrift store, because you will likely find a great sparkly item at a low cost, that you are now re-using.
Back to Nature. One very environmentally conscious idea is to use something from the garden. Pine cones, a branch with some berries, some leaves, or any other aesthetically pleasing thing you find one winter's eve can make an interesting and seasonal topper to your gift.
Fill
Styrofoam is the most common thing to use to keep something fragile from breaking, but is a nightmare to recycle. So here are some things to help keep your gift safe, without the recycling problems.
Shredded paper. Shredded paper is far better for recycling then Styrofoam, while giving your gift a cushion.
Peanuts. Instead of Styrofoam peanuts, one choice is real peanuts (with shell).
Popcorn. Popcorn is very comparable to Styrofoam peanuts for its weight and texture.
Bough. A bough from a evergreen is a really pretty packing material that even smells Christmas-y.
What do you use? What do you think Comment comment comment please!
Love the idea of cutting the pages of old books into shapes and decorating a gift with them. I also am very excited to try out your popcorn packing idea. Not only will I use it myself but I'll pass it on to my customers as I work at Canada Post. A light environmentally friendly packing material will be extremely popular.
ReplyDeletefor the corporate people out there - there are environmentally friendly peanut filler products out there already. We just need to make the time and commitment to change old ways! http://www.starchtech.com/
ReplyDeletejust thought of something else...old christmas cards, if you still have last years cards lying around in a drawer, cut out the fronts if there's no writing on the back. They make fabulous gift tags. If not, save the fronts of this years cards and make your own gift tags for next year!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I really appreciat that you are planning on passing it on, and I checked out strachtech and it sounds like a great product. Also I really like the idea of using old christmas cards :)
ReplyDeleteI don't really use toppers, but these all look like pretty/easy ideas to do.
ReplyDelete