It’s that time of the year again where I shamefully plug my Christmas brown wrapping paper ideas from a few years ago which blew up on social media and Pinterest. I am still a huge fan and advocate of wrapping with brown kraft paper at Christmas because it is fully recyclable, and sustainable. Christmas already generates a huge amount of waste and whilst glossy, shiny paper looks gorgeous, it cannot be recycled.
As I’ve demonstrated before, brown wrapping paper is by far not a boring look, but you do need to be slightly more creative! I’ve compiled some more totally simple, yet gorgeous Christmas brown wrapping paper ideas that anyone can create. If you’re looking to go fully sustainable this year too, I have given some tips on how you can wrap those presents without tape!
Ribbon & Baubles
A gorgeous length of ribbon adds elegance and luxe to any brown parcel. It’s a common misconception to think that brown wrapping paper is boring, which it is.. But you just have to be more creative, and with the right elements it can look beautiful, and anything but boring. Ribbons are perfect for wrapping round a brown parcel, but don’t forget the toppers! I love using mini baubles for toppers, they look amazing and the recipient can reuse them again or add to their tree. Some other great present topper ideas are;
- Mini baubles
- Pom poms
- Foliage
- Bows
- Candy canes
Pom poms are SO easy to make from scratch and add a cute finishing touch to presents, just make sure you leave some thread at the end to tie into the gift tag so it holds securely.
Christmas Gift Tags
There’s two things that go hand in hand with brown wrapping paper when wrapping Christmas presents and that’s bakers twine, and natural gift tags. Aura Print offer the option to create both personalised Christmas cards and personalised Christmas tags, you can upload your own design, choose the measurements for your design and where you want the hole for the strings to go. You have complete control over the end design, you can even select what type of paper you want the tags to be. I opted for the standard Kraft paper as I knew this would work in harmony with the brown wrapping. As you can see, no matter what theme I opted for on the wrapping, the gift tags work with each one, the devil really is in the detail! Christmas gift tags are that finishing detail that doesn’t go unnoticed and they’re so much more personal than off the shelf gift tags.
I love the personal touch that custom gift tags bring to a wrapped present, if you’re doing corporate gifting too they would be perfect for this. Allowing you to add a continual message on each tag without spending hours doing it manually!
Foliage
Foliage and cuttings from a real Christmas tree look perfect as present toppers beneath a gift tag. On a Christmas tree just make cuttings from the back of the tree, so you won’t notice if one spot looks slightly balder! Some foliage is ideal for more rustic styled presents, team with twine and pine cones for a natural and sustainable look.
Over the years I’ve collected so many little bits of ribbons, baubles and things that can be used as toppers. One of those things is these little bells, I’ve had a lot of Lindt bunnies and reindeers over the years, OK. In all seriousness though, these little bells from those delicious mounds of chocolate look great on wrapped presents for a unique touch.
How To Wrap Presents Without Tape
Even I was stumped with this one for a short while, but you can still deliver those exceptional wrapping skills without tape, and it means that everything is fully recyclable, and sustainable without having to peel the tape off first.
There are a few different ways that you can effectively wrap without tape, whilst presents still look immaculately wrapped and you won’t be able to peep beneath the layers…
- Use Glue – unbelievably the easiest way to wrap without using tape is by using glue. Brown paper is known for being very rigid, depending on the type you buy so you’re going to need something stronger than a standard pritt stick. An ultra stick or liquid glue is ideal, don’t assume it automatically sticks though, I’d recommend wrapping some twine or ribbon around the sides straight away so the glue holds. It’s only more fiddly if you let it be!
- Use Twine & Ribbons – when wrapping the present and holding the folds over in place, wrap a ribbon or twine straight around it on both sides to securely fasten it in place. This is probably the easiest method asides from using tape!
Wrapping Christmas presents with brown paper is such a good opportunity to be creative, get those Christmas films on and make a mandatory hot chocolate with marshmallows and let those creative juices flow! What’s your favourite wrapped look?
