Now that the gifts are bought WITHOUT going into debt and WHILE staying on budget, here are a few ideas for how to wrap them for less.
As with most of the articles I’ve posted so far, the 2 best ways to save are to (1) Buy on clearance and (2) Make it yourself.
You guys already get the whole buying on clearance thing (the week AFTER Christmas is going to be your best bet for grabbing some awesome wrapping paper deals).
And as far as making it yourself goes, well, once again, I’ve found a good portion of my frugal wrapping inspiration from Pinterest! Seriously, go sign up if you haven’t already! 🙂
First off, and probably the easiest way to save, it to get a HUGE roll of 200 feet (yes, FEET) of brown paper from Amazon for only $20! Then you can use it to wrap pretty much any present no matter how big or how small, and you should definitely have enough to last you through many holiday seasons!
Do you have any old maps in your closet? Maybe an outdated atlas? Just use red, green, or blue ribbon to make it festive and put it to good use!
Oh my!! I absolutely LOVE this idea!! Print sheet music onto regular white copy paper for smaller gifts and use it to wrap your presents! You can find all kinds of free public-domain sheet music to print too!
This next one would obviously take a little longer, but would be super fun for kids to do! And you can add some dye to the paper to make it different colors!
Wrapping your gift in a pillowcase is such a great idea! And what could be better than one that you made yourself?
And if you’re going to go for the paper bag look, here’s a fun way to dress it up with big cut-out names!
I love these stamp ideas below too! Just click on a picture to find more instructions on how to make it.
What about all of you? Which ideas inspire you? How do you save money on wrapping paper each year?
This year I’m wrapping all of my presents in Trader Joe’s Paper Bags
buy it on clearance…store it in the attic.
I buy it on clearance after Christmas and store it with our Christmas decorations until the following Christmas!
Buy on clearance the year before. I usually wind up paying a dollar or so for a roll that lasts me a few years!!!
Dollar Tree
costco, and make sure I dont buy something you can only use at christmas, then you can add ribbons and such to make it fit for the holiday.
This year I bought it at Walgreens after Thanksgiving for .67 a roll.
Frugal girl.com makes some gorgeous bags.
On clearance the year before, store it with holiday ornaments and we are good to go. Haven’t had to buy any in 3 years
I buy it the year before. In the past, I’ve also used the free news papers that they have around the neighborhoods.
I always splurge and buy nice paper… probably spend too much, but oh well, its my little thing. I’m a fan of the really nice and thick paper in pretty patterns, which usually requires me to buy it at full price when it first hits the store 🙂
Try to always pay year before on clearance , If not ask for paper bags at store , Some stores have great colors that can be used to wrap ( victoria secrets -hot pink , old navy -deep blue , tommy hillfigure- denim look) add with festive ribbon or bows and it looks really good !! Oh and recyle gift bags, ribbons and bows if in great condition from gifts you recieve. Most ppl cannot remember what gift bag they put your gift in a year before ! Especially the holiday ones !!
Sams and Hobby Lobby have alot on the rolls for the money and Hobby Lobby has theirs for 1/2 price.
Look for wrapping paper and bows at the estate sales. You can sometimes find some cool retro paper doing this; but the appeal is a variety of paper on the cheap.
Always do post-holiday clearance. But I’m known for getting a few rolls from some of my friends kids fundraisers (that’s always good quality paper!)
With all the Hallmark $5 off $10 coupons I can get some really cheap paper. I like the grid they print on the backside, helps me cut it straight 🙂
A friend of mine actually sewed bags of all different sizes with Christmas themed fabric and “wraps” gifts that way. Lots of little santa sacks under the tree.
Butcher paper!
I always buy it after christmas for the next year. Also I use bags for my family and then collect and reuse the bags the next year!
buy it at 75-90% off and at yards sales for .25–.50 cents a roll. Once I got 20 roll of unopened parper WITH a tub for $5.00 for all!!!!!I make gift bags out of envelopes and gift boxes from greeting cards!!!
cut smaller sheets from nice recycled paper from last year. Make tags from old card fronts and ‘stickers’ from the smaller inside picture.
Year before clearance. If I run out I recycle brown paper bags. I also reuse gift bags. In my family they get passed back and forth and around for a LONG time!
I usually wrap in newspaper and add festive/colorful ribbons and tags
I don’t wrap. Eveyone gets a big bag usually from the dollar store that I reuse every year, I fill with the gifts.
I don’t wrap. Eveyone gets a big bag usually from the dollar store that I reuse every year, I fill with the gifts.
After-Christmas clearance, and thrift stores. I probably have enough wrapping supplies to last 5 years, and it probably cost me all of $25.
I also like cut open paper grocery bags and pretty them up with Christmas-themed rubber stamps or just drawing/coloring. Fun project to do with kids too!
After-Christmas clearance, and thrift stores. I probably have enough wrapping supplies to last 5 years, and it probably cost me all of $25.
I also like cut open paper grocery bags and pretty them up with Christmas-themed rubber stamps or just drawing/coloring. Fun project to do with kids too!
Same as another poster, I’ve been using the $5/5 and $10 Hallmark coupons, their paper is really good quality. Even this year with only $5/$10 I think its still a good deal and they last for a couple years for me.
Same as another poster, I’ve been using the $5/5 and $10 Hallmark coupons, their paper is really good quality. Even this year with only $5/$10 I think its still a good deal and they last for a couple years for me.
I wait for the after Christmas clearances. I try to get to Hobby Lobby to buy it. They seem to have the best prices and larger rolls.
I wait for the after Christmas clearances. I try to get to Hobby Lobby to buy it. They seem to have the best prices and larger rolls.
I’ve been putting my gifts in the reusable shopping bags. You can normally get sports teams, i.e., Cardinals, Cubs, etc. at Meijer’s and Toys r Us have ones the kids will like. Marshall’s also has a wide variety. Just add a pretty bow and/or ribbon. This way I don’t feel bad about spending money on paper that is going to be thrown away and the recipient gets a bag they can reuse. The people I have done this for have really liked it.
Walgreens had a B1G2 free sale. For 50 sq ft at 1.99 I thought this was awesome. It was Disney themed too! <3 Walgreens.
i dont wrap gifts or give cards i do the gift bag or nothing….i sound awful or lazy but i just really figured out that nobody cares about the wrapping its whats inside that counts & if they do care then they dont deserve the gift in the 1st place. about 6 years ago my family & i decided we would no longer exchange or buy christmas gifts because it has just become expected, comercialized, & a burden that is 100% avoidable. we enjoy christmas so much more now, spend the day together, cooking, listening to music, playing games, TALKING & watching christmas movies. if there were small kids in our family it would be a different story but no lil ones. i love our christmas’ now & only wish we would have ended gift giving 20 years ago.
Use the $5 off a $5 kohls email coupon. They sell theirs for $2.49 a roll so get 2 for free or buy 3 for 83¢ a roll 🙂
I buy my wrapping paper from the elementary school fundraising & Sams Club.
I buy my wrapping paper from the elementary school fundraising & Sams Club.
DOLLA STORE!
DOLLA STORE!
We strongly suggest “wrapping” gifts in reusable tote bags. This is beginning to catch up for children’s birthday parties as well. If you desire, the bags can then be donated to a project like ours to support local food pantries — less waste and a new purpose for the bag. However, gifting someone with a sturdy tote bag of their own, especially branded with something they really like, encourage them to use the bags on a regular basis. So it is a win/win.
Tote Bags!
These are AWESOME!!
I am especially in love with the map ideas. 🙂
I use brown paper then buy cheep Christmas fabric and cut it into 1-2 inch strips for ribbon. It’s way cheeper than buying ribbon, and some places will even cut it for you!
You can also use the giant rolls of contractor paper at Home Depot for kraft paper. Cheapet and works great. Awesome list thank you.