Recycled Paper Gift Bags – easy and sustainable Christmas wrapping

Mr M and I chat a lot about our planet and never more so than in recent weeks. Amongst other issues we eternally debate my need to wash and reuse plastic food bags, you know the sort, dried pasta, rice, beans, cereals. He believes I’ll never save the planet and I know I won’t. Instead, I aim to do my bit and to be honest, it stops me buying any plastic bags at all. This blog is no stranger to the idea of recycling where possible. Today though and with only a little over six weeks to go until the big day itself, I want to take a look at Christmas wrapping. And I am making my own Christmas pledge right here; not a scrap of Christmas wrapping paper nor a Christmas card shall I buy this year. Nor shall I buy any ingredients to craft Christmas wrapping or festive cards. Everything I use shall come from what I already have and I hope after today’s post I might inspire you to try something similar yourself. Today I am making recycled paper gift bags, pretty ones of course, from a variety of everyday papers hanging around our homes. Do join me…  

According to the GWP Group who have updated their Christmas packaging facts this October 2021, the amount of gift-wrapping paper alone thrown away this Christmas could reach to the moon – equivalent to 384,400km; that’s a lot, even to a girl who has never been too good with figures. In simpler terms, the average household will use four rolls of wrapping paper each with much of it being non-recyclable. And that’s just gift wrap. Then there’s the cards, the tags, the tape, the boxes, the ribbons and so it goes on. This article proves interesting reading and more importantly shows where we can all make a difference. A timely reminder perhaps that Christmas wrapping really need not cost the earth. And if you read nothing else, the paragraph on brussel sprouts is an eye opener. In more ways than one.

And so, it got me thinking about the way I might wrap my gifts this year. Brown paper packages tied up in string – and ribbon I already have – will of course feature. And I love to gift a precious present in a fabric bag or two. These money pouches always come in handy themed with the recipient in mind and work particularly well with gifts of store or cinema vouchers too. And if your family gifts ‘favours’ to one another at Christmas time, they could be simply typed or hand-written and sealed in one of these for an extra special surprise. And of course it is my choice not to buy any other gift wrap this year; I don’t need to, I have enough stuff here to get creative. I still fully advocate buying from our lovely independents building sustainable businesses themselves, selling ethically made and sourced products. They need our support too.

Back to bags. Very often a gift needs a bag of its own doesn’t it? I found a zillion ideas on Pinterest for recycled gift bags which I adapted to be a little more in keeping with my style. I made this one from an old newspaper and purposely kept the rugby image to the front of the bag knowing someone who this might be just the perfect bag for. In my opinion the instructions for this gift bag were complicated so I’ve not linked to the site however if you search for recycled paper gift bags or similar in any search engine, you’re sure to find something suitable.

Here is my tutorial, adapted from several others which I’ve kept as simple as possible so you can make lots of them quickly and easily. Remember that old acronym K I S S… And for these bags you need only three ingredients: pretty paper, scissors and washi tape. That’s it. So for a homemade gift bag with finished measurements of approximately 16cm x 14cm begin with a piece of paper measuring approximately 30cm x 21cm. I used a page from that gorgeous Kate Forman catalogue again. Ssh, it’s our secret remember. Fold the long edge up approximately 2.5cm and crease, this will create an opening to your bag.

Then fold both the shorter edges to meet in the middle. You’ll end up with the second photo below.

Take your washi tape and run a strip along where the two flaps meet to secure. Then take the short end you haven’t yet folded and fold up approximately 4cm. This will form the base of your gift bag.

Go ahead and open up that fold and press in the short sides as shown in the photos below.

And now fold the longer edges of those two short sides inwards to meet one another – first photo below – and stick in place again with your washi tape. NB: extend your washi tape like I have done in the second photo below, to give more support as this becomes the base of your bag.

Gently ease and fiddle around until you have your no-nonsense, environmentally friendly, recycled paper gift bag. And now you can get creative with how you’ll secure these homemade bags. I used a teeny wooden peg and some sweet dried flowers for a simple fastening and added a paper decoration which came in a vintage paper pack sometime ago as a gift tag. I’m thinking mini books and scented candles or perhaps chocolates or linen lavender hearts would be perfect in a pretty bag like this. Simply scale up and down to make recycled Christmas gift bags in your own shapes and sizes.

Here’s a top tip: Try to keep your recipient in mind to make your gift bag even more personal. For children you could use a comic page, home lovers might enjoy a page from an interior’s magazine, foodies a cookery page from a glossy magazine and gardeners will certainly be wowed with a page from the weekend supplement.

And isn’t there always someone to gift a favourite tipple to at Christmas? I thought these timely pages from a recent newspaper, kindly donated by a friend and neighbour, might find their way back again when we meet for some festive fun.

To make a recycled newspaper wine bottle bag, follow the same method as above although your newspaper should be 41cm x 28cm, to finish with a bag measuring 34cm x 14cm – all approximately. Strength and reinforcement are key with this bag though. I would suggest using several layers of newspaper; I used five and I stuck all the flaps at the base of the bag, with paper glue. I further reinforced the base of the bag with a piece of sturdy card glued into place inside the bag. And I added hole reinforcers – aged in black coffee – to strengthen the handles. I used a strong clear tape I already had rather than my washi tape since I didn’t want to take any chances with broken bottles: I hate to see wine needlessly wasted. Just needs a gift tag now, which I think I’ll make myself this year too. And with time fast running out as usual, all I need is a ten-day week, did anyone find one yet?

So, will you be making your own recycled paper gift bags this year do you think? I feel it will be one of those rainy-day kinds of crafts. Fire lit, candles all-a-glow, the essential Christmas movie and of course a mince pie or two. Do you know, I might just be in the mood. Until next time…x