Article: 23 ways to spend nothing on gift wrap
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Have the gifts? Now wrap them for cheap! These tips come from Stacy Johnson on MSN.com:
Free wrapping paper:
- Maps. Outdated maps make novel wrapping paper, as do the map inserts that often come in National Geographic magazines.
- Magazines. Colorful magazine pages make unique wrapping paper for small boxed gifts. If you don't subscribe to any magazines, ask friends or family for their old issues, or inquire at your local recycling center. Just don't steal from your neighbor's curbside recycling bin. You may have seen extreme couponers do it on TV, but scavenging is illegal in some locations.
- Comics. The funnies section of the Sunday newspaper makes great wrapping paper for kids' gifts. Again, ask friends or family for their old newspapers or visit a recycling center.
- Newsprint. Other sections of the newspaper work too. Special weekend sections of national newspapers often feature fancy images and designs. (I often use my father's weekend Wall Street Journal.)
- Wallpaper. If you happen to have leftover wallpaper in the garage, it makes unique wrapping paper.
- Old book pages. Do you own books that collect dust in a corner because you never read or need them anymore but never got around to donating or selling them? Remove the binding (paperbacks cooperate better than hard covers), and use the pages as wrapping paper.
- Brown bags. Grocery bags makes sturdy if plain wrapping paper.
- Shopping bags. The inside of paper shopping bags (often used by mall-based stores) and the outside of colorful ones also work.
- Used wrapping paper. Sometimes wrapping paper is torn to pieces when a gift is opened, but it's often left intact and unwrinkled enough to reuse.
- Homemade wrapping paper. Certain types of free wrapping paper materials make drab gift wrap. But you can jazz it up with paint, crayons, stickers, stamps, or whatever arts and crafts supplies you have on hand. Your plain wrap will become a personalized conversation starter. This is also a great way to involve the kids, especially if they aren't yet coordinated enough to help you wrap gifts.
