Have you ever tried to wrap a large gift? It can take an entire roll of wrapping paper, or sometimes even two rolls, depending on what you have and the size of the gift. That is definitely not frugal, especially if you didn’t take advantage of last year’s after holiday sales to stock up on wrapping paper.
My favorite way to wrap large presents cost only $1 or less. Head over to your local dollar or discount store. No, don’t buy any wrapping paper there. Instead, go over to the section in which they keep the paper tablecloths. The tablecloths are definitely large enough to wrap the big presents, and the tablecloths come in a variety of festive holiday designs.
This next idea takes a little more work, but it can be a lot of fun for the kids. Buy the end of a newsprint roll (you can get one or two from a local newspaper or printer). You might even be able to get the roll ends for free. Wrap your gift, and then have the kids decorate it with crayons, markers, paint, stamped designs and more. You’ll wind up with unique holiday gift wrap. If you can’t get a hold of newsprint, try a lightweight brown paper to decorate.
Instead of using your entire stock of wrapping paper to wrap a big gift, try wrapping a small one instead, one that represents or points to the real present. How? Here are two ideas. You can take a photo of the real gift and wrap the photo. You can also set up a treasure hunt through the house for the gift and just wrap the clues. This can be a really fun game for your gift recipient to play.
Another cute and easy way to wrap a large gift is to envelop it in a clean, crisp sheet and tie it with a bow. And since you can use the sheet in your home, it is a green way to go. Not only are you being frugal, but you are being kind to the earth, when you don’t use paper at all!
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
Related Articles:
Stocking Stuffer Picks from the Dollar Store
Frugal and Creative Gift Wrap Ideas
Naughty and Nice Snowman Gifts