by frog
Today is December 20 and unless you’re all masochists and love being crushed by sweaty, bag-laden shoppers in the last minute Christmas shopping frenzy, all your present purchases are tucked away in the wardrobe – right?
But now comes the hard part – the wrapping!
This year, instead of adding to the mountains of colourful waste paper with little Santas on it that end up in the landfill – why not try to be a little Green?
Here’s a list of (not so serious) suggestions of ways to avoid wrapping paper.
* Do what Martha Stewart would do – buy a nice tea towel and wrap the present in that
* An old t-shirt would work too
* Odd socks can be used for smaller presents – don’t forget to wash it first
* If you’re in the South, you can stuff the gift into a milk bottle – after all it’s no good for anything else now – and you can use it again next year!
* Wrap presents in nori so your friends have to eat their way to their gifts
* Just leave it in the bag you bought it in – after all they’ll probably hate it anyway and want to take it back for a refund
* Bury the presents in the compost pile and tell your friends approximately where their’s is located
But seriously, Christmas may be a time of excess – especially on the waistline – but it doesn’t mean you can’t spare a thought for the planet as well.
Save your wrapping paper and reuse it next Christmas – you’ll be surprised how many years’ use you can get out of a roll. 
Published in Society & Culture by frog on Tue, December 20th, 2005
Tags: environment
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
i use newspaper….nippers don’t care…
phil(whoar.co.nz)
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My family all used newspaper one year. It might have looked a bit odd to have had a couple of boxes like that in amongst more colourfully wrapped gifts, but with most of them like that it actually really good.
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You say they are not serious, but in an extended family of 6 there are a lot of old socks!
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I’m going to quote from a loverley card I got the other day;
“The how to save the planet & have a great time at Christmas Card…”
after the buy local wisely & waste-free gift guide…there’s this marvellous piece
“- and remember to give not things that fall apart or that they already have too much or too many of…. and wrap lovingly and sparingly and save wrapper & string, card, ribbon and bow for next time, for a beautiful planet is best seved by those who do live reverently & frugally…..”
Thanks to Mike Ward, and the combined talents of Nelson and Christchurch Greens who have put together this fabulous Christmas reminder of simple ways to consume less and waste less in this time of over-consumption and spiralling debt-mongering!
I’ve been saving & re-using special ribbons & bows for so long, my kids like to find out who’s getting their favourite combinations each year; there’s always a scramble to collect the beautiful leftovers of new packaging, as well as the treasured old fav’s, when we clear up at the end of present-time, whether it’s birthday’s or christmas.
This can become a family tradition in no time if well-fostered, especially if a moment is taken to admire the work gone in to wrapping before shredding it to reveal the interior mysteries! This does get easier to do as kids get older, mind you
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Mike Ward is definately an inspiration at this time of year…
http://www.greens.org.nz/searchdocs/other8153.html
“How to show the ones you care about that you care about them … without breaking the bank or destroying the planet! ”
or worldvision’s gifts of hope
https://worldvision.org.nz/form_purchase.asp
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I’m presuming you mean ‘theirs’.
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Adam!
another grammar nazi! such a find, proof-reading is so dreary on my own!
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This mornng I saw how smart most of my gifts look without any wrapping, eg wine, organic chocs, so I just taped my small greeting card to them.
Brown paper is modern chic these days too, so I’m reusing the few bags i accepted when I bought things, plus some from earlier savings.
See the halo? The real benefit is the talking point with others about why I packed/ didn’t pack so
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Brown paper packages tied up with string!
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i’ve been conversing with my mother this morning on the merits of buying ONLY locally produced–made by me–or fair traded presents. and of course i’m using all recycled wrapping paper.. enhanced with rafia and shells from other summer holidays…
happy christmas, greenies.
x
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