That's a wrap

Don't come in here!

That simple phrase is heard throughout the Ketterling household in the days leading up to Christmas as family members scramble to wrap presents that have, until the last possible second, been hiding behind sheets or in bags deep in the recesses of our closets.

While I had a slight head start on certain items, the majority of the gifts I'm giving this Christmas are still as bare as our Christmas tree. Yes, we're a family of (very busy) procrastinators, who believe in getting in the Christmas spirit at most a week in advance of the big event.

Having a ban on Christmas music anytime before the 12 days of Christmas seems worth it; not wrapping your presents until the 24th... not so much.

But leaving things until the last minute isn't an excuse for shoving everything in gift bags. Therefore, may I introduce the procrastinator's way to beautiful gifts.

I wrap my presents in brown packing paper. You can find this at the dollar store or at your local Canada Post office. If you happen to find a packing paper without the shiny side you can also recycle it. This is a huge benefit, because though I'm not a uber-environmentalist, throwing out bags and bags of wrapping paper is enough to really draw attention to the mindless wastefulness of the Christmas season.

Newsprint does a similar job. I love the look of newsprint (go figure), and wrapping up gifts in the comic section can bring a little bit of whimsy to children's gifts.

The nice thing about these papers is that you don't need to worry about it creasing. It actually looks better when it's been roughed up a little bit. Traditional wrapping paper tends to crack and show the white backing if it's folded or rubbed too much. Brown paper and newsprint don't look any worse for wear if they're manhandled. The packages in all of these photos traveled with me on the bus back home (shoved 

in the bottom of a bag) and looked as nice at the end as they did when I first wrapped them.

I finish the wrapping off with some kitchen twine, which can also be reused and is far more practical than ribbon.

If you're really ambitious you can find real berries or pine cones to "garnish" your packages.  I bought mine at the dollar store.  Use the kitchen twine to tie them on.


Posted by:  Jean

* NB Environment Minister offers some advice on being environmentally-friendly over the holidays: http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2010.12.1852.html

* Some facts about wrapping paper:  http://earth911.com/recycling/paper/wrapping-paper/facts-about-recycling-wrapping-paper/