In a few months, Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor will celebrate its 30^th anniversary.  As we designed our 2016 calendar, we used the opportunity to renew our commitment to our environment and to announce our Trash Responsibly™ campaign.  We hope you will join us to make some responsible choices that will have a positive impact on our Blackstone Valley during the holidays.  Let’s start with holiday gift wrapping.

Here are 25 ideas I have collected for replacing new holiday paper gift wrap with eco-friendly alternatives.

1. Old maps – like the one that has been stuffed under your car seat forever! Just flatten it out and use it for an interesting covering for your gifts.
2. Glass jars – these could be anything from a small olive jar to a large jam jar. It’s very apropos when giving a food gift.  Baby food jars are especially nice for jewelry.  Wrap a piece of ribbon around the edge and voila!
3. The Classic Choice – reuse a gift bag…many times!
4. Reusable shopping bags from the grocery or other sources – it is a great way to camouflage a gift but also it’s something the receiver can continue to use to the benefit of our environment in the New Year.
5. Berries, branches, rose hips and pinecones – make wonderful embellishments to packages but can be gathered from the back yard. No need for expensive ribbons and bows!
6. Make the wrap the gift! Use a scarf to tie up a present…or a shawl, hat, tea towel or other item.  For larger gifts use a tablecloth, smaller ones a napkin.
7. Sewers have it made! Use scraps of fabric to create different sizes and shapes of bags that can be reused again by others!
8. Newspaper – is not as common as it once was but still plentiful. Instead of recycling those pages each week use them to wrap a present and be proud to recycle.  The Funnies are particularly colorful!
9. Skip the tape (often petroleum-based) and opt for natural twine or yarn.
10. Tins – those gifts of cookies from your neighbor last year can be your this-year gift of fudge to your aunt.

11. Gift wrap from previous years – save it, store it, iron it (lowest setting) and reuse it! See how long it can last from year to year…  a great competition to initiate with family and friends.
12. Old Christmas cards make great new gift tags.
13. Wallpaper – old roles of unused wallpaper or books of samples make wonderful wrappings, drawer liners, school book covers, etc.
14. Boxes and baskets – another obvious choice and again, can be reused over and over.
15. Old Calendars – they have wonderful photos and some have pages that are quite large.
16. Aluminum foil – stretch it out carefully and “press” with a rolling pin to add some “glitz” to your wrapping.
17. Larger leaves and birch bark handled carefully can cover a small gift.
18. Need fillers? Try air-popped popcorn and unsalted peanuts, especially if the gift is going to an always-hungry student!.
19. Posters make great wraps for larger gifts, as do blue prints.
20. Potato chip bags – I am told that this is a tip that originated from Martha Stewart. Turn the potato chip bag inside out to reveal its sparkling silver interior and clean off the oily residue.  Festive and repurposed!  And they come in a variety of sizes.
21. Shopping bags from retail outlets – reuse to hold gift with or without the company logo showing! Freshen up with stickers, ribbons or other embellishments.
22. Packing paper – those large sheets of manila paper can be smoothed out and saved for wrapping. Decorate the plain sheets with stamps, finger paint, stickers…use your kids’ imagination on this one.
23. Fabric – not necessarily sewn but as a material. Furoshiki is the Japanese art of wrapping with fabric.  It is quite an art – check it out and pick up a new hobby!
24. Old neckties can make an interesting ribbon for a package. Or better yet, use a new one as part of the gift!
25. Plastic containers – milk cartons can be cut into a container with a handle. Large cottage cheese, yogurt and other plastics make great gift containers.  All can be decorated or camouflaged with paint.

Do you have other eco-friendly wrapping ideas?  Send them along to [email protected] and we’ll pass them along on our website.