Top Five Reusable Gift Bag Designs for a Greener Christmas
Helen PalmerChristmas is a stressful experience. In addition to travelling and cooking, there’s the entertaining, wrapping presents and dare we say… shopping!
When it comes to shopping for Christmas, sometimes wrapping presents can cost just as much. Aside from the mounds of presents and cards, there are bows, ribbons, sellotape, tissue paper, reels and reels of wrapping and of course, personalised gift bags to store everything in. And where does it all go in the end? In the bin.
Sounds quite tragic, doesn't it?
According to GWP Group, £42 million of unwanted Christmas presents were thrown out of landfill each year, with Brits binning around 108 million rolls of wrapping paper. Granted, some repurpose Christmas wrapping, yet you can’t deny that these stats alone are a little alarming.
To save the added expenditure and most importantly, reduce the amount of waste, we’ve conjured up five reusable gift bag designs that you can recreate from home!
Rudolf-ready Gift Bag
A sustainable and cost-effective way to decorate a gift bag, this idea has got us dashing to the craft stores! Recreate everyone’s favourite reindeer with nothing more than a large paper bag, two candy canes, a pair of large googly eyes, and a red pom pom.
Use the candy canes as antlers and stick them as you like to the inside of the paper bag, so the canes are left peeking over the top. With regards to the googly eyes and red pom pom… well, that's pretty self-explanatory.
Add a bit of red tissue inside the bag to tie in the colours, and job’s a good ‘un! An easy-to-make, Rudolf gift bag!
Santa pants
A quirky alternative to stockings, these Santa pants are a fantastic idea for packing smaller gifts. Depending on your skillset, sewing enthusiasts have created this design from scratch and sewn together strips of red felt to resemble Santa’s trousers. If you're not one for stitching, try using a hot glue gun to effectively stick your designs together.
Some crafters have gone further with their designs and placed cotton wool at the bottom of the legs for a fluffy finish, while others have recreated Santa’s gold-buckled belt from their own wardrobe!
Last but not least are the handles. Either tie a bit of string on either top of Santa's trousers or add more red felt to mimic Santa’s dungarees.
Christmas pudding wine bag
Great for those that aren’t good with sewing, here is another felt-tastic way to upcycle your old wine bag!
Again, depending on your capabilities, the Christmas pudding wine bag can be sewn by scratch or decorated with glue. For finishing touches, simply cut out and stick white felt for the icing, shape some holly leaves and berries using card or fabric, and bob’s your uncle!
If wine isn't your thing, then take your craftsmanship to the next level and see if you can recreate the pudding-like shape using your old large gift bags!
Sentimental snow scene
Although we can’t guarantee your presents won’t go to the landfill, this gift bag idea can! Ideal for new families or those with children, instead of purchasing a present on behalf of your child, put their artistic traits to the test and decorate your gift bag using finger paint techniques. There are various designs to try out for Christmas, including snowy scenes, candy canes and Christmas trees.
For babies, if finger painting is too messy, try painting with their toes and use footprints to outline reindeer heads. For larger families/groups of children, recreate a snowy scene and allow them to decorate a large gift bag between one another.
To add a touch of magic to your design, write a heartfelt note to your receiver. In fact, go one step further and include a ready-made frame for your design to be cut out and placed in.
Santa’s sack
As indicated in the subheading, this is a design you can have a bit of fun with and best of all, it’s completely versatile! Whether you’re looking to replicate large gift bags or smaller parcels, instead of purchasing a new gift bag, re-use materials around the house. Depending on who your presents are for, some designers chose tea towels, scarves, and napkins to bundle up their goods. Others have taken a more abstract approach and have used bed sheets to stick all sorts of materials onto their (rather large) sacks.
Don't forget to complete your design by tying a ribbon/piece of wool on top to tie everything into place.