Green Christmas Presents Also Mean Green Gift Wrapping & Cards

Green Christmas presents aren't just about what you choose to give as a gift - it's also important to think about wrapping paper and even the greetings cards you're sending out. Christmas cards are a fantastic way to get in touch with people who you may not have spoken to for a while, and are perfect for sending good wishes to family and friends. However, the numbers quickly add up, and most of us will end up using huge amounts of card for these yearly greetings. There are ways in which you can minimize the environmental impact of the cards you send, and the gifts you wrap.

Make Your Own Cards

If you're really feeling creative then why not try making your own cards from recycled materials? You can use parts of old greetings cards, or scraps of card, to put together cards that are personal and fun. This is an especially good idea if you've got kids who enjoy arts and crafts!

You can also go digital and design your own cards on the computer. This can be another fun project for you or the kids and is an easy way to send out cards without wasting any paper at all! Save the paper cards for only your closest friends and family and you'll be helping to save a lot of trees this Christmas.

Wrapping Gifts

Traditional Japanese wrapping cloth. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A lot of gift wrap is difficult to recycle, especially since it gets torn up and thrown out with other trash! Try not to add to this waste by using recycled materials to wrap your green Christmas presents, such as old newspapers, magazines, old brown paper bags, pretty reusable cloth, or wrapping that you've saved from previous years. Most people won't mind you wrapping in this way - in fact, you can usually make it look unique and creative with a little effort! If you still want to buy wrapping paper, many stores now sell recycled wrapping options.

After Christmas

Once Christmas is over you'll likely be left with a huge number of Christmas cards that no longer have any use. It's important that you recycle cards as much as possible - whether this means re-using them for your kids' craft projects, or dropping them off at local stores who include a Christmas card recycling point.

Although these are easier to recycle, you should also try to save as many envelopes as you can when receiving cards. When it comes time to send cards again, you can reuse the better quality envelopes by using special “reuse labels” to cover up old details. This is a habit you can continue throughout the year, too!

You can also recycle or reuse holiday gift wrap. When unwrapping gifts, try to do it carefully rather than tearing it open and you can save it and use it again. This is the perfect way to turn the presents you receive into more green Christmas presents next year!