Free Christmas Wrapping Ideas

I love beautiful gift wrapping just as much as the next person, but I hate spending five dollars on a roll of wrapping paper that will only cover a few presents. This year I am going thrifty when it comes to wrapping; hey, that is more money for the presents, right?

I have decided to use these five ideas to wrap my presents in the greenest manner possible.

1. You know those brown paper bags that you get from Trader Joe's or a variety of other grocery shops. They make great wrapping paper. Just cut the bag and use the side that doesn't have writing on it. It is an eco-friendly option that will get a little more use out of that bag. You can use the bag as is or decorate it by putting festive holiday designs on it with stamps.

2. Do you have a world traveler in your mix. Well they need their gifts wrapped in maps. If you have an AAA membership you can get maps for free, or why not look through your drawers for maps you haven't used in years. Just make sure to use clear tape.

3. Decorate your packages like nobody's business with festive holiday greens. Use pine cones and holly leaves instead of bows. You can tie the package up with some twine, put a few pine cones or some leaves in place of a bow, and your gift looks natural and beautiful. This works best with the brown paper bag wrapping that I mentioned earlier, without the stamps.

4. Get the kids in the mix. If you have children give them a box of crayons, some huge pieces of paper or even that paper bag and let them go to town. Grandparents will love that these gifts are wrapped in paper from your favorite little artist. If your children are a little older you can go ahead and have them cut out pictures from magazines and glue them on. They will have fun, and you will not be wasting ten dollars on fancy wrapping paper that will last all of two minutes.

5. If you are not the creative type, but still want to wrap your gifts without spending a lot of money go ahead and wrap them in newspaper, that's right that 1970's standby for wrapping paper is all the rage again. It is a great way to reuse, and there is something so retro about opening a gift wrapped in the funny pages.

It is easy to save money this Christmas if you get creating and wrapping your gifts for free is a surefire way to start.