The holidays are usually a time to gather with loved ones to share in the gift of love and togetherness. However, sometimes holiday tasks can interrupt those festive and joyous times when it’s time to go down that list of gifts we’ve been waiting all year long to purchase for those special people in our lives.
In honor of that not going crazy part, I’ve included 25 unique mindful ideas for mindfully wrapping those gifts before giving them away. Most of these will leave you satisfied with your special touches on those presents, while seeing the recipients in awe over the extra lengths you went to for adorning their gifts!
1. Jingle Bells and Candy Canes
Traditionally, candy canes were meant for celebrating the holiday season dating way back to the mid 1840s! The story goes that an immigrant with a Swedish and German heritage decorated a local tree with paper decorations and candy canes.
They started out completely white in color but later found their place with the now traditional two-color glory in the 1950s when the infamous candy cane making machine was created for the automation of crafting these flavorsome confections.
Using candy canes not only satisfies a sweet tooth around the holidays, however. They can also play a major role as ornaments for Christmas trees, they can be turned into unique holiday crafts, and they make a spectacularly festive addition to the trimmings of a gift to a loved one!
Throw in a few jingle bells with the candy cane tied into the present’s bow, and you have the makings for a beautiful holiday offering sure to create a little holiday buzz amongst your friends and family.
2. Feathers and Fabric
When giving a gift wrapped in a luxurious fabric, people notice. There’s nothing wrong with traditional gift paper by any means, but if you want to elevate the gift with extra special wrapping then you have to try fabric and feathers!
Here, the bold appearance of this deep red cloth covering around the present is enhanced with pops of green and blue with huge vibrant faux peacock feathers. What a marvelous conversation piece at a party or gathering!
Peacock feathers are also noted for the supposed good luck they bring. An interesting read about these colorful elegant plumes from HiddenSignificance.com explains the meaning of peacock feathers including spiritual meanings across an array of cultures, various ways people can use them in the real world, and a little about the energy they carry with them.
3. Fresh Rosemary Sprigs & Recycled Paper
Just the smell of sweet fresh sprigs of rosemary makes me want to run into the kitchen and start cooking something amazing! (Rosemary Chicken, anyone?) This durable and extremely fast-growing loved herb is actually a shrub originating from the Mediterranean.
The peppery, piney flavor and aromatic qualities add so much to cooking in terms of flavor, scent, and appearance. Even used as a garnish on serving plates, rosemary provides a beautiful display with its dark green needle-shaped leaves.
Try adding fresh rosemary sprigs to your basic package wrapping this year to spruce your wrapping talents up a notch! The natural twine used in this photo also adds a rustic touch without upstanding the appearance of the rosemary, and the basic brown package paper ties everything together, keeping this gift looking inviting with a subtle hint of elegance.
4. Leaves and Berries
Whether they’re dried or fresh, leaves and berries are always a welcomed addition to any gift. The seasonal deep green and red tones just scream ‘holiday’ to those who receive these meaningful items from you.
Start with a wrapping paper that isn’t too busy. I usually go for a basic brown package paper or even a solid white or gold paper, then the perfect satiny red ribbon completed the look. Just slip the greenery and berries underneath the ribbon and you’re ready to start gifting!
5. Burlap, Natural Twine, and Fresh Herb Leaves
Here’s another way to take advantage of using fresh herbs and natural twine on your gifts this year. Try using burlap as a wrapping paper! Here, the gift is wrapped in a burlap cloth then tied with a length of natural twine string and fitted with fresh herb leaves.
Did you know that burlap is made by weaving the fibers of vegetables together? It’s true! Commonly known to be used for making sacks to transport goods like coffee beans, dry goods and storage for other items as well as being popularly used in the landscape industry for transplanting due to its biodegradable qualities, burlap is a pretty fascinating material that can also give a casual, yet sturdy appearance when used for wrapping gifts.
6. Holiday Stockings and Kitchen Utensils
Hanging Christmas stockings has always been a fun event in our holiday celebrations around this time of year. They also make a great gift to give others instead of a traditional box wrapped in paper and a stick-on bow. You can always wrap your gift inside of a Christmas stocking and hand the stocking over to that special person to open with delight.
Whether hanging from the mantle in your home, or gifting as a present to someone else, you can always heighten the way its appearance is from a traditional holiday stocking to an awe-inspiring adornment! A fun idea is to attach cooking utensils with a bow on the stocking, then inside fill the stocking with items for that person in your life who loves to create culinary masterpieces in the kitchen or outdoors on the grill!
Try silver serving set utensils in the image above, wooden spoons, or even a beautiful corkscrew tied into the ribbon with a bottle of wine inside of the stocking for that special someone!
7. Mason Jars with Pinecones and Burlap Ribbon
The simple pinecone can also make a present that much more special when added to the wrapping. From pine trees, to pinyons, to firs, spruces, and cypresses (just to name a few), conifers offer us a huge variety of these unusual cone-shaped wonders.
Looking for some interesting fun facts about these tapered, papery-skinned seed pods? Search no further than a write-up from Dixie Sandborn with the Michigan State University Extension explaining the value and purpose of the mighty pinecone other than just for use as decorations.
Bringing in burlap again, this mason jar was wrapped with a ribbon made from this material, then a pinecone was tied into the bow on the front of the jar.
This presentation would work perfectly if giving homemade soup, layering ingredients for the recipient to make hot chocolate or cookies with a recipe card added, bath salts layered in different colors, bone-shaped healthy pet treats for Fido, or most anything that will fit into the jar can be used and offered as an act of love and friendship with the mason jar as the vessel of delivery.
8. Takeaway Boxes with Sweet Adornments
Takeaway boxes from our favorite restaurants are terrific for storing remaining morsels to take home, but they’re also perfect for using as gift boxes for special gifts.
You can find these at most craft retailers locally and online, and they’re just a fun way to package homemade goodies or storebought confections from your favorite bakery.
Adding one of the treats that’s inside the box on top of the gift secured by the bow serves as a sign of what’s inside and adds to the appeal of the overall look.
9. Add Coastal Vibes
From a dainty seashell or dried starfish to an intricate piece of dried coral, or even a small length of driftwood, there are lots of options when tying a little piece of the ocean into your gift wrapping. The immediate feeling of the shore and the beach will be evident when your loved one accepts this gift of love.
Incorporating the natural look of the sea can be a spectacular addition to any gift. It’s a calming and serene vibe that others will appreciate. You could even go further and add in sea glass pendants, a tiny bottle of sand, or one of my favorites…a dried sand dollar.
10. Dried Fruit Slices and Stenciled Paper
Dehydrators beware! It’s time to take those clunky machines out again folks. They were all the rage for a while there it seemed. I even have one sitting in my cabinet way in the back behind things I use more often. But you can pull those dehydrators out again when the holidays arrive because drying fruit slices is a perfect use for them!
Once the fruit slice is dried, make an opening in it at the top and insert the ribbon through it from the gift for a fun and festive appearance. You could also make trays of different dried fruit and put those in the box as a gift!
Beautiful stencil designs like this one of the holly berry branches is a custom version of expensive wrapping paper and it allows you to practice mindfulness when working on coloring and stenciling the design at the same time.
11. Holiday Themed Stamped Paper
The art of decorating with stamps is something that has always intrigued me. Over the years, I have built a small collection of favorite shapes and designs from my local craft stores, and some special ones I’ve ordered from online sources.
My favorite of all time is the paw print stamp I use to sign my cat’s name on holiday cards! I still do that to this day. (We can’t forget to include our fur babies!)
Another favorite is this candy cane stamp for the holiday season. Using just a large red ink pad, this stamp creates a beautiful version of the beloved Christmas confection.
Adorn the gift with a little gold colored ribbon, and you’ve got an easy, simple, elegant result. White plain wrapping paper is what I find best for this, as it enhances the stamp’s red color.
12. Watercolor Wrapping Paper and Mesh Ribbon
Bring out your inner Picasso with watercolors! You know those watercolor paint sets the kiddies have used over the years that never got completely used up? (Yep, the ones you just couldn’t bring yourself to toss out and you saved in a box marked “old art supplies” in the attic?) Take that box down and open it up for adding a little artist flair to simple plain white paper-wrapped gifts.
A little jar of clean water, a few paint brushes, those watercolor trays and you’re good to go! once the design you paint onto the white wrapping paper is completed and has fully dried, you can then add some mesh ribbon. I suggest mesh ribbon so you can see your beautiful artwork through it instead of a solid ribbon that would only hide it.
Go ahead and get your inner artist out this holiday season! Your friends and family will appreciate the custom-designing that you put into their gift!
13. Hat Boxes and Wired Ribbon
Hatboxes were once used for mainly just that…storing hats. The Victorian era brought these beautifully rounded storage containers to light with some dating as far back as the 19th Century. Some more intricately designed than others, they were crafted from leather, fabrics of all sorts, wood, even metal as well as the more popular cardboard that we see more of these days.
Today, we see hatboxes used more for decorating a room or being used to store an array of items from photos, old letters, keepsake treasures, and even higher end dinnerware, and silverware and drinkware.
Utilizing hatboxes is a perfect way to wrap gifts for a fun and lighthearted gift-giving experience. I use a lot of red and green cardboard versions with wired mesh ribbon for the season of Christmas. You could also elevate the basic-colored holiday hatbox look by gluing ornaments onto the boxes, or even sparkly sequins!
14. Recipe Boxes
The wrapping of a gift can actually be the gift itself when considering a recipe box for giving season. Beautiful wooden recipe boxes are an appreciated offering from most anyone these days. You can also find vintage metal and tin versions if you look around some. Whatever material you decide to use, remember to adorn it with a beautiful ribbon before giving away.
Be sure to include a pack of beautiful blank recipe cards inside the box for the recipient’s use. On three or four of those, you can also handwrite a few of your favorite recipes to get them started. They will open the recipe box and see the special additional gift of your very own recipes inside and love that you added that special touch!
15. Magazine and Newspaper Cutouts
Remember when we were kids, and in school we had to bring magazines for craft day to create a collage of words and images for a specific themed project? That’s basically what we’re doing here. Maybe you have a vision board you’ve created (or a few!) for yourself. Again, that’s the main idea of this wrapping idea, just with a seasonal holiday vibe.
Select words or images with a holiday feel, then use those to add interest to a simply wrapped package. Great words to snip from pages such as “holiday”, “cheer”, and “joy” are great ones to start with and seasonally appropriate for gluing to the present. Keep it simple like I did or go to the max and put holiday words everywhere forming a collage of holiday happiness. Finish with a beautiful bow and see how your loved one reacts when you hand it over to them!
16. Festive Holiday Confetti
Friends and loved ones of mine know to be cautious when receiving cards from me…any time of the year! The reason is because I am known for tossing occasion-appropriate confetti into the card so that it “snows” happiness all over the person when they open it! (Trust me, they all love me more since I changed to confetti from glitter!)
Today’s confetti designs come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. You can even order custom confetti! (Yep, it’s a real thing!) It’s really your choice as to how you want your package to look in the end. I usually look for a slightly larger confetti design instead of traditional teeny-tiny confetti so that it’s a little easier to glue onto the present.
Just some simple school glue should work unless your confetti has a heavier texture or is adorned with glass or rhinestones, which I would then suggest a hot glue gun for better adherence and staying power.
Afterward, you can even sprinkle a tiny dusting of faux snow like I did with this present. Just dot tiny areas with school glue onto the wrapping paper after the bow is applied and sprinkle away. Shake off any excess. I also adorned the top of the package with a large snowflake ornament to take this idea over the top. It’s Christmas, right?
17. Dish Towels or Cloth Napkins
Who says kitchen or dining textiles can’t be used for wrapping gifts? (The Grinch, maybe?) Find a color and feel that resonates best with the gift you are wrapping inside and a soft satin ribbon to tie it all together before presentation, and you’ve got a more casual, laid-back look that provides use as well as just coverage to conceal that surprise inside!
Here, a large soft-to-the-touch dining napkin was used to wrap a small flat gift, then was finished off with a bright red satin ribbon fashioned into a simple bow. You could also add a custom-made gift tag to this or even a little shiny beading for some extra sparkle!
18. Miniature Wreaths and Ornaments
Wreaths aren’t just for your front door anymore, because now their smaller-sized counterparts are becoming popular in gift-wrap design! There are so many varieties of miniature wreaths made from an array of materials you can find most anywhere. Most mass craft retailers and art supply locations sell them in multi-packs as well as individual, more intricately designed single wreaths.
Varieties with the traditional look of pine or leaves, to more unique creations like curved branches and beads can be used as well as homemade versions by using fresh thyme sprigs or ribbon. But if you prefer to keep it simple while still making it exceptional, try a simple container like a box with a removable lid and a deep red holiday-looking ribbon, then add the miniature wreath in the middle of the bow with a few mini ornaments to go along with it.
19. Paper Cutouts and Pompoms
This is a terrific craft project to do together with your little ones. (Or your older ones if they protest!) I kept basic Christmas colors in mind for this attempt, cut out some green tree shapes with craft scissors, and purchased some yellow miniature pompoms for extra fun and enjoyment. This was a fun and fairly simple project to create.
To make it even more fun and inclusive, it would even be a great project for your mini-me’s to do in class at school before Christmas break using safe scissors. If they are younger, you could pack the tree cut-outs, ribbon and paper into a bag to send with them to their teacher so all they need to do is glue the items onto the paper. The teacher could help them to wrap the gift before they decorate it.
20. Colorful Buttons
Pull that sewing kit out or ask your mother or grandmother for hers because you’re going to need to sort through all of those buttons in there to create this fun and festive creation for this gift-wrapping idea. Buttons, buttons, and more buttons!
Wrap the gift in simple paper and adorn with a beautiful see-through ribbon. Once that’s done, get the hot glue gun out of your craft closet and get to work gluing holiday-colored buttons of all shades and sizes onto the top of the box.
This is a perfect gift for the loved ones in your life who like to sew. Otherwise, it’s also perfect for anyone else whether they enjoy sewing or not!
21. Fresh Flowers
Not much needs to be said about this idea at all really. The fashioning of a simple red stemmed Christmas flower into the tying of a soft-textured ribbon onto any gift not only enhances the look of the present, but also offers a scent that is intriguing and received well.
There are several varieties that would be perfect to use such as poinsettias, red roses, use an amaryllis for a larger gift, Christmas Cactus blooms with their dark green leaves can also be used, paperwhites are not red with their simple elegant white hue, but they are stunning on gifts, as well as aromatic gardenia or jasmine blooms.
In an effort for the flower to not droop or spoil, remember to wrap the gift the day before, then you can add the fresh floral before you head out to make your holiday delivery!
22. Customized Gift Tags
What’s more fun when receiving a gift? Receiving a gift with a custom-made gift tag! These are fun to make and don’t take much time to put together.
Gather some simple twine or string to tie it onto the gift when you are tying a bow around the parcel, and you have an instant holiday greeting that is both unique and focused on the receiver of the package.
Any craft retailer, art store that sells holiday items, or online location should be able to provide you with whatever size and cardstock you prefer for this idea. Don’t forget, you can always ‘bedazzle’ those gift tags as well, just remember to not put so many sparkles on the tag that draw attention away from the gift itself.
23. Battery-Powered Fairy Lights
Light up the holiday season with fairy lights on your packages! Yes, I have actually done this, and it is an exceptionally brilliant (see what I did there?) technique to add a little luminosity to your loved one’s gifts!
The trick is to get a string of tiny lights that comes with a small battery pack, so it is transportable. Once the gift is opened, the lights become an additional present they can use in their home or somewhere else to their liking.
The shiny gold wrapping paper for this gift is perfect because it reflects the shiny white lights it is wrapped in. It’s such an uncommon and different idea for wrapping a present. Lights now don’t just have to be for your outdoor entertaining area or Christmas tree anymore!
24. Paint Cans and Pipe Cleaners
Paint cans aren’t just for painters in the final phase of remodeling a home anymore. They can also be used to present gifts to unsuspecting loved ones throughout the year. The Christmas holiday is a perfect opportunity for something like this!
Locate a rustic metal, colorfully painted, or other preferred style of can with a handle and decorate it with a ribbon wrapped around it tied into a bow, or you can get crafty with red and white pipe cleaners from a mass craft retailer and add green touches and miniature ornaments too.
After the gift is opened and the can is empty, it can be used for storing office supplies, scented soaps for guests to use, or for actually keeping nails or screws inside if the hubby gets his hands on it. Overall, it serves as a fun and interesting gift container as well as a great storage vessel.
25. Aromatic Soap Slices
Yes, soap slices are a thing. They’re a smaller thinner version of the typical ‘bar soap’ we’re more commonly accustomed to.
The neat part of a soap slice is that the interior of the soap itself – especially when made with flowers, herbs or sliced fruit inside – can be seen better than if you were given an entire bar of that soap. The special ingredients of the bar can be much more appreciated.
Try wrapping whatever item you’re gifting inside a pretty paper, then using a simple holiday-colored yarn string to fashion a bow. Then slide a soap slice under the bow, and voila! You’ve got a beautiful presentation for the interior item they are getting already, but with a little extra something in the wrapping!
MY MINDFUL REQUEST
My mindful request for this post is for you to have a warm and festive holiday. Remember to be mindful of those around you that make your life so worth living. Have a safe and healthy Christmas, everyone!