that's a wrap

so i've been thinking...i've always felt strongly about the wrapping of gifts, feeling like the presentation was part of the gift itself and should be paid adequate attention. now that's not to say i am a wrapping paper saver like many-a-grandmother, but i take a lot of pleasure in selecting wrapping ensembles and have kept a nicely stocked collection of papers, bags and ribbons for years, adding to it each time i saw something unique. and also each time i visited the target wrapping section - love that place.

but recently, as i've tried to "green" areas of my life by reducing waste and reusing things i can, it's occurred to me what a waste of money and materials elaborate gift packaging is. it just goes against the spirit of what i'm trying to do in the rest of my life, but at the same time, i'm not about to present carefully selected gifts in burlap sacks (interesting idea though). to go green in one swoop by buying only “green” wrapping materials would cost a fortune, as it's still a niche market at this time. i find that to be true with many things - if cost were a non-issue, you could easily go green in many areas but since cost matters for most, baby steps count, and are better than not doing it at all.

so while the full transition will have to wait, as far as gift bags, i think i'm moving in the right direction. i found these bags in the target dollar bins and bought a bunch. they were 50 cents each (on sale from $1), making them much cheaper than the average gift bag at $3 or $4 dollars - score! and the recipient gets a nice little tote bag with their gift. they can even reuse it to give their own gift and it isn't as tacky as regifting a normal gift bag which always show tell-tale signs of former use -- the waxy finish on the bag, slightly creased or a mark from a previously attached bow - not okay -- but i digress...

i don't love the blue and purple as much as the green, because they lack the visual wink of the green, but they're a good alternative, and i'm sure they'll roll out other variations soon.

these bags are easily finished with a little tissue paper and a small gift card (which uses half the amount of paper of a normal card, costs way less, but is still cute and festive)

i’ll have to see what can be done about wrapping paper and tissue paper (newspaper? no, newsprint is messy...maybe magazine pages…), but as incomplete a change as it is right now, i feel good to know i'm making progress. maybe if we start buying products like this in compelling numbers, there will start to be a wide array of choices and price-points in this category the way there is in the non-green gift-wrap category.

it's a start.