Wasting money on expensive wrapping paper is no fun, especially when that paper hasn’t been recycled and will most likely be thrown in the trash without hesitation. This year why not do something different and wrap your gifts in something unique and memorable? There are many eco-friendly projects to choose from, but in this article we’ll give you a few basic suggestions.

• Newspaper: Wrapping gifts in recycled newspaper is probably the most basic thing you can do to stay eco-friendly this year while sending a positive, green message. Feel free to decorate the newspaper with some blackout poetry, colorful drawings, or whatever you feel will make the presentation more creative.
• Eco-Friendly Wrapping Paper: If you’re not a DIY kind of person, you can always support green companies by purchasing pre-made wrapping paper. Smockpaper, for example, is a company that specializes in recycled papers; their wrapping paper is 100 percent recycled, and it’s also double sided! Another vendor is Sophia Victoria Jay, who also sells on 100 percent recycled paper and offers several holiday items aside from wrapping paper such as cards and gift tags.
• Reusable Grocery Bags: Sometimes people just need that extra push to stop using brown paper bags and go the cloth route. Help them get there by giving your gifts in reusable grocery bags. Once they have reusable bags, they’ll have no excuse when going to the grocery store. You can find holiday styles of these reusable bags in many stores.
• Thrift Stores for Ideas: There are plenty of great finds in thrift stores: baskets, bags, and snazzy containers are just a couple of things you’ll be sure to find there.

Now that you have the wrapping sorted, if you’re clueless about what to get as a gift, there are plenty of great ideas to choose from. Everyone loves flowers, and a potted plant would be sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face. Include a couple packets of seeds and that’s icing on the cake!

If the person you are buying for doesn’t have a green thumb, Etsy offers a bunch of cool handmade products, and there are many products on the site that are eco-friendly. If you search, you will be certain to find something perfect there. There’s literally everything you can think of, from watches made of recycled garage door openers to one of a kind necklaces made of bark!