Nurture Your Family - Creative Christmas Wrapping

I should come clean. Most years, I disappear upstairs on Christmas Eve and begin furiously wrapping my family's gifts while they are downstairs finishing up their desert. I'm not sure if its because 2011 has been spent dedicating more time to my creative endeavors or maybe because I want the gifts that Santa leaves for my toddler to be extra special, but I'm putting a little more effort and time into wrapping things up in creative ways this Christmas.  We've all been on the receiving end of a beautifully wrapped present and its wonderful - its almost sad to unwrap and disturb its aesthetic beauty, right? Here are a few ideas that have inspired me to look around my house, think outside the box, and surprise those on my list this year.

Using plain brown craft paper (usually available at your local CVS or Walgreens) is a great base to get your creative juices flowing. Dress it up with ribbon or add accents like jungle bells or the leaves pictured above. I'm giving lots of book this year and I thought it might be cute to write a great quote on the outside (always a great conversation starter!).

This great idea is from the blog Creature Comforts. All you need are some clothes pins, a glue gun, and your imagination (a step by step tutorial is also available on her blog).  I love it when everyday objects are transformed in surprising ways and these gifts caught my eye! She also has several other great wrapping ideas, including a tres chic Parisian inspired beauty.

As you can see from the photo above, yarn can add charm and a sweet touch to any gift wrapping. For just a few dollars, a spool of yarn is a perfect substitute for the tired plastic red ribbon.  Make sure to have some transparent tape nearby to secure it.  Or, instead of yarn, you can try brown twine (available at your local supermarket, drugstore, or any Home Depot or Lowes).  For some reason, the twine's texture just says Christmas and I love the way it looks when paired with traditional holiday wrapping paper.

Photography by Rick Lew. 

In the spirit of being environmentally friendly, scour your house for unwanted paper goods - could be an old calendar,  a brown paper grocery bag, old magazines or newspapers (my personal favorite) or some junk mail.  Dress it up with some nice ribbon and you've got a creatively wrapped gift (and have done something small, but meaningful to save our planet!).

Photography by Victoria Pearson.

Get your kids involved in the wrapping projects!  Wrap the gifts in brown or white craft paper (or anything else you have on hand) and turn your kids loose with crayons, markers, stamps, paper, etc.  The results will warm your heart and EVERYONE will love receiving a gift wrapped in the creativity of a child.