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These Budget Friendly, Beautiful Christmas Wrapping ideas are guaranteed to impress! See how I Use Brown and Black paper to add a moody rustic ambience to my Christmas aesthetic.
I do enjoy gift wrapping! For me, it is an opportunity to be creative. I thoroughly enjoy the whole process of combining textures and colours, uniting rustic and elegant elements to create something unique and beautiful. I just love filling the table with paper and ribbon, popping on some Christmas Music, pouring myself a Hot Chocolate and getting carried away in some festive spirit.
Finding the time
Christmas is hectic when you’re a Mum isn’t it? I have 4 beautiful kiddos, and believe me they keep me busy! There is just so much to do! As soon as December hits, its full on! We have Christmas Pageants , Christmas Parties, Pantomimes, Santa’s Grotto, Christmas shopping, Christmas baking, visiting family, Tree decorating, hiding of presents…wrapping of presents!
With such a Chaotic Month, their absolutely needs to be some simplistic elements to level out the madness! You cant get much more simplistic than brown Paper!
Affordable Christmas wrapping
Materials
Brown Paper
One thing I always have stashed in the Cupboard is large rolls of brown paper, it is so adaptable! I wrap cookies in it for family and friends, I wrap gifts, I send packages through the post in it, it even doubles as art paper for the kids. It is a material I am more than familiar with! And the big bonus? Its cheap!
Black Paper
Technically the black paper I use is not wrapping paper. Black wrapping paper, the type with a satin finish, is much more expensive than the Black Poster Display Paper I use. You have probably seen this black poster paper at your kids school, it is often used as a backdrop for the children’s artwork…and why is it used? because its affordable and it makes the kiddies art pop! If it works for the kids, it will work for me! Its also far thicker than your average wrapping paper, making it more robust and less likely to rip.
Ribbon
Ribbon can get expensive around Christmas time, it is no coincidence that the prices jump up over the festive season, we all want those beautiful Velvet Ribbons for that picture perfect gift don’t we? With 4 kids I spend enough! I really don’t relish the thought of spending even more on the wrapping?
Here are some ways I save Money
- Save ribbon from the previous years gifts
- Buy Roll ends
- Buy Ribbon Bundles on Ebay
- Buy In January- all those Christmassy Ribbons can be bought for pennies once the festive season is over.
Foliage
Adding Sprigs of foliage to your Wrapping adds a rustic Earthy Charm! Take the Pruners to the back of your Tree or go Foraging for Foliage
Affiliate links
- Old Christmas Baubles
- Table Runner I no longer use- I cut it into strips and fashioned bows
- Dried Oranges (see my post 4 easy ways to dry Oranges)
Christmas 2022
This year I have gone with a Moody and Dark Christmas theme. Lots of Jewel tones, Blacks, Golds and Rich Green Foliage. Each gift is wrapped a little different than the previous one, making each parcel unique.
The History of Wrapping Christmas Presents
The use of wrapping paper was first documented in ancient China, where paper was invented during in the 2nd Century BC. The Southern Song Dynasty, would wrap monetary gifts with paper, forming an envelope known as a Chih Pao. Later in the 1600’s, the Japanese would wrap gifts in a traditional Cloth called Furoshiki a square shaped decorative fabric. The practice was soon adopted throughout the world combining both Paper and Fabric elements.
The History of Christmas Wrapping Paper in England
Wrapping Paper in England only really became popular during the Victorian Period. In Jane Austin’s writings she mentions Christmas and the practice of wrapping in many of her novels in Persuasion she writes “some chattering girls, cutting up silk and gold paper” as they sit “by a roaring Christmas fire”.
The Victorians
The Victorians would use heavily decorated printed paper, lace, Ribbon and Silk to adorn their gifts. The more elaborate the better, this practice was often used to demonstrate the family wealth, as hand printed wrapping paper, lace and silk were luxury items, unattainable by the poorest in society.
There is no video tutorial for this post, because you don’t need one. The pictures speak for themselves, simply wrap with paper and tie with bows! The beauty is in the contrasting dark hues and the elegant fabric adornments. The perfection of the bow or the curl of the ribbon is not important, no matter how you choose to tie and loop…Red and Green will always work, Black and Gold will always work, Brown, Red and Green will always work…you see where I’m going with this? You really cant mess it up!
Plus- don’t you find perfection tiring? I certainly do! I wrap my presents like I dress my Christmas Tree, throw it all together and see what happens. Perfection somehow takes the fun out of it, I never worry about creases in the wrapping or a kink in the Ribbon, its going to get torn apart anyway!
Love some Christmas Crafting?
Take a look at these Beautiful DIY projects for the Christmas Season…
Did you use any of my Christmas Wrapping ideas? Leave a comment and let me know. Did you take a picture? Great! Tag me on Instagram, I love to share your creations on my stories
OHG x
