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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UPRM chapter.

Finally, the holidays are upon us! This means binge-watching Christmas movies, drinking hot chocolate, going shopping for gifts, and; of course, gift wrapping them. Everyone loves the holidays, food, festivities, and spending time with your loved ones, even if it is via facetime. Gift wrapping presents have always been a joy of mine to do, and being able to wrap the perfect gifts for our loved ones in a sustainable way makes it better, not to mention it saves us a bit of money. Well, I have a tip on how you can save just a little more. Eco-friendly gift wrapping your presents saves you a bunch since most of this stuff (if not all) you will find right in your home.

1. Save your online order boxes

During our stay-in thanks to COVID-19, we’ve had our fair share of online shopping sprees. So, instead of throwing away those Amazon boxes, you can save them and use them for your gifts, which would make them more sturdy and easier to wrap.

2. Brown Paper

We all remember when we were little, how we used to work on the brown paper for crafts or putting our handprints with paint. Well, brown paper is the perfect wrapping paper substitute! It works just the same & you can even decorate however you want. Bonus! It is way cheaper than store-bought wrapping paper.

3. Use old ribbons or strings to decorate

Sometimes we end up with an “everything drawer” which is where you don’t know where to put certain things, so they end up there. Sometimes we have so many ribbons that we can use to decorate our gifts. No matter what size they are

4. Furoshiki

Furoshiki is the art of traditional Japanese wrapping, using a piece of fabric. It is easy to make, especially when you have a piece of cloth or material that you don’t use often. It also gives it a different look, not like an ordinary gift, besides after unwrapping they can use the fabric for anything else, whether it be another gift or whatever craft they find.

Eco-friendly gift wrapping won’t just save your wallet, it saves the planet. It is always nice to add a personal touch to your gifts, no matter if it is reused material, it is always the thought that was put into it.

Hi! I am from San Juan, PR. I study English with a Minor in Communications, hoping to be able to write and edit for years to come.
Andrea Méndez Igartua is pursuing a major in psychology and a minor in writing and communications. She's passionate about reading and writing, and hopes to publish a novel one day.