Do you know that feeling when there are huge piles of wrapping paper in the living room after the presents have been given?

Gift bags, bows, plastic junk, or disposable wrapping paper are a thing of the past. We want to show you truly sensible and, above all, helpful tips on how to sustainably wrap your loved ones' gifts and make them even more eye-catching.

However, the choice of gifts is at least as important as the gift wrapping: We therefore also list sustainable products that the recipient will benefit from in the long term.

Table of contents:

1. This is what you should keep in mind if you want to buy gift wrap
2. Alternatives to adhesive tape
3. Use materials you already have at home
4. It is best to reuse gift wrap, shipping bags and boxes
5. Three ideas for decorating gifts in newspaper
6. Sustainable gift ideas

You should keep this in mind if you want to buy gift wrap

Pay attention to the seal and examine the material more closely, because the more elaborate and heavier the wrapping paper is, the more harmful it is to the environment. You can recognize particularly environmentally friendly wrapping paper by the "Blue Angel" eco-label, as this guarantees that the paper fibers used are made 100 percent from recycled paper . Other labels like FSC or PEFC stand for sustainable forest management, but papers with this label are often not made from recycled material. Look here for great wrapping paper marked with the Blue Angel . Important: Recycling paper also requires a lot of energy, so it's really best to use as little as possible. Below, we list sensible alternatives to wrapping paper and tape.

Alternatives to adhesive tape

If you want to wrap your gifts without tape, you can use a special wrapping and folding technique for rectangular gifts. Wrap the paper diagonally around the gift, creating a kind of tuck-in flap at the end. It's so fun and super easy! Here's a video and a picture for inspiration.

 Image source: Flora Emmer Studio, Copyright: www.zeitfuergenuss.org

Instead of plastic-based tape, you can also use washi tape . It's made from leftover rice harvesting material. A major advantage, for example, is that it doesn't stick as strongly, so you can easily remove it before disposing of the paper. Just like our shipping labels, which can be easily removed from our grass-based boxes. Otherwise, reusable string and fabric ribbons are also a great option.

Use materials you already have at home

No matter the occasion, please make sure you don't use a ton of wrapping paper when wrapping your gifts, but rather use the materials you already have at home . Below, we've listed a few useful ideas:

It’s best to reuse wrapping paper, mailing bags, and boxes!

Reuse shipping boxes, shipping bags, or shoe boxes that you'd otherwise throw away with the paper recycling. (We ship the Kalle diaper backpack, Greta diaper bag, and Hugo diaper backpack in sustainable grass-based boxes.) The best part: You can easily remove the shipping label from the box without leaving any residue and use it as gift wrapping!

Use shipping materials

Shipping boxes are often not the only thing you can reuse. Most companies use tissue paper, brown paper, or white paper to protect the packaged goods throughout the year. Keep the paper safe so you can use it appropriately for gift wrapping later.

Use toilet paper rolls

Do you want to wrap something small or precious? Then a toilet paper roll makes the perfect replacement for wrapping paper! HOW TO DO : Simply fold one end inward, place the present inside, and do the same with the other end. And you've created the perfect wrapping! It's really easy, and the result looks amazing. Decorate the toilet paper roll however you like. For example, paint it or decorate it with pretty herbs or orange peel.

A great and creative idea: Wrap gifts in gifts (You can use muslin cloths, scarves or socks, for example). You can wrap the basic diaper bag , diaper bag Friedchen or the changing mat in a beautiful muslin cloth, as you can see in the picture below.

Opt for newspaper! It looks super cool, I promise! Important: It's definitely more sustainable if you use newspapers you've already read. However, if you tend to use unread newspapers because you might receive unwanted free ones, consider a "No Junk" sticker and alternative gift wrapping 😉

Image source: Adobe Stock

3 ideas for decorating gifts with newspaper:

Enhance newsprint with color

Such a lovely way to add a bit of variety: Pick a few colors and apply them with different sized brushes. A tip: It's best not to apply the paints with water, as this will cause the newspaper to wrinkle. If you have children, let them take over. They'll be so happy, and each gift will look unique.

Decorate newspaper with washi tape

Washitape enhances everything and is good for pretty much everything. Why not try this: Stick two layers of tape together and tie them together to form a bow?

Natural festive accents

Instead of a shiny plastic bow, you can use small pine branches, rosemary, cinnamon sticks, leaves , or anything else you can source sustainably. It's easiest to cut the branches from your own tree, but you can also buy them at your local hardware store.

Use beautiful glasses & other containers to give food as gifts

Gifts in jars are an ideal zero-waste gift and, above all, particularly decorative, as the jars can be easily reused and thus produce no additional packaging waste. Here are a few ideas and recipes for you to try! For even more inspiration, click this link .

Shopping bags or tote bags are perfect! Our Kalle diaper backpack, for example, fits perfectly into the XL tote bag "Everything is a Phase." You can also fill the tote bag with so many other things you like. How about a lovely book, for example, to give to your friend or sister for the new baby? We definitely recommend the "Hey Mama" book by Tami Donath. You can find more lovely tote bags here or here.

Sustainable gift ideas

Here we would like to summarize some of our gift ideas, which you can perfectly package with our tips

• Children's book recommendations for the Advent season 
• Workshop by Mamaglückmomente
• Baking set from Super Streusel
• Sustainable drinking bottle from Soulbottles
• Set from Stapelstein
• Barefoot shoes from Lieblinge
• ''Hey Mama'' book by Tami Donath
• Natural cosmetics from NKM-Munich or Pure U
• And if you would like to give a backpack or bag a second life, you can ask in our Hugofamily
• In our blog post ''5 easy steps to a stress-free Christmas season'' you will find more coolgift ideas for the whole family

Now you're well prepared with our tips and can wrap things even more beautifully and sustainably! Have fun trying them out and giving them to your loved ones!

Your team from Anna and Oskar