Did you know that there is a 25% increase in the amount of garbage we dispose of around the holidays? And most of it is packaging and wrapping paper. According to an article in The Atlantic (12/22/12) we spend €2.6 billion annually on wrapping paper. Wasteful!
Cloth wrapping has been used in traditional cultures for over 1,200 years and is still used today by many wise parents. Furoshiki is the ancient art of cloth wrapping from Japan which is elegant, practical and eco-friendly. In Korea it's called Bojagi and is often silk or hemp patchwork cloth.
Another advantage is that different shaped gifts are easier to wrap with cloth. Here are some ideas:
We love how simple and beautiful cloth wrap is. And your wrapping becomes another gift or can be used year after year.
Playsilks are especially beautiful as wrapping because of how luminescent and shiny the colors are. Plus, after the gifts are open the children can play with them!
Our starter set of silk wrappings is available here.
Leave a comment about your ideas for reusable gift wrapping below and enter to win a Holiday Gift Wrap Set!
Two winners will be chosen 11/14/18.
Paper bags and let the kids decorate with their favorite things- markers, flower clippings, stickers, their school photos, etc.
Terie Moreno on
We have used enchanted & mini silks for gift wrap for about a year. My kids are so excited to see them wrapped up bc they’re easy to open & quickly see what’s inside. We just got a cotton one for bigger items & hope to keep accumulating enough silks that we don’t have to use disposable wrapping paper.
Jaclyn Clark on
We already use and save/reuse cloth ribbons to embellish our wrapped gifts, but I love the idea of wrapping the gifts in cloth too!
Megan on
I have used dish towels and old maps to wrap gifts, too! A lovely idea!
Robin Russell on
I LOVE playsilks. I keep buying more and more colors for my boys. My husband asked why we needed so many different colors and I told him that not only do our boys (1&3) love them more than any toy, but that they could double as gift wrap for years and years to come. I love that I am not the only one thinking along these lines. My boys are going to love their “wrapping paper” almost as much (if not more!) than the gifts they will receive this year!
Meghan on
I just purchased some playsilks with this in mind! I also loved the idea you showed for halloween of nesting gifts within the silks as a party game. I think that could be fun for Christmas as well.
But previously, I’ve used tea towels to wrap gifts. I’ve also used drawings and recycled wrapping paper.
Natalie on
I love this! We love using silks to wrap birthday gifts but it would be wonderful to be able to do this for Christmas too! I love the different ways you can wrap and tie the silks too! Thank you for the opportunity to win such a wonderful set!
Dana on
The perfect gift to wrap this way is a set of Halfpenny dolls—both the dolls are a gift, and the silk wrap is too, and it becomes a hammock, a rug, the forest floor, or whatever the children imagine it to be.
Stacie Wallace on
We helped my parents clean out their house to get ready for a move and paired down the giftwrap box (think “Jacob had a little overcoat”) – it held treasured paper used and reused for many years that got smaller and smaller with wear and usage. I think reusable silks might be the just right reusable replacement, especially for my origami loving daughter.
Kristen on
My daughter is almost 2 and I want to start a collection of playsilks. Wrapping gifts in playsilks will be a beautiful way to start exploring them!
Fiona on
I love the idea of using cloth to wrap gifts. I have done this before with books but having the actual fabric be a gift too is so amazing!
Kristen C on
I often save every type of wrapping from gifts anyone in my family recieves and reuse it. I also get cute fabric from the thrift stores and repurpose it for wrapping by making draw string bags or just simply wrapping it around the gift then tying with left over cotton or wool yarn. I also love adding clippings from the garden to the gift tucked behind the yarn. I have also used some of your silks to wrap my children’s gifts at Christmas and birthdays!
Ashleigh Ewing on