Welcome folks!
It’s time to start wrapping your gifts for loved ones as Christmas Day is rapidly approaching! This year has absolutely flown by with constantly changing restrictions & fluctuating tiers but hopefully you’ve managed to sprinkle in some happy, joyous memories along the way!
More than ever before we’ve noticed a willingness & a desire to make Christmas more conscious around our social media - and that’s just so refreshing & wonderful to see! We recently read that Etsy has seen a 53% increase in searches for eco friendly gifts & a 70% increase in searches for eco friendly gift wrapping! The 🌍 is learning & we flipping love to see it! ☃️
We set out with the goal to make environmentally friendly living more approachable & accessible than ever before - & Christmas is a season to be EXTRA CONSCIOUS. So that's why we thought we'd give you our top tips for achieving some super stylish festive wrapping 🌍
The entire festive season is a holiday of excess, of celebration & in some cases a lot of tragic waste. A holiday which sees such a huge spike in consumption in the name of celebration means we have to be extra thoughtful to reduce our waste whilst enjoying the festivities.
So many of you make environmentally conscious choices every single day but the flashing lights & fast paced festive holidays some times mean these earth friendly choices are forgotten as people understandably get caught up in the magic of the season.
For example, it’s crazy to think that a lot of people don’t realise that traditional wrapping paper is either NOT as eco friendly as you’d think or it is NOT recyclable! It’s often made using plastic for lamination which obviously increases the plastic waste that ends up in landfills every Christmas! Amongst this, glitters, plastic bows, synthetic inks, plastic ribbons, tinsels - you name it, all contribute to an enormous, terrifying abundance of plastic waste. But fear not - there are lots of greener alternatives to fit a style for you.
The last thing we’d ever want is for people to compromise on creating happy, joyous memories over Christmas in the name of conscious living. We truly believe you can definitely have a merry Christmas & make the difference for the planet at the same time. So, let’s make it a Christmas to remember after a 2020 to forget...
This year we are bridging the gap between tradition & eco friendly wrapping to make your festivities perfectly familiar whilst absolutely guilt free! Approachable, sustainable & earth friendly living can apply at Christmas too! Here's how we have been wrapping our eco essential gifts this year...🌿
We wanted to to put together something beautifully simple & traditional whilst celebrating the natural elements of the festive season. How do you like the hollies, pine cones, cinnamon & orange as a colour palette? We absolutely love how they turned out! Let us know in the comments.
To wrap like Eco Garden this Christmas Here’s What You’ll Need;
1. Plain Brown Parcel Paper. (We got ours from our local post office. Did you know your local post offices are independently run & by shopping in your local PO you are helping a small local business thrive?)
2. Brown Paper Tape. (We also got this from our local post office. As tempting & convenient as it may be to order some paper tape from Amazon - make the small but conscious choice to support local business this Christmas!)
3. A Few Oranges. (Keep it simple - Use your local markets of wholefood shops)
4. Sprigs of Holly. (We visiting a local flower shop to get our holly this year)
5. Cinnamon Sticks. (Your local wholefood & sustainable shops will have these no problem!)
6. Brown Recyclable Card for Name Tags
7. A Handful of Pine Cones. (Again, a quick trip to our local florist sorted this out)
8. Brown String. (Post office or any of the above stores will likely sell string but you could also spread your custom & try any local arts & crafts shops!)
Once you’ve ticked off your shopping list - here’s what you’ll need to do next 🎄
Make your Dried Orange Slices!
This is such a cheap, easy & stylish craft idea to add some colour to your Christmas wrapping. You can use these bright slices across your wrapping, hanging from your tree or adding a splash of colour to your potpourri.
- 🎄 Slice your oranges.
- 🎄 Place on a Baking Rack, not a tray (otherwise they’ll stick & be tougher to remove)
- 🎄 Pre-Heat your oven to 120C (250F) and pop your orange slices in for 2 hours or so. Check on them regularly and turn them 3 or 4 times.
- 🎄 Let them cool & you’re good to go!
It’s as easy as that! Now let’s get wrapping ☃️
This stage helps if you have some Christmas songs on the go with a hot mug of mulled wine but that’s just our preference 👀
Most of this is self explanatory so we won’t insult the inner experienced wrapper in you. If you’re here you already know how to wrap your presents to complete the basics but here's a little tip just in case whilst you're encasing your gifts in this lovely parcel paper. Take a little extra care when folding! Parcel paper will show up any creases if too much pressure is applied to unwanted folds, so take an extra moment. What we do love about the paper tape & parcel paper combo though is that they blend together so well, so besides the obvious, necessary folds (which add to the final effect anyway) your gifts look seamlessly wrapped!
Once you’ve used your paper tape & your brown parcel paper to neatly wrap your gifts, it’s time to get crafty!
Use the brown string to loop together your chosen mix of pine cones, cinnamon sticks & orange slices making sure they align on the top of your gift. We recommend wrapping some string around the pine cone in the barky folds to hold them in place. For the cinnamon sticks, you can slide them under the taught parts of the string when tied to the present or you can tie them in place with knots. We’ll allow some creative license on this for you 🤞🏻
Essentially, let’s not redesign the wheel here. You’re wrapping presents like you always have done! But this time you’ve carefully selected your own natural, sustainable, plastic free gift decorations and put it together in such a gorgeous, simple, earth friendly style. You have achieved a Conscious Christmas with no loss of convenience, time or style.
Your loved ones will appreciate the crafty efforts you’ve gone to in order to give them a consciously wrapped gift & this will spread the word even further that sustainable, eco friendly living can and should be as traditional, nostalgic & unique as any usual Christmas. These presents look absolutely gorgeous under our tree as well!
Make a new tradition out of being conscious this Christmas and be sure to send us your best Christmas Wrapping Efforts here, on our socials or to our email! We’d love to see your creativity!
Merry Christmas, one & all! 🎄
Billy at Eco Garden 🌍
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