Christmas Wrapping 2012

Last year I made my own bows with left over wrapping paper and I couldn't have been more pleased with the end result. Click here to see how to make bows with scrap wrapping paper.

Alas, paper bows are no match for being stuffed into luggage and flown half way across the country. By the time we reached Iowa/Kansas to celebrate Christmas with our families the bows looked sickly. Many of the bows couldn't be saved. Reviving paper bows is basically impossible.

This year I wanted an even more simplistic approach. After searching a few stores for holiday wrapping I quickly concluded I was not about to pay upwards of $10 per roll of paper.

Scott suggested we just wait to wrap our gifts when we get to the Midwest. He was serious. I laughed at him. Not even an option. Silly, Scott.

I found a way to wrap gifts that required minimal cost, minimal effort, and fit the bill for looking cute and traveling well.

Here's what you'll need:

• Packaging paper - I suggest checking out the post office (they usually sell the stuff by the roll), or your big box stores. I found mine at The Container Store for less than $3 a roll. Note: Packaging paper rolls give you about two to three times more paper than what you'll find on a gift wrap roll. 
• Stencil of letters of your choice - I just went to my Word program, printed off the letters I needed in font Cooper Black, size 400.
• Marker colors of your choice - I went with a more traditional forest green and burgundy, but the color options are endless.

Wrap your gift with packaging paper.

Trace the stencil.

Begin coloring in the letter.
The kid in me LOVED this little coloring activity.

Completed gift wrap with built-in (colored in) gift tag.

There are a few names in the family that start with the same letter, so to nix any confusion the green letters are for the men and the burgundy are for the women.

The letters on the packages served as name tags, I had the markers on hand, and all I needed to purchase was the packaging paper; this year's gift wrap cost me a whopping $3.

Though my wrapping isn't glitzy and adorned with fabulous bows I am so pleased with the outcome. These gifts look great under my tree and will look great under the Christmas trees in Iowa and Kansas. Holiday travel will be no match for my wrapping this year!