We are using some homemade reusable Christmas gift bags this year. These simple bags are super easy to make.
Reusable gift bags are eco-friendly and super cute. “Americans spend more than $7 billion on wrapping paper each year, according to Sundale Research.” What I like about this simple craft is you make it one time and you are done forever!
Hopefully a small change, like not using as much wrapping paper, will amount to a larger impact on helping the environment. I like to say every little bit helps. I found this question when researching how much waste is created by wrapping paper.
Q: How much extra waste is created during the winter holiday season?
A: Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year’s holiday period than any other time of year.
The extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about 1 million extra tons per week! According to the Stanford Edu site.
That is a lot of trash, and that is just Americans, not even taking the rest of the world into account.
By not buying wrapping paper this year I will be saving money and hopefully cutting down on the amount of waste.
These bags are so easy to make. All you need is some material and a sewing machine. (If you don’t have a sewing machine don’t worry, I have a few alternative options for you below.)
My mom happened to have some Christmas-themed material that she wasn’t going to use, so I started with that.
How to make the bag
To get started fold the material in half, and cut it into a rectangle shape, or the shape that will fit a certain gift.
The amount of material you need will depend on the size of the gift. Simply sew up each side and turn the material inside out.
I like to use a scrap of material to tie the top together. You could make this look more fancy with some ribbon or a bow.
With one extra step, it is easy to make the gift bag a little more fancy. After you have the sides sewn up, you just fold down the top and make a casing.
Just snip an opening in the casing and you can thread a ribbon through.
Supplies
- Scissors
- Material
- Sewing Machine
- A ribbon or strip of material
- Thread
- Alternatives (hot glue or fabric glue)
Watch Reusable Christmas Gift Bags
Alternative Reusable Christmas Gift Bag ideas
If you don’t have a sewing machine you could always use hot glue or fabric glue. Don’t want to deal with sewing or the glue?
You could always get a Christmas-themed pillow case and tie a ribbon at the top. If all else fails they do sell super cute reusable gift bags online too.
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