In the midst of wrapping Christmas gifts, I have ended up with at least half a dozen rolls of wrapping paper that each have only a foot or two left on them. I was contemplating just throwing them out but just couldn’t bring myself to. :-) So I did a little research and one idea led to the next and soon I had several great alternative ideas to tossing my leftover wrapping paper out with the trash.
My favorite ideas involved using a very under utilized item in my house….my paper shredder.
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Since New Year’s Eve is just around the corner I decided to shred up some of my shiny variety Christmas paper and make party confetti!
Just take your leftover piece of wrapping paper, fold it over on itself a few times until it fits within the width of your shredder, and feed it through.
For me, it’s just not a New Year’s Eve celebration without some sort of confetti involved! I know it can be kind of a pain to clean up, but hey, it only comes around once a year and that’s what vacuums are for.
Another great use for the shredded paper….packing material!
Protect and/or store fragile items, including delicate Christmas decor, with a shredded leftover wrapping paper. Or use it as filler for homemade gift baskets throughout the year.
If you don’t have access to a shredder…here are a few more ideas:
Do a makeover on your medicine cabinet! In My Own Style
Or on a bookcase! Jewels At Home
Line a party tray…… Thoughtfully Simple
…..or a drawer. I Heart Organizing
Frame the wrapping paper to be ready as a next year’s holiday decor! Thoughtfully Simple
Take larger pieces of wrapping paper, flip them over, hang them on the wall of your kid’s room, and let the kids have at it! They’ll love decorating their new “wallpaper.”
Make festive bunting for a party, or just for fun! RosiePink
Did you know you can curl paper like you can curl ribbon? Well you can! Make your own bows from old paper. Simple Julie
Roll paper beads that you can use for craft projects. Tonya Staab
Take your old wrapping paper and make NEW handmade paper! One Good Thing By Jillee
Cut your leftover gift wrap into squares and make beautiful origami hearts! Gathering Beauty
Make simple and festive placemats (that you don’t have to worry about getting food on!) Up To Date Interiors
And finally, once you’re finished recycling your wrapping paper, don’t throw away the paper tube it came wrapped around!
Those are great for keeping the rest of your wrapping paper from unrolling. No more pieces of tape that drive you mad trying to get off!
They are also great for storing and protecting tapered candles. Wrap with a little leftover tissue paper and store inside the tube.
[…] What To Do With Leftover Wrapping Paper […]
What a fun idea! Thanks for sharing! =)
Thanks for the ideas, Jillee. My parents have been saving scraps of wrapping paper for 40 years and we have a whole box full of it. Most of the time, we use a few pieces for smaller gift boxes and that’s it. But, this year, I found a whole new great use for them. My best friend has two daughters who she LOVES to prank when it comes to wrapping Christmas gifts. She will wrap small things multiple times, in multiple boxes and that uses a lot of wrapping paper. Her oldest is now getting into nail art and has… Read more »
One year I took leftover wrapping paper and made up folded-paper ornaments; they were a bit like these I’m linking. Just accordion fold and hot glue. To make the centers (which hold the whole thing together), I had found some paper tags at a dollar store. They were die-cut santas, poinsettias, that sort of thing. And they already had a hole punched to put a ribbon through! So I would fold a long strip in half the long way (to keep both sides patterned and pretty), accordion-fold the resulting double-sided strip, then hot-glue the ends together. Hot-glue one paper tag… Read more »
Pfft. Forgot the link.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_uzpNWl4qXU/UqXNKU7QnnI/AAAAAAABINI/Wcvb-AE3w04/s1600/IMG_0600.jpg
My girlfriend and I use old wrapping paper as stationary to write letters to each other and other people.
Just now reading this but great ideas!! I found some red with white polka dots paper at Target this season so I can use it for other types of gifts since I have a lot left over. :) I’m also going to use it as drawer liner in the chest of drawers we just got from my Mom’s estate. I love polka dots so I’m always on the lookout for that kind of wrapping paper at Christmas. I also use it for crafts projects and have used it in frames by double-stick taping it to the photo mats in picture… Read more »
Terrific ideas that I will keep in mind for next year. Thanks for sharing them.
Awesome ideas! Thanks!
I love a paper craft called Iris Folding and wrapping paper is great to use to create these pretty items.
http://doitandhow.com/2011/06/02/iris-folding/
It’s easier than it looks and is great for card making or framing as a gift.
Another alternative for securing those rolls of wrapping paper…hair elastics. My girls and I have really thick hair, so we use the big elastics….but we have managed to acquire some skinny ones along the way…and since they don’t work for our hair, they are great for paper. They don’t stick like rubber bands and they don’t tear like tape. :)
Happy New Year!