Five-spot is slang that was used for the five-dollar bill in the 1930s. Click here to check out the new look!Close

When your great grandparents were kids, they often wrapped their gifts in heavy brown paper and tied them with string or twine.

When your parents were kids, many birthday gifts were wrapped with the color comics from the Sunday paper.

No sleeping under this patchwork paper quilt!

Today, there are even more ways to wrap gifts without having to spend a lot of money—and most of the tools you need are right at home!

Make a quilt of patchwork paper

One easy way to decorate a gift is by making patchwork paper:

• Save old sections of wrapping paper;
• Cut out pieces in different shapes and sizes;
• Tape them together.

It's fun to watch someone open a gift wrapped in patchwork paper.

Pretty soon, the entire gift box is covered. Then, do the same thing with pieces of ribbon and tape them to the top of the package.

Try doing it with magazine cutouts, or other creative creations, instead of wrapping paper.

Natalie likes to cut out words and phrases that describe the gift recipient, and glue them into a collage on the gift box.

Creative creations

Look in your home or neighborhood for ideas:

• Look through your family's sewing box. You might find interesting buttons, pieces of fabric, or ribbons.
• Look in your yard, or a nearby park. Collect flowers, leaves, small stones, or wood chips.
• Ask your neighbors. Maybe they have old buttons, stickers, or magazines they'll give you.
• Visit yard sales or flea markets. Sometimes you can find old pieces of jewelry for 25 cents or less. The seller might even give you a piece for free if you ask.
• Use cookie cutters to trace shapes onto paper or fabric. Cut them out to use as decorations, or to make an unusual card.
• Scour the junk drawer. You'll find some interesting objects in there, but make sure to check with your parent first!

Close

This one's in the bag!

Make your own gift bag.

Gift bags are always popular instead of wrapping paper. But instead of paying as much as $10 for a gift bag in a store, you can make your own at home.

Use a plain-colored lunch bag or grocery bag. Decorate it with stickers—or glue on magazine pictures, drawings, buttons, or pieces of ribbon and wrapping paper.

Or tape together left-over pieces of wrapping paper and make your own bag.

If the gift is for a friend or relative, you can even stick on photographs of the two of you doing fun things together.

Margo and Sarah made a gift bag for their friend Eric's present. Eric loves to eat fruit, so they cut out pictures of grapes, bananas, and apples and glued them to a paper bag. Then they glued on sparkly sequins to jazz it up.

Eric enjoyed his birthday gift and he saved the gift bag in his scrapbook!

Add extra flair

Try these other no-waste gift wrapping ideas.

Just like vanilla ice cream is more exciting with a cherry on top, a gift is more attractive with a bow on top. But don't stop there.

Don't Stop There!

If you use ribbon on your gift, tie a flower or a leaf in it. Find a twig with leaves in the fall or a sprig, or holly and berries in winter.

Get permission before you cut someone's garden flowers!

Close

Other cool things to use are medallions, strings of beads, small toys, or puzzle pieces.

Steve tied a toy car to the ribbon on his friend's birthday present, and his brother, Scott, glued old chess pieces on his gift.

Anything you find can be part of a gift's decoration.

Look around you, and you just might be surprised at

how creative your wrapping can be!