If you want to make a difference and give a green touch to this Christmas 2010, the package must do its part and therefore better if sustainable, possibly ethical and, very importantly, wrapped in the right way.
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerousChristmas is upon us, the streets are brightening up, the shops are teeming with people, the fir trees are peeping out in the nurseries and the children are starting to think about the letter to write to Santa Claus. Each rite is repeated this year too, with its vices and virtues. But if you want to make a difference and give a green touch to this Christmas, the package must do its part. Very welcome if sustainable, possibly ethical and, very important, wrapped in the right way.
Il Christmas package it can have a thousand shapes, colors and sizes. There are many creative ideas, last year we proposed recycled paper, comics you don't read anymore, tourist maps and the Easter egg list preserved for the occasion.
Also this year we suggest you to use materials you have at home, easy to find, often forgotten or stacked in some corner waiting to be reused.
To start, how about using the paper bread bags? Often neutral in color, perhaps a not very attractive brownish but, without a shadow of a doubt, they offer an excellent base to give free rein to your creativity. For the lazy ones, just embellish them with a bow or other decorations. In its simplicity, a trivial bag can become very Christmas if enhanced in the right way.
And if there are children in the house then that's it. Have them decorate them with markers and molds to glue. These little masterpieces will add even more value to the gift and will be a nice way to send a message to family and friends.
Look around the house a bit, maybe you will find some other types of paper you can use. For example the newspaper pages which, if loose enough, can become great ways to wrap gifts. Or maps and geographical maps, pictures of old calendars, advertising sheets and so on and so forth!
Use the cloth. The remnants are perfect, just sew them together and wrap, or maybe it would be better to say “Instoffare”, your gift. It is true, sewing is not really child's play, but once assembled, the squares of gift fabric can be reused every year, just iron them a little. Savings are guaranteed.
Old clothes, scarves and foulards can also be a solution and become fantastic Christmas bags. They require some initial work but then you will live on income. You can cover anonymous containers, such as shoe boxes or coffee boxes, with various types of fabrics and create wonderful Christmas boxes to be re-proposed for future years.
On the theme of decorations, absolutely plasticized rosettes and ribbons are prohibited. Make them yourself with fabric or buy them already packaged and, even in this case, you can reuse them without problems. And if instead of the usual cockade prefer 100% natural elements, equip yourself with leaves, twigs, seeds, pine cones and pine needles.
Nature is so beautiful that it has no rivals and, if you think that to find these Christmas ornaments you just need to take a nice walk in the countryside among woods and winter landscapes, the choice seems decidedly obvious.
Serena Bianchi
Read also green ideas for making gift boxes with recycled materials
Read also 7 eco-sustainable (and do-it-yourself) alternatives for packaging "fragile" packages
