Here is another thrifty tip. An interesting way to save some money, be creative, and recycle...
My family has a lot of odd holiday traditions. One tradition that started almost ten years ago was wrapping gifts in cloth. It started because my Mom purchased a large gift for my brother that was very difficult to wrap with conventional Christmas wrapping paper. My mom decided to wrap the gift in large piece of gold fabric that was from a dress from the 80's. She made it look very nice and it worked out really well. Since then, that piece of fabric has been used for presents nearly every year.
A good friend of mine who is quite creative, also often wraps gifts with cloth. I love scarfs, and for my birthday she got me a book which she then wrapped in a scarf. It was really two gifts! I respected the creativity and efficiency of using the gift as the wrapping. I also respected the fact that both gifts were purchased at a thrift store.
This method is actually referred to as "furoshiki" gift wrapping. Furoshiki means "bath spread" -- in feudal Japan, because the method was used to bundle and protect people's clothing at public bath houses, but over the years, the are used to bundle up nearly anything. The traditional "furoshiki" uses Japanese square cloths, most of which are around one-and-a-half to a little over two feet on a side.
A traditional "furoshiki" cloth does not need to be used. You can use a bandanna, or a scarf, or even a piece of cloth from a dress from the 80's!
My family has a lot of odd holiday traditions. One tradition that started almost ten years ago was wrapping gifts in cloth. It started because my Mom purchased a large gift for my brother that was very difficult to wrap with conventional Christmas wrapping paper. My mom decided to wrap the gift in large piece of gold fabric that was from a dress from the 80's. She made it look very nice and it worked out really well. Since then, that piece of fabric has been used for presents nearly every year.
A good friend of mine who is quite creative, also often wraps gifts with cloth. I love scarfs, and for my birthday she got me a book which she then wrapped in a scarf. It was really two gifts! I respected the creativity and efficiency of using the gift as the wrapping. I also respected the fact that both gifts were purchased at a thrift store.
This method is actually referred to as "furoshiki" gift wrapping. Furoshiki means "bath spread" -- in feudal Japan, because the method was used to bundle and protect people's clothing at public bath houses, but over the years, the are used to bundle up nearly anything. The traditional "furoshiki" uses Japanese square cloths, most of which are around one-and-a-half to a little over two feet on a side.
A traditional "furoshiki" cloth does not need to be used. You can use a bandanna, or a scarf, or even a piece of cloth from a dress from the 80's!
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