Keeping Christmas Green

Christmas is coming! If you're like me, you've bought about 2 gifts so far, and you're getting ready to start the marathon shop-til-you-drop-and-wrap-a-bunch-of-presents challenge. I recently learned that wrapping paper, ribbon, and shopping bags account for about 4 billion tons of trash each year in the U.S. 4 billion tons! Here's my idea on how to keep Christmas green:

I wrapped these gifts in vintage scarves. The bonus here is not only do you have a pretty, uniquely wrapped gift, but it's a 2-fer for another present! This idea is great for any friend who drives a Prius or carries a reusable shopping bag to Whole Foods.
...Or anybody who likes scarves. So, basically everyone.

Each of these presents are books (gasp! I'm sure you never could have guessed that.) Scarves are good shapes for wrapping books or other small items. If you're wrapping an item that's larger than a scarf (like a Swiffer or something), you could reuse anything (e.g., yesterday's newspaper) for a recyclable gift-wrap. Other ideas include: leftover tinfoil or saran wrap.

Okay, just kidding about those last two. Happy gifting!