A Traditional Christmas Bundle

Welcome to part 3 of the Raising Home Blog’s Holiday Staples: Christmas Edition. If you missed A Moody Christmas or A White Christmas, check those out!

I am including all of my favorite holiday tips — the ones I wish I knew years ago. This week, we’re going to talk about one little thing, probably the least expensive out of all your decor, that you are overlooking.

Tree

Decor

Wrapping paper

Why your wrapping paper is part of your Christmas decor

For years, I considered wrapping paper for what it was — to wrap a present. And it is that, so it has a big job. But it also makes a bigger statement than we give it credit for. Your wrapping paper is a part of your Christmas decor.

When you think of the experience someone gets sitting in your room or even opening their presents, it all works together. Each year, I choose my wrapping paper to match the theme of the year.

Here is the paper I’m using this year — and the ribbon.

The experience that unwrapping a present gives the recipient adds a special touch and, with a little thought and effort, can go a long way. This year, I will be adding name labels to the ribbons.

Make sure when you’re choosing your wrapping paper that you are doing it with intention and considering your decor as a whole. As you pick out your color schemes and fabrics. Wrapping paper can really give your decor a pop, and it’s temporary. There are no permanent decisions.

Just because you pick some wrapping paper for this year doesn’t mean you’ve got to do it forever and ever. So it’s a small investment — and if you don’t like it, you just do something different next year.

The biggest tip I can give you is to keep it simple. Feel free to pick as many wrapping papers as you would like, but also be free to enjoy the simplicity of one less choice. I have done it both ways, and some years I have more capacity than other years.

So, what about leftover wrapping paper? Every year, I have a bin of wrapping paper that I keep from year to year, and I love to reuse it and not waste any paper. I wrap gifts that are not going to be opened in my house on Christmas morning in leftover paper. This includes teacher gifts, family gifts, and any gifts that we will deliver somewhere else.

Sometimes I add these gifts underneath the tree at some point, but most of the time they just stay in the closet until they go to their recipient. And the only gifts under the tree are the ones wrapped with that year’s wrapping paper, which belong to the people who will be in our home on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

I hope this tip was helpful and inspiring to you. And again, don’t overcomplicate it or overthink it. Just remember that if you can see it, it’s decor, and your wrapping paper matters.

All right, we have one more Christmas coming next week — I will see you then. Until next time!