50 Unique Christmas Gift Wrapping Ideas

Create a charming winter wonderland atop your gift using miniature bottle brush trees, wreaths and presents. You can even find mini mail boxes and park benches, which your recipient can use as Christmas decor after unwrapping.

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Instead of the traditional gift bows, try something a little more seasonal, like pine branches, holly sprigs, pinecones or kumquats, which really pop against plain brown parcel paper. Bonus: Depending on what you use, you might get a sweet fragrance, too.

RELATED: 80 Creative and Elegant Christmas Tree Ideas

Furoshiki, the traditional Japanese way of wrapping gifts or personal belongings in special cloth, not only looks pristine — it can be re-used, so it’s green, too.

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You can incorporate the outdoors without defaulting to holly and pine trees, too. Preserved moss, wheat and thistles also add that earthy element, and their color looks great against neutral gold and silver paper.

Everybody expects the buffalo-plaid checked paper, so shake things up with some polka dot designs — they don’t even have to be green and red. No matter the color, any polka-dot print looks right at home under the tree when paired with red ribbon.

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These are not your average, just-like-you-made-in-elementary-school paper snowflakes. This version adds a 3D element to your gift boxes. The key is creating an accordion fold before you start trimming and snipping away.

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Kraft paper is anything but boring: Think of it as a blank canvas for even more Christmas decorations, like mini wreaths, paper trees and ribbon scraps.

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Sometimes it’s a bit difficult to disguise a present’s telltale shape. Keep it a mystery with these three-dimensional boxes that (bonus!) double as decorations.

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Wrap your gift in a plaid shirt and you’ll be giving two gifts in one. Plus, how cute is that brooch “bow”?!

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It works out perfectly that the crooks of candy canes look just like the rails on Santa’s sleigh. Another stroke of genius? Gluing on honeycomb ornaments.

Stamp your kids’ gifts with their first initial (all you need are alphabet rubber stamps, ink pads and blank rolls of paper). That way, come Christmas morning, they’ll know exactly which presents to unwrap.

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Rather than slapping on a lonely store-bought sticker, up the impact by covering the entire top of a gift box in monochromatic bows. No one will be the wiser that you finished wrapping it in the car!

Add an accent to packages with colorful holiday lights. Hot-glue six colored bulbs together to form a star shape, then fasten the bauble to a length of ribbon with double-stick tape.

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Make a gift card more personal by tailoring the wrap to the item. Here, a home-store certificate nestles in a prettied-up paint can. For a manicure, use a cosmetics bag; for the movies, try a popcorn box.

Put the confetti (or glitter!) on the outside of the box. Secured with double-stick tape, the paper dots create “ribbons” of vibrant color.

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Origami fans, meet kirigami. It’s a variation on paper folding that includes a little cutting. Use it to fashion these recycled bows out of decorative paper, newspaper or even a page of your favorite magazine.

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Coordinate your gifts with the tree by tying on miniature baubles in the same color scheme. Double up with a soft velvet ribbon in a similar hue.

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Plain white paper is the perfect backdrop for something sweet. Top packages with swirl lollipops, drugstore candy, tree cuttings, and ribbon for an elegant (and wallet-friendly) look. Bonus: You can still use the paper after the holidays, for birthdays and other occasions.

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A felt flower or pinwheel is so much better than a bow. After December 25th, glue on a string and the decoration becomes an ornament for next year.

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