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At its most basic, gift wrapping is a way to cover a gift for another person, allowing that person the surprise of discovery upon opening the gift. But gift wrapping is also a way to make the gift-opening experience more exciting, express creativity and even show an extra measure of personal appreciation for the recipient. You just need to know a few basic gift wrapping techniques, along with some ideas for adding a creative and earth-friendly element to the process.

The Basics

Choose Your Paper. This step is as simple, or as creative, as you want it to be. It could entail a trip to the store to purchase a roll of pre-decorated gift wrapping paper. However, many other gift wrap options can easily add a personal, whimsical or artistic flair to the gift.

You can go with eco-friendly gift wrap or make some out of what you have around the house. Here are some suggestions: brown bags cut and turned inside-out (decorate with stickers, paint, stamps or even personalized messages to the recipient), newspaper or magazine pages (tape pieces together to make a larger piece), fabric scraps, wallpaper remnants or samples, tissue paper, kids’ art projects, posters or old maps.

Adjust the Paper Size. Put your chosen paper printed side down on your work surface. Put the gift upside down on top of the paper so that there is enough paper to curl over at least half of the edge of the gift on one side. Bring the other side of the paper over the gift, covering it entirely and meeting the other edge of the paper. Now the gift wrapping length is just over double the length of the gift. Cut or add to the paper size until it is right for the gift to be wrapped.