Have leftover wrapping paper or want to repurpose wrapping paper from gifts you’ve received? Read on to discover some smart ideas for repurposing wrapping paper.

According to Use Less Stuff (ULS), the amount of additional American household waste during the holidays between Thanksgiving and Christmas totals up to 25 million tons of garbage. Do your part to help reduce waste ending up in the landfill by breaking the cycle of single-use gift wrap with these ideas for repurposing wrapping paper. Of course, you can also choose to wrap gifts using eco-friendly alternatives.

Ideas for Repurposing Holiday Wrapping Paper

1. Decoupage

I recently came across whole rolls of wrapping paper in the attic that had actually been my grandmother’s. It was at least 20-years-old. It wasn’t in the greatest shape for using as gift wrap but included some really cool prints and patterns–especially a very pretty plaid print. One ide for old rolled paper is to use it to breathe new life into older furniture pieces with decoupage. That paper would great on a couple of end tables I have that have seen better days!

2. Holiday Cards

Turn wrapping paper scraps and leftover bits into holiday cards for next year’s holidays. Getting a holiday card in the mail is great, but getting a homemade card is even better.

3. Advent Calendar

Get super creative and use leftover gift wrap to make an advent calendar for next year. One idea is to create an advent calendar of mini wrapped gifts with a little surprise inside for each day of the month, but really the possibilities are endless.

4. Packaging

Used gift wrap and scraps are perfect for repurposing as packaging for mailed packages or in which to wrap delicate holiday ornaments before storing them away for next year.

5. Office Organizing

One year, I used gift wrap to decorate coffee cans from Trader Joe’s as used them as handy containers in my office. They are still in use and hold my colored Sharpie pens, zigzag scissors, and more.

6. Mood/Todo/Organizer Board

Make a DIY mood board. Cover plywood, luan board, or even cardboard with gift wrap and wrap it with ribbon for a practical and creative way to repurpose gift wrap.

7. DIY Holiday Placemats

Repurpose sheets of gift wrap and make some holiday-themed placemats. Simply layer wrapping paper between clear contact paper for the perfect combination of form and function.

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Going gluten-free doesn’t mean you have to give up holidays treats!

The holidays can be difficult for those with food allergies and sensitivities and those following specific diets because the sweetest time of the year is also synonymous with gluten-filled treats.

And while all those tasty treats are what make the season brighter for many, you don’t have to opt out entirely or stick to the fruit plate. It is possible to celebrate the holidays while avoiding gluten.

Don’t believe us about satisfying gluten-free holiday treats? Read on for some delectable gluten-free desserts, snacks, and cookies that will make even the most diehard gluten eater do a double take.

Gluten-Free Holiday Treats

1. Cookie Cutter Cookies – The holidays wouldn’t seem complete without cut-out cookies. Not only just for the sweet and buttery taste but for the art and practice of decorating these fun holiday treats.
2. Meringue Treats – Individual meringue cookies are not only tasty but beautiful, too. They also look impressive and are sure to make an impression at your holiday parties. Plus, there are only two ingredients–can’t beat that.
3. Gingerbread Cookies – Now you don’t have to make it through the holidays without gingerbread cookies. This satisfying recipe calls for rice flour instead of wheat flour.
4. No-Bake Nutella Cookies – What is better than gluten-free treats? No-bake treats made with Nutella that’s what!
5. Almond Flour Brownies – And for something sure to please the chocolate lovers among you, try these almond flour brownies
6. Pecan Brittle – Nut brittles are perfect if you are avoiding gluten. There’s absolutely no flour involved!
7. Gluten-Free Cheesecake – Try a cheesecake as a real showstopper this holiday season. Sweet, lovely and gluten-free–it doesn’t get much better than that.

Related on EcoSalon

Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Cider Donut Recipe
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Is Being Gluten-Free Dumb or Not? Foodie Underground

Peanut Butter Cookies Image

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The following 20 Christmas quotes are just what you need to get into the holiday cheer. From celebrities to poets to authors to fictional characters, these characters offer a wide range of sentiment associated with Christmas. If you aren’t in the Christmas spirit yet, this list will surely help you get there.

20 Christmas Quotes

1. I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. – Charles Dickens
2. Aren’t we forgetting the true meaning of this day – the birth of Santa? – Bart Simpson
3. Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall. – Larry Wilde
4. At Christmas, all roads lead home. – Marjorie Holmes
5. Christmas is the season when you buy this year’s gifts with next year’s money. Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough. – Oprah Winfrey
6. Christmas is a time when kids tell Santa what they want and adults pay for it. Deficits are when adults tell the government what they want and their kids pay for it. – Richard Lamm 
7. I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month. – Harlan Miller
8. Christmas is the day that holds all time together. – Alexander Smith
9. My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that? – Bob Hope
10. This is the message of Christmas: We are never alone. – Taylor Caldwell
11. I stopped believing in Santa Clause when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph. – Shirley Temple
12. Christmas is for children. But it is for grown-ups too. Even if it is a headache, a chore, and nightmare, it is a period of necessary defrosting of chill and hide-bound hearts. – Lenora Mattingly Weber
13. Nothing says holidays like a cheese log. – Ellen DeGeneres
14. It’s not what’s under the Christmas tree that matters, it’s who’s around it. – Charlie Brown
15. He who has not Christmas in his heart will ever find it under a tree. – Roy L. Smith
16. Mail your packages early so the post office can lose them in time for Christmas. – Johnny Carson
17. It’s true, Christmas can feel like a lot of work, particularly for mothers. But when you look back on all the Christmases in your life, you’ll find you’ve created family traditions and lasting memories. Those memories, good and bad, are really what help to keep a family together over the long haul. – Caroline Kennedy
18. There are 17 more shopping days until Christmas. So, guys, that means 16 more days till we start shopping, right? – Conan O’Brien
19. The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. This wasn’t for any religious reasons. They couldn’t find three wise men and a virgin. – Jay Leno
20. Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn’t come from a store. – Dr. Seuss

Related on EcoSalon:

10 Deceptively Simple Ideas for Last Minute Homemade Christmas Cards

12 Simple, Elegant DIY Christmas Decorating Ideas to Deck Your Halls

7 Game-Changing DIY Christmas Tree Decorating Ideas

Photo Credit: zopeuse

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