Did you know used wrapping paper and bows are the biggest culprits in a 25% jump in curbside trash volume between Thanksgiving Day and New Year's Day?! There are so many ways to create green gift wrap -- and make what's on the outside as memorable as the gift on the inside.

Re-useable gift bags and totes

One of the best options is to make your own bag or tote that can be used over and over each year. They can be sized up or down to perfectly fit your gift. Here are some easy options we've featured here at Sew4Home:

• Citrus Holiday: Reversible Gift & Wine Bags
• Hanukkah Gift or Wine Bag
• Tiny Totes for Terrific Treats

Newspaper with pinked fabric strips

Read all about your green ideas by wrapping your gifts in the daily news. Use classic black and white or choose the comics or advertising circulars for more color. The ribbon is made by seaming together scraps of fabric and pinking both edges.

Maps with pretty ribbons and pine cones

GPS and Google have made that gas station staple, the road map, a vintage collectable. Turn your old maps into colorful wrapping paper. They're huge -- and once the gift is unwrapped, they're also an educational experience. The leftover ribbons can be used for hair bows.

Tea towels wrap up kitchen utensils

A gift inside a gift. We used our adorable Citrus Holiday Tea Towels to wrap up a selection of kitchen gadgets. Raffia and greenery add the finishing touch.

Citrus Holiday: Quick Patchwork Trim Tea Towels

Brown bags with fussy cut appliqués

Cut apart your brown grocery bags then turn over so any printing is on the inside. Wrap up your gift and adorn with fussy cut fabric appliqués.

How to Fussy Cut

Baby blanket wraps up a toy

Do you someone who's an ol' softie? Take one teddy bear and wrap him up in a cuddly nursery blanket. It's two gifts in one.

Stylish Baby Nursery: The Three Blankets

Fat quarters as ‘sheets o' wrap'

Fat quarters are 18" x 22" fabric cuts, often sold in color-coordinated bundles. They are a perfect sheet size for many, many gifts. Wrap up your presents with reusable ribbon -- just fold and tie; no tape required. Then gather up all the pieces after Christmas morning and turn the fat quarters into a quilt for next season.

Towel wraps up some fancy handmade soap

We have a soap maker in our family and he's always looking for unique ways to present his beautiful bars. We wrapped them in magazine pages from the recycling bin (you could also use newspaper or fabric squares), then bundled a batch in a plush hand towel we'd embellished with decorative ribbon.

Ribbon Edged Hand Towel

Kids drawings on brown lunch bags

The humble brown lunch bag comes to life with kids' artwork. This is also a great project to keep kids busy over the holiday break. Give them a stack of bags and a box of crayons and let them go wild. Tie up the finished gifts with pinked fabric strips and holiday berries.

Pillowcase holds jammies

Whip up one of our fast and easy Christmas pillowcases and fill it with a pair a jammies. Sweet idea for sweet dreams.

• Visions of Sugarplums Christmas Pillowcases
• Visions of Sugarplums Christmas Pillowcase for Kids

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