We’ll cut to the chase: Four million tons of holiday gift wrap ends up in landfills every year. So as we’re gifting treasures to our favorite people, we’re also creating an ugly amount of waste for our planet. It’s high time our thoughtfulness goes past what’s inside the box. Today, we’re teaming up with Allbirds and their #ScrapTheWrap campaign to bring you four charming, greener ways to wrap those gifts.
Think outside of the box, y’all. Literally.
Allbirds has long been a B+C favorite, and not just because of its cult-like following. The shoes are comfortable enough to wear sans socks (which this author does, often), and they’re machine washable too. What’s more, the shoes are made with ZQ-certified merino wool and other premium natural materials, so they’re gentle on the planet. Aside from the ever-popular Wool Runners and Wool Loungers, Allbirds now offers Smallbirds, AKA adorable, pint-sized Wool Runners for toddlers. How flippin’ cute are they?! Forgive the pun, but these are totally a shoe-in gift for anyone on your list.
Now, let’s get decorating!
DIY Snowy Maze Box
What’s more fun than opening gifts? Traveling through a snowy maze to reach the gift, first! (Hello, that’s why treasure hunts are so irresistible.) We painted a 3D maze onto an Allbirds box to maximize the FUN of opening the gift. Go the extra mile and gift a toy sheep as well to hint at the merino wool wonders inside.
Scroll on for the DIY.
Materials + Tools:
- Allbirds shoebox
- paint
- paintbrushes
- pencil
Instructions:
- Remove the items from your box. Trace the full maze onto the box with a pencil. To really maximize the fun, we made sure the trail would go over four sides of the box before arriving at each shoe pocket. Draw decor around the maze, such as trees, snowcaps, or forest animals.
- Paint your designs on the exterior of the box, then let it dry.
- Finish up the outside of the box by painting the trail black. Feel free to add embellishments too!
- Once the outside of the box is completely dry, paint the inside of the box. We hid the gift recipient’s name inside the box to make it even more special. Add other personal touches as desired, then let it dry.
Add your gift back into the box. You’re done!
After the big gift unveiling, save the box for future play adventures with your kiddos.
3 More Ways to #ScrapTheWrap
Cotton Ball Sheep: Use leftover cotton balls and paper scraps to make 3D sheep! We hot glued these onto an old gift box, then added googly eyes for extra magic. Now that is one charming baaaaah-x :)
Color-Dipped Leaves: Dip found leaves in paint, let dry, then glue them onto your box. We used leftover house paint, but any paint lying around the house will do. (Heads Up: When gluing on the leaves, make sure the giftee can still open their present!)
Parchment Paper Envelopes: Grab some scrap parchment paper leftover from cookie baking and get folding. Cut a square, then fold each corner into the center. Secure the corners with small sewn stitches or glue, then decorate the front as you see fit. We filled the envelopes with fabric scraps to hide the gifts within, then added leftover faux snow for a festive touch.
There you go — four delightful, greener ways to decorate your gifts with no paper gift wrap in sight. Happy gifting!
Are you trying any of these DIYs? We want to see your beautiful work! Post a pic on Instagram with the hashtags #britstagram and #ScrapTheWrap so we can take a look.
Production + Styling: Kayla Haykin + Maddie Bachelder
Photography: Chris Andre
