OMG. You are hosting Christmas dinner. You have the menu all planned out, the in-laws are flying in tomorrow and you barely finished up shopping for everyone! Whew- you’ve got this, but your abode is looking less-than festive. Girl (or dude…), we got your BACK! Here are some easy ways to spruce up your home with the gift wrap you ALREADY HAVE! Genius? We think so. Most of these ideas can be achieved in minutes and will have you looking like Martha Stewart in no time.

7 ideas- here we go!

    1. WRAP YOUR WALL HANGINGS LIKE PRESENTS

This is probably the quickest, easiest and most impactful. The great thing is that you are wrapping art that was already hanging on the wall, so you don’t have to create any new holes or move anything out of the way. We, of course, are OBSESSED with Rifle Paper Co. – so I had to hand select this paper in particular to go next to my sweet little felted Rudolph. Top it off with a BIG FAT BOW to make the best statement. We love The Pencil Factory Paper Ribbon, or you can cut a bow of your own out of a contrasting wrapping paper.

      2. WRAP CARDBOARD RECTANGLES

Do you have any big cardboard boxes left over from purchased gifts? Cut em up and wrap em up! You can lean/tape them to the wall, or cut and adhere a triangle “kickstand” so they can stand on their own!

    3.  CONE CHRISTMAS TREES

These make the most adorable centerpiece or mantle decor. You can either wrap cardboard crafting cones for a sturdier option, or just twist and adhere your paper into a cone shape (as you would a cone party hat)- make sure you have an even bottom so they stand upright.

    4.  CHRISTMAS CARD DISPLAY

Take idea #1 or #2 and then wrap paper ribbon, string, or ribbon around the rectangle in a weave pattern to create little pockets for all those cute photo cards you collect in the mail. I found once I started getting a lot of cards on mine, it was helpful to have some washi tape or clothespins to help with arranging.

   5.  MAGIC MAILBOX

Although this would be something fun to have throughout the holiday season for kids to send and receive letters from Santa, it does make for a really cute decoration. If you don’t have an actual mailbox, wrapping any mail catcher in paper would make it festive and magical…or so a little elf told me…

    6. FESTIVE STRIPES

Use strips of your favorite gift wrap (fold the edges under to give a clean edge) or paper ribbon to wrap around anything cylinder-shaped in your home. I used some logs I have, but you could also use planters, jars and vases. Wrap the strips of paper in a loop around the object and secure with tape in the back.

7. PAPER WREATH

If you are all caught-up on Christmas tasks and feeling ambitious, make a paper wreath! All you need is a circular and flat wreath form- this could be a plywood craft form or just a ring you cut out of cardboard, both work the same. Other than that- just paper and glue!

Red wreath example– this is the more ambitious of the two designs. To get the “fluffy” effect, cut a million 3-4″ circles out of paper, fold in half without fully creasing it and then fold into a quarter. You will then have a point on one end and then a “fluff” on the open end. Then just arrange and secure the folded circles on the wreath form until you get the look you desire. Add a bow or embellishment of your choosing to finish it off! I used Elmer’s glue, but if I was going to do it again, I would used hot glue since it dries instantly and you can ensure that the pieces won’t un-stick as you are working. Plus, you don’t have time to wait for glue to dry…it’s time to start dinner.

Blue wreath example- This “laurel” wreath design seriously took 20 minutes at most. Since it doesn’t have the “fluff” of the other one, it doesn’t take nearly as much time since you don’t need nearly as much paper to cover it. For the top, I just cut small circles out of patterned wrap and folded/creased them once in half and then covered the top of the wreath form with them. Then for the bottom, I used WHITE COPY PAPER seriously, the cheap stuff that was in the unused inkjet printer that takes up space in my home-office. I just folded the paper sheets in half and cut a half “leaf-like” shape over and over. Think of it like you are cutting Valentine hearts in grade school. I then glued down the bottom ends of each “leaf” starting at the top middle sections where I ended with the blue paper circles. Then just fan and arrange each side semi-evenly until you get to the bottom center. Voila! Simple.

We hope that we could help you out with these last minute crafts to spruce up your Holiday home decor. They work year-round no matter what the occasion! Our gift wrap sheets are the perfect size for crafts like these and we have a crazy-good selection to choose from including: Rifle Paper Co., Wink Wink by Holley Maher, Smock, Kate Spade, Julia Green Illustration, Waste Not Paper by Paper Source, Sugar Paper, Melanie Folwell and even some of our own P+P designs!