| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| princesspatches |
Posted - Dec 26 2013 : 11:30:02 AM
I really dislike the whole gift bag idea. I do not think they are pretty. And I NEVER use them to wrap a present. With that said.....I have tons of gift bags stacked up from gifts we have received in gift bags. I hate to throw them away. I have been letting the kids use the to haul 'stuff' around. I bring my lunch to work in the , pack my knitting in them etc.
The pile is not reducing............
I would love to come up with a cute idea of turning them into something else. I am going to make gift tags from some of them. (I thought that was a cute idea).
Any other ideas as what to do with all these gift bags? Hubby says I should use them as fire starter, but that is because he doesn't want to store them in the attic.
Arttie |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| ceejay48 |
Posted - Jan 29 2014 : 10:45:32 AM
I know that vendors selling their items at Christmas Bazaars and Craft Fairs recycle them to bag up purchases for their customers.
CJ
..from the barefoot farmgirl in SW Colorado...sister chick #665.
2010 Farmgirl Sister of the Year
Mother Hen: FARMGIRLS SOUTHWEST HENHOUSE
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living life - www.snippetscja.blogspot.com
from my heart - www.fromacelticheart.blogspot.com
from my hubby - www.aspenforge.blogspot.com |
| levisgrammy |
Posted - Dec 28 2013 : 6:43:16 PM
Lisa,
I love your story. I never much cared for wrapping gifts until I started working at a Hallmark store. There I learned shortcuts to make things go quicker and still look really nice.
Denise
Farmgirl Sister #43
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."
Psalm 119:105
http://www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com/
http://www.torisgram.etsy.com |
| levisgrammy |
Posted - Dec 28 2013 : 6:41:21 PM
I have been reading this thread with interest because I have plenty of gift bags. Really like some of the ideas and hope more gals will chime in. I really like the idea of the wreath and using the bags to make tags and greeting cards for next year. Guess I won't be packing mine away this year.
Denise
Farmgirl Sister #43
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."
Psalm 119:105
http://www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com/
http://www.torisgram.etsy.com |
| nubidane |
Posted - Dec 28 2013 : 1:42:12 PM
I'm with Arttie
I know it is the thought that counts, and boy oh boy are bags easy, BUT, here is my story.
My dad died when I was 8. My mom remarried when I was 10, and my step grandma Florence, was the epitome of beautiful packaging.
She was a very frugal woman, and lived in a modest duplex. But EVERYTHING she gave us was packaged to perfection. It was all boxed and decorated with gorgeous cloth ribbons that she bought from a local store, Cappel's, and, of course, used over and over. The ribbons were ironed and stored. She even washed and ironed currency to give as gifts. Any birthday card we opened revealed a crisp, almost starched, 5 dollar bill. Every gift tag was similar, with a cloth bow, and perfect script.
To me, that perfect packaging made the gift that much more special, and though I try to replicate her craft, I do not come close (my sis, the photographer with an eye for that kind of stuff, has it down pat)
Anyway, whenever I wrap a gift, I try to channel my inner Florence, and create a bit of gift giving beauty.
"We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” – R.R. |
| Cozynana |
Posted - Dec 28 2013 : 09:38:29 AM
Cut them up and use them making greeting cards for next year. I work in a thrift store and we love donations like that. They go out quickly. I would suggest you get rid of them or use them unless you have other ones that are not Christmas. I think tearing them apart and using them as gift wrap would work, although that defeats the purpose of a gift bag. I love them myself and recycle them every year my kids come for Christmas and have Birthdays. |
| princesspatches |
Posted - Dec 28 2013 : 06:56:41 AM
Lots of good ideas. Thanks girls. My goal this year is to finish all the recycle projects I have going in my house. And then start an Esty shop or get them up for sale in order to pay for my Christmas items next year. these gift bags have been on the 'list' for awhile and every year I stick the back in the attic with a promise to do them before Christmas.
This year...I am keeping them downstairs and things will get done. I have 3 long months of winter ahead of me and lots of focus. We are going to Joann's today, so I am going to pick up the necessary supplies and get my little home business started.
I will let you know how it goes.
Thanks
Arttie |
| sjmjgirl |
Posted - Dec 27 2013 : 5:58:20 PM
Have you offered them to your family or friends? I know many people who would gladly take them! Maybe put them up for barter on the barter thread? Or check with a charity that does gift giving at Christmas and see if they can use them. Obviously they can't use them this year, but maybe next year?
Farmgirl Sister # 3810
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
- Dalai Lama
April is Autism Awareness month. Autism affects 1 in 88 children (1 in 54 boys, including my son). Go to http://www.autismspeaks.org/ to learn more and help Light It Up Blue on April 2nd!
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| Ninibini |
Posted - Dec 27 2013 : 10:30:19 AM
We had a big discussion about this at our neighbor's home on Christmas Eve. The consensus was that at the very least, the whole gift bag concept is quite "green." If properly cared for, they can be recycled and reused from year to year. I don't mind gift bags... To be honest, it's the love behind the gift that counts to me, not the wrappings. Having said that, though, gift bags taught me quite a lesson one Christmas, that's for sure, so I can see where you all are coming from. This one particular year, I was running behind and in a hurry, so I used recycled bags from prior years. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to remove the tag from the previous year when packaging a gift to my girlfriend and her husband (ugh). They received a lovely gift from us thoughtfully chosen especially for them, but when they saw the tag, they had thought that we had recycled an unwanted gift from someone else and given it to them - NOT AT ALL! For months they were hurt that they were given so little consideration from such close friends. (A little petty in my opinion, but I certainly understood how they came to that conclusion and how it must've felt!) We ended up having a good laugh afterwards, though, when she finally mentioned it to me, and I showed her the box of recycled bags we had stored in the attic, all with the original gift tags signed by the original gift-givers still attached. Typical absent-minded Nini-ness... Tsk tsk tsk... Nevertheless, I sure felt horrible for having hurt and offended such dear friends through a simple oversight that lead to such a misunderstanding! Oy yoy yoy!
I completely applaud your desire to put those bags to good use! Perhaps at the holidays they might make nice vase covers for flowers or pot covers for potted plants around your home? Or maybe some of the designs can be cut from the bags and converted into gift tags or even used in other papercrafting/scrap projects? I also remember how, when my grandparents lived in an elderly apartment complexes, all the neighbors would slip their Christmas cards to each other under the doors... maybe somehow the bags could be recycled as holiday "mailboxes" and attached on apartment or nursing home doors? That might be kind of cool! There are lots of these type of apartment complexes and nursing homes in our area... I am wondering if you have the same, perhaps you could call next fall and offer your supply to them for this purpose? Maybe they could also use them during craft time - management could supply the people with different holiday decorations and glue and let them design their own "mailbox" or gift bags for gift-giving... They could make a contest out of it! For that matter, a lot of elementary schools still host holiday stores where the students can purchase little inexpensive gifts for their family members... I bet they would LOVE to have these bags for the kids to take their treasures home in! Women's shelters, churches, foster care placement agencies, and juvenile centers might really appreciate having them, too.
I actually think these would be some really cool ways to recycle them, Arttie - I hope you like them, too! I am eager to see what other ideas our farmgirl sisters come up with, because you're absolutely right: these babies do tend to pile up quickly! Even if you like 'em, you can only use so many of them! :)
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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| churunga |
Posted - Dec 26 2013 : 8:37:31 PM
I saw a paper wreath on the Joann Fabric site made with die cut flowers. Maybe something like this can be made from them. I don't like them either. I think it is a lazy way to wrap presents.
Marie, Sister #5142
Try everything once and the fun things twice. |
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