15 Creative Gift Wrap Ideas to Make Your Presents Stand Out
As the holiday season grows closer, you may be wondering what you can do to stand out this year. Whether for an upcoming birthday or holiday celebration, one way to get creative is by unique gift wrapping. Unique gift wrapping can both be visually appealing and show the gift recipient that you are willing to put in the extra effort to make their gifts special. Here are 15 creative gift ideas that will make your presents stand out.
1. Chalkboard Gift Wrap

Although there are many designs available, buying decorative wrapping paper can be very expensive. One creative alternative is to use a roll of black Kraft paper instead and decorate it with chalk. Not only is this a cheaper alternative, but the finished product will be unique and you can draw creations specific to each person.
2. Fabric Flowers
A common way to spruce up presents is by adding bows. One unique alternative to that is adding fabric flowers instead. If sewing is not your forte, that is completely fine. There are other easy alternatives for making them online, as well as plenty of options for buying some that are already done and ready to be taped on.
3. Ornament Decorations
Buying gifts can already be expensive enough, so why not try using something you already have? A good way to make your presents stand out is by reusing your old Christmas ornaments. This can be done by using twine or clotheslines to wrap a bow around your gift and attaching your ornaments to it.
4. Character Boxes
If you are looking for ways to stand out when wrapping presents for Christmas, there is one idea that children should particularly love. Presents can be wrapped to look like specific characters, such as a reindeer or snowman, by cutting out pieces of colored construction paper or drawing on Kraft paper. There are other printable options online for parts such as hats or antlers.
5. Wrapping With Garland
Garland can be used for more than just the Christmas tree. A creative alternative to wrapping gifts in ribbon is using garland. If you have leftover garland, this can also double as a great way of repurposing it. If you are feeling a little more on the crafty side, you can also create unique garland to use out of baker’s twine and modeling clay shapes cut out by cookie cutters.
6. Furoshiki Gift Wrapping
If you are tired of wasting paper and want to take a more eco-friendly approach to wrapping presents, the Japanese Furoshiki fabric wrapping technique may be for you. All you will need is a square piece of fabric you would like to reuse. To wrap the gifts, all you will have to do is fold over the sides and tie it off at the top. There are many helpful available tutorials online.
7. Wrapping With Newspaper
If you want to still have the appeal of the traditional paper unwrapping but still want to remain more eco-friendly, you can try using old newspapers. This is good for the environment and appealing to the eyes. There are already a lot of wrapping papers out there now designed to look this way, so why not use the real thing?
8. Candy Wrapped
Another alternative to using a boy and adding more color to the outside of your gift package is wrapping candy on top. You can do this by using ribbon or twine and attaching colorful candy to the top of the present. The added colors of a candy cane or lollipop are not only aesthetically pleasing, but it’s an added bonus to the gift as well. This should be extra popular with gifts given to young children.
9. Decorating With Nature
As another alternative to disposable plastic bows, you can try adding nature to the top of your wrapped presents. Using items such as dried leaves, pinecones, and greenery, is sure to stand out. This unique aesthetic also helps reduce waste and can also be added by being tied on by ribbon, twine, or even hot glue. You can also combine multiple items for limitless design options.
10. Christmas Tree Presents
If you are wrapping gifts for the holidays and are looking for a way to spruce up some plain wrapping paper for your gifts, one easy idea is to make a Christmas tree on top. This can be done either by using ribbon by simply trimming off a small piece of a branch from your own Christmas tree, and hot gluing it to the top of your present. To get even more festive, you can splatter white paint behind the tree to emulate snow or add a star to decorate the mini Christmas tree you have made.
11. Snowman Stacked Presents
It’s not only individual packages themselves that can be made to look like certain characters. You can do the same thing by stacking multiple gifts for the same person and turning them into one large character. An example of this would be stacking boxes with the largest on the bottom and the smallest on top to create a snowman. Then just simply add your buttons, nose, eyes, and mouth with cut-out construction paper, and you are ready to go.
12. Woven Ribbons
Another unique and easy way to add color to the top of your present is by adding woven ribbons. You can choose multiple colors and sizes. All you will need is the ribbons, some scissors, and an adhesive, such as tape or glue dots. After attaching all of the ribbons in one direction, you can then weave the through ribbons that go in the opposite direction, creating a colorful and crafty design that is sure to stand out.
13. Recycled Department Store Paper Bags
If you are running out of time and are unable to buy either wrapping paper or kraft paper, you can try using your old brown paper bags from the grocery or department store. You can take them apart and use them like regular wrapping paper or fold them down at the top to create a more unique look. This idea will save you both time and money and can look just as nice as the other more traditional options.
14. Wine Bottle Sweaters
If a wine bottle is the gift you are giving, it can be fragile and an awkward shape to wrap. One idea to solve this issue is to reuse an old sweater. By wrapping old sweaters around the bottle, you can recycle your clothes and give the gift a new cozy look. It is creative and will eliminate any additional trouble of trying to figure out how to wrap a long glass bottle.
15. Music Sheets
There is one last way of getting decorative paper to wrap your presents without having to make a trip to the store and that is by using pages of old sheet music. Especially if you’re a musical artist, this is a great unique signature you can add to wrapping your presents. This will create a beautiful visual appeal to the gifts and will be distinct from all the others at the party.
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Anika's goal is to inspire and empower beginners with woodworking, DIY, home improvement, and home decor ideas.
She wants everyone to unlock their creative potential and experience the feeling that comes with making something. Nothing feels better better than seeing something and saying "I can make that!"