Lucky Crow Gift Bags
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 08.31.05
With Americans spending 2.7 billion dollars a year on gift wrap and the holiday gift giving season approaching quickly (yikes!), we thought we’d get a head start by writing about Lucky Crow. The company offers a simple and sustainable alternative to disposable gift wrap by designing stylish and reusable fabric gift bags. Lucky Crow is a member of 1% for the Planet, donating 1% of all sales to non-profit organizations working to protect our natural environment. Of course, they could take it one TreeHugger step further and use all recycled fabric but we think it’s a good start because the bags can be re-gifted, reused and recycled themselves. ::Lucky Crow
My ma made has made her own. I liked them, and they are a nice change from all the paper in a gift pile. However they do not provide the same "tear-n-see" excitement as giftwrap does for the kiddies, so I instead I use maps, reused giftwrap, or brown grocery bags decorated.
For all architects, contractors, or anyone who has old sets of construction plans lying around, that makes great wrapping paper as well. My old firm had tons of blueprints that I used as wrapping one year and the people (especially non-architects, builders, etc.)LOVED getting presents wrapped in them.
My family has used fabric gift bags for the last 2 years and we are hooked! My kids, ages 2 and 6, can't wait to open their bags and see what is inside! We don't miss paper wrap at all!
Another idea for giftwrap is already read newspapers -- especially the comics page. If the person you are giving to loves a particular comic, try wrapping the gift so that the comic they love shows up. Another idea for bags if you need a kind of "tear" sensation is to loosely wrap the box in a giant sheet of newspaper and then fill the rest of the bag with loose wads of newspaper instead of tissue wrap. Too bad the composting packaging tape isn't too widespread yet. Some people must have their wrapping paper.