I can’t believe that Christmas is now only 3 weeks away. My house is decorated, the tree is up and I’m spending some quality time wrapping up the gifts. I wanted to put a more rustic spin on the wrap this year-at least as far as the paper goes. With my tree a 12 foot Douglas fir, decked in wood ornaments along with white capped pine cones, keeping consistent was the goal.

So with that in mind, I decided on a natural or some might say, old-fashioned approach using plain papers and simple decorative embellishments.

Here is a possible list to keep it old-school and rustic.

1. White or brown wrap paper. I used a roll of children’s drawing paper available at your local toy store or stationery store. The post-office has rolls of brown packing paper. I love the look of both white alongside old-school brown craft paper. This was used well before commercialized wrapping paper and presents a simplicity that I adore.

2. Rustic embellishments. Go foraging for snips of cedar, fir or spruce. Pine tends to be large and spiky which doesn’t adhere well to the top of your package. Add a sprig of the fir to the top of your package or place a square of burlap behind it for texture. Tiny boughs can be held in place using string. Brown tags go well with either the white or brown packages. Add a monogram initial-again, keeping it simple. Wooden buttons also can be used as a decorative element.

3. Simple embellishments. Consider adding a photograph to the top of a gift, or a strip of music to add a bit of festive flare. A cut-out also works really well, like this sweater or flower hole-punched and tied with string. Find some red-colored yarn or purchase red string to keep that white-green-red color palette we all identify with. Craft washi tape ( see the black & white checked tape in this post) is another option.

4. Add a quote. This year, I’m trying simple Christmas quotes from songbooks to hang from the gifts. There’s so many that work. Simply type out in a fancy font, cut into a rectangle and punch a small hole in the top to hang along with some of the other ideas above. Having 2-3 tags on a gift make it even more special. Try some of these…

Remember the magic of Christmas lie in your heart.

Peace on earth will come to stay when we live Christmas every day.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

All I want for Christmas is you.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Silent Night, Holy night. All is calm, all is bright.

Joy to the World!

Rockin around the Christmas tree, have a happy holiday!

Theres no place like home for the holidays.

A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight, walkin in a winter wonderland.

It’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.

Tis the season to be jolly.

5. Try a gift box!- Okay, it’s not rustic but a wrapping idea nonetheless. I could not think of what to give my daughter-in-law this year. She is literally the hardest person to buy for, so I decided that I would fill a gift box ( which she can use later) with some small personal things. I purchased the gift boxes at HomeSense and filled them with coloured raffia-Alas all Christmas colors were already taken.

Inside the gift box, consider a variety of small items such as hand creams, a scented candle, tissue, even giftcards. Below, I added some Christmas cookies, candy canes, personalized stationery sticky notes, handmade cards and tags that she can use throughout the year, and a Starbucks coffee card. For a fellow, try playing cards, dress socks, beard wax, Toblerone, ear buds, an old-school handkerchief, candy.

I hope if you try out some of these ideas, you let me know. Feel free to add some ideas to my list. Just use the comment box below and share:))

And that’s a wrap!